GROUNDNUT CHUTNEY

Here is a nice recipe of groundnut or peanut chutney to serve with breakfast items like idlis, dosas and uttapams..

Ingredients:
Groundnuts........... 1 cup
Onions.................... 2 large
Cumin Seeds.......... 1 tsp
Dry red chillies...... 4-5
Curry leaves.......... 1 sprig
Tomatoes............... 2 sm
Tamarind Paste.... 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For tempering:
Mustard seeds ....... 1 tsp.
Dry red chillies....... 2 (broken)
Curry leaves ......... 1 sprig
Asafoetida (hing).... a pinch

Method:
1. Heat 2 tbsp oil and deep fry roasted n peeled groundnuts until light brown. Drain and keep aside.
2. In the same oil, crackle cumin seeds, add curry leaves, dry red chillies, and hing. Then add the finely sliced onions and fry until light brown.
3. Add salt, tomatoes and stir until tomatoes are tender.
4. Remove from fire & keep to cool.
5. Transfer into a mixie and add tamarind paste. Grind to a fine consistency using a little water.

Variation:
You may add 2 pods of garlic while frying onions.
Also, another tempering of fried onions maybe added before serving.
You may also use about 6-8 green chillies instead of the dry red chillies.

Video link

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Coconut Chutney

Ginger Chutney

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KARELA PEELS CHUTNEY

Whenever you make karela sabzi do not throw the peels. We can use them in many ways... one of them is making a spicy chutney..

Ingredients:
Karela peels .... 1 bowl ( Peels of 3 small karelas)
Onion.............. 1 small
Green chillies ... 6-8
Garlic ............. 8-10 pods
Ginger ............ 1 small piece
Mint leaves ..... handful ( optional)
Curry leaves ... 1 sprig
Coriander seeds .... 1 tsp
Cumin seeds ......... 1 tsp
Chana dal ............. 1 tsp
Urad dal .............. 1 tbsp.
Tamarind ............ lemon sized
Asafoetida ........ a pinch
Red chilli powder .... 1/2 tsp
Salt .................. to taste
Jaggery ........... 1-2 tsp. ( according to your taste)
Oil ........ 4 tbsps.

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsps. oil and fry the karela peels.

2. After 2-3 minutes add the onion and whole garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes and put the curry leaves mint and tamarind lump ( no need to soak it), salt and jaggery. Stir for a minute and switch off the gas and let it cool.

3. In a different pan dry roast the dals and coriander and cumin seeds.
4. Grind the dry masala first and tip in the fried ingredients. Grind the chutney adding a very little water if required.
5. Heat 2 tbsps. oil and add asafoetida and red chilli powder. Mix it into the chutney. You may add mustard seeds also if you like. ( Add or reduce chillies according to your liking )
This stays good in the refrigerator for a few days. If you need to preserve it for a longer period, add more oil to the chutney while tempering

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Thecha / Kharda

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DOLLS (Table Decoration)

Things required:
Lettuce leaves
Orange
Radish or potato (small)
Carrots
Cloves
Pins & toothpicks

For Decoration:
Cherry
Tutti-Frutti
Ribbon

Method:
1. Cut a thin slice from the orange to make it stand on a flat surface.
2. Take a round radish, smaller than the orange and fix it on top of the orange with toothpicks.
3. Make a small cylindrical piece for the neck and fix it on radish.
4. For the face use a small round potato or radish (peeled).
5. use cloves for the eyes and make a nose and mouth from the cherry.
6. Fix the lettuce leaves around the radish to make the dress.
7. Cut thin, long strips of carrot and fix them on the lettuce leaves.
8. Make a hat from carrot and decorate it with cherry (half) and tutti-frutti pieces on the brim.
9. Tie a ribbon around the dress to make it decorative
.

Corn Doll

In this doll I have used fresh corn.
The dress is from the peels and the fibre is used for the hair.
You can add details to the dress with anything ... cut in the desired shapes and secure with toothpicks or bob pins...here I have used a tomato.

PAPAYA PEACOCK (Table Decoration)

Things Required:
1 Ripe and firm papaya
Lettuce leaves
Cloves
Cherry tomatoes
Toothpicks

Method:
1. On the papaya, carefully mark the shape of the bird's face, neck, wings and the back tail piece should be in an oval shape and a little higher than the face.
2. Carefully cut the shape of the face and the neck with a thin, sharp knife.
3. On the sides of the papaya, make 4-5 slits for the wings.
4. Fix cherry tomatoes on the tail piece.
5. Place some lettuce leaves in the papaya and adjust the slits of the wings in a slightly slanting position.
6. Use cloves for the eyes.
7. Make a beak and a crown from a firm, red tomato or red capsicum.

