Dosakaya(Cucumber) Chutney

I picked up this vegetable from an Indian grocery store and was wondering how to cook it.I happened to browse few recipes using this vegetable and tried this quick recipe and from then on,this has been added to the regular veggies list.

This is a very quick , easy and tasty recipe .It is tangy to taste and can be served  with rice or roti as side.I always have it in my refrigerator and use it on those days when i am lazy to cook a vegetable or when i don't have any vegetables left in my pantry.

This recipe has been adapted from vah-re-vah cooking video on youtube Dosakaya pacchadi .

Ingredients

ToGrind

- 2 medium sized cucumbers(peeled,de-seeded,and cut into small chunks)

- 4 green chillies(as per your taste)

- Salt to taste

- 4 cloves of garlic(cut into pieces)

- lemon sized tamarind(washed and soaked in little water say 3 Tbsp)

- 1 tsp cumin seeds

Tempering

- 1 Tbsp oil

- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

- pinch of asafoetida/hing

- 1 tsp urad dal

- 4-5 curry leaves(chopped)

Recipe 

- Grind all the ingredients under the title "ToGrind" (It needn't be ground to a fine paste,few chunks left gives a great texture)

- Heat oil in a small pan and add the remaining  ingredients under "Tempering" one by one.

- Now pour the tempering prepared in the above step to the ground mixture of cucumber.

- Mix it well.

Notes : Sometimes i also add few drops of lemon juice as i like it extra tangy.

Vermicelli/Semiya Upma

Semiya Upma

This is one of our family's favorite breakfasts and my husband craves for this dish quite frequently.Growing up i have always had semiya/vermicelli as a sweet but never imagined we can also make a yummy upma using it.Semiya upma comes to my rescue whenever i need to cook something quick.The best part of this dish is that it can be had by itself without any sides like chutney/pickle/sauce.


Ingredients

- 2 cups Vermicelli/Semiya(I prefer roasted one to normal as it is not very sticky and easy to handle)
- 5 cups water
- Salt per taste
- 1 Carrot(finely chopped)
- 1/2 medium onion(thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup peas/lima beans
- 1 tomato(thinly sliced)
- 1.5 Tbsp oil
- 1 Tbsp peanuts
- 1/2 tsp chana dal
- 3 Green chillies(slit lengthwise)
- 2 Dried red chillies
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 strand curry leaves(8-10 approx)
- 1/2 inch ginger finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Cashewnuts(optional)
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Vegetables of your choice(optional vegetables include green beans)

Recipe

- Boil 5 cups of water in a large vessel ,add vermicelli to it along with salt and 1 tsp oil.
- Once Semiya is cooked ,drain the water using a strainer ,run it under cool water and keep it aside to drain off the remaining water.
- Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick pan,add cumin seeds,mustard seeds,chana dal,groundnuts,curry leaves,cashewnuts,chillies,ginger and fry for 3 minutes.
- Add the onions,carrot,peas,vegetables and tomato and cook for another 3-4 minutes.Add salt to it.
- Now add cooked semiya to the pan and mix all together.Cook for 2 minutes with lid closed.
- Add lemon juice to the pulao and stir properly.

Marvelous Marble Cake

I am not a big fan of chocolate cake but i do want it in my cakes in one way or the other.This is a simple cake which can please both chocolate and vanilla lovers like me.A bite of chocolate and a bite of vanilla goes into my mouth when i eat this cake and i am so happy about it.

Ingredients

- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar(you can make it to 3/4 cup if you dont like it very sweet)
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter/vegetable oil

Recipe

- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Sift together flour,baking powder,salt so that they are well blended.
- In a bowl whisk together sugar,butter/oil,eggs and vanilla extract.
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients.Divide the batter into two parts.
- Stir in the cocoa powder into the second half of the divided parts.
- Pour the first half of batter(without cocoa) into a greased baking pan.Now pour the second   half(Cocoa batter) of the batter into the same pan.Run a knife through  the batter,cutting the batters together to create a marble effect.
- Place the baking pan into the pre-heated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes ,until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool,Invert the cake into a stand or plate,slice and serve. 

Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice is a very flavorful and festive dish.By festive,i mean it is cooked and offered to God during Indian festivals in most of the households.Well my mom never made this dish neither was i aware of this fact until i visited a friends house for Ganesh Chaturti and she offered me this dish as prasad.This is a very simple dish yet its so flavorful and tasty.

Ingredients

- 1 cup long grain rice/any rice(soak it in water for 20 minutes and cook it so that grains are separate)
- 1 cup freshly grated coconut/defrosted grated coconut
- 1 Tbsp urad dal
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 4 green chillies(as per your taste)
- 2 dried red chillies
- 1 Tbsp groundnuts/peanuts
- 1 Tbsp cashew nuts(optional)
- 1 strand curry leaves(approx 10 leaves)
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp cumin/zeera seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- pinch of hing/asafoetida

Recipe

- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds/cumin seeds.Wait till the seeds splutter and add green chillies,red chillies,hing,peanuts and cashew nuts into the oil and saute them for 2-3 minutes.Now add urad dal,curry leaves and saute them altogether for another 2 minutes.
- Add the grated coconut and saute for another 3 minutes.
- Now add the rice,salt to the pan and mix all the contents well.
- Cover it with a lid and cook on low flame for 5 minutes.
- Serve hot

Pan fried Tandoori shrimp/prawn

This is a very quick recipe and is just so yummy that your guests would really love it.

tandoori shrimp

Ingredients 
1 lb jumbo shrimp(approx 15)
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder(optional)
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt as required
1 tsp Shan tandoori masala(use garam masala if you don’t have tandoori masala)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder/paprika
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method
Mix all the ingredients and coat the shrimp with the marinade
Marinate the shrimp atleast for 15 mins

Toss cooking oil in a non stick pan and heat it for 2 mins on medium flame
Fry the shrimp on each side for 5 mins until they turn brown

Sprinkle some chat masala and lime juice or serve it with mint chutney