PAPAYA VASE (Table Decoration)

Items Required:
Medium-sized Papaya
Cherry Tomatoes
Tooth Picks
Satay Sticks
Spring Onion Leaves

Method :1. Cut a small slice off on the stem side of the papaya to make it stand on a flat surface. 2. Now cut about 2 inches from top and give the edge a zig-zag design using a sharp thin knife.
3. Using a round scooper, scoop out round pieces from the papaya.
4. Break the tooth picks into two and using these, fix the cherry tomatoes and the scooped out papaya rounds into the hollow places, alternating them.
5. Now break the satay sticks into different sizes. Pass them through the spring onion leaf and fix a tomato on top.
6. Make the required number in different sizes and place them in the papaya vase.You can also put in some leaves separately.
( Variation : Instead of zig-zag design, you can also decorate the edge of the papaya vase using tiny tomatoes. )

RADISH FLOWER BASKET (Table Decoration)

Things required:
Watermelon
Radish (long)
Carrot
Spring onion leaves
Satay sticks

Method:
1. Cut the watermelon into half and carve zig-zag design on the edge.

2. Cut out thin strips from the radish all around as shown in the picture.

3. Cut out the core of the carrot into a thin cylindrical shape.
4. Slice the carved radish and the carrot.

5. Take satay sticks, insert them into the spring onion leaves and fix the radish and carrot slice on the tip to make the flowers.

6. Fix the flowers, some radish leaves and spring onion leaves in between to decorate.

FRENCH TOAST FUSION (Pav Bhaji Flavour)

Bored of eating the same egg preparations ??
Here is something nice for you.. Fusion French toast with some veggies and pav bhaji masala flavour. Sounds interesting isn't it .. give it a try.

Ingredients:
Eggs ......... 2
Bread slices .. 2
Carrot .......... 1 tbsp (finely chopped)
Capsicum .... 1 tbsp. (finely chopped)
Onion ......... 1 tbsp. (finely chopped)
Green chilli ... 1 (finely chopped)
Tomato ......... 1/2 (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves ...1 tbsp.(finely chopped)
(All the vegetables have to be very finely chopped..I have used a chopper.)
Pav bhaji masala ... 1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder ... 1/4 tsp.
Salt .................... to taste
Oil
Method:

1. Take all the chopped vegetables in a bowl.









2. Add the eggs, pav bhaji masala, chilli powder and salt. Mix it well.








3. Heat oil on a griddle, dip the slices and fry them. Spoon a little egg mixture on the slices while frying. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Watch the video

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Quinoa and Egg Muffins

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PAPAYA BOAT

I had made this table decoration for my friend's Baby Shower Party.
It is very simple and at the same time looks so pretty and decorative.
Here I have used blue and pink flowers because of the baby shower ...You may use any kind of vegetables like carrot, radish, cucumber or beet root strips or cherry tomatoes to be served with a dip of your choice.

Things required:
Papaya .... long .... boat shaped.
Flowers .... Pink & Blue (fresh or artificial)
Cherries ....for decoration
Bob pins .... with red colour heads
Tomato ..... carved into a basket shape (refer to the carvings section)
Tiny baby figurine.
Toothpicks.

Method:
1. Cut the 2 sides of papaya as shown in the picture and scoop out the seeds.
2. Fill them with blue and pink flowers on each side.
3. With a knife just give cross markings on the middle portion and decorate it with red coloured bob pins.
4. Secure the tomato basket on the top with the help of toothpicks and place the baby figurine in it.
5. Decorate the boat with cherries.

SNOWY DAY (Table Decoration)

Things required:
Cucumbers ... 3 (large,medium & small)
Radish ............ 2 (1 thick and 1 round)
Carrots .... 1
Cherry .... 1
Cloves
Toothpicks

Procedure:
1. Select cucumbers which are are thick on one end and thinner on the other...of 3 different sizes.(Father penguin, Mother penguin & Baby penguin)
2. Give a slit on either side for the wings and insert a piece of toothpick so that the wings open up a little.
3. Carve beaks of 3 different sizes out of carrot. Cut a tiny piece of cucumber on the thinner side and fix the beaks with a piece of tooth pick
4. Fix cloves for the eyes.
5. Now for the snowman, peel the radishes, use the thicker one for the body and the round one for the head. Make a long beak and a hat from the carrot and fix them as shown in the figure.Fix the cherry on the hat and also the cloves for the eyes.
6. Fix toothpicks for the hands on either side.
7. Grate the radish and use it for snow.
8. To make the penguins stand, cut a small piece (slanting) on the bottom and fix a slice of radish.
(You may also use brinjals for the penguins if you get the required shape)

TEDDY BEAR TABLE DECORATION

Things required:
Oranges ..... 3
Cloves ......... 2
Black olive... 1 (here I have used a date)
Toothpicks
Any salad of your choice.

Method:

1. Cut the tip of the two oranges as shown in the picture. Save the pieces for ears.

2. Take one orange and carve the eyes and nose and make two slits on the top to fix the ears.

3. With the help of the toothpicks fix the two oranges one on top of the other
.
4. Fix the ears and the cloves for the eyes. Cut the black olive into half and fix it for the mouth.(I have shaped the date and used it instead)

5. From the third orange carve out the hands and fix them with tooth picks.Also cut a base to make the Teddy stand and fix with tooth picks.

6. Make any salad of your choice and place the Orange Teddy in the center.


It is just a simple carving but makes the table decorative.