Mungode - Moong daal pakode | Monsoon special Bite size appetizer

Hi Friends

Sharing a yummy snack which is probably prepared in almost every Indian household!

Ingredients

• Dhuli moong daal 1 cup
• Coriander leaves
• Coriander seeds
• Chili powder
• Oil to fry
• Salt to Taste

Method

Soak the moong daal for 4-5 hours drain the water and grind the daal and make a paste. Now add coriander seeds, chili powder salt to taste , garlic paste and mix the batter for few minutes.

Now heat up a frying pan add oil to deep fry, Make marble shape mungode and deep fry on medium heat and free till it turns into brown. Now the yummy tasty and crispy crispy and delicious Mungode is ready to serve

Best taste with Pudina or Coriander green Chutney with a hot cuppa tea!

Khandvi | Kids Appetizers

Hi Peeps

Wish you a very happy Diwali!

This month I am participating in blogging marathon after a long time.

Sharing a very yummy appetizer today. It comes from Gujrati cusine, but it is loved by all in India and out of.

Kids especially love this since it is not too spicy but very tasty it is :). The texture of khandvi is very soft and silky. Preparing it perfectly is a bit tricky, I am not there yet, but trying :)

Ingredients

1 cup besan (bengal gram flour)

1 cup curds (dahi)

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/2 teaspoon drops of lemon juice

1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)

2 tsp fresh grated ginger

green chilli paste (optional - I did not use since I was making for kids)

salt to taste

oil for greasing 

For tempering:

2 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)

1 tsp sesame seeds (til)

1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)

2 green chillies split vertically

curry leaves

For The Garnish

2 tbsp freshly grated coconut (optional)

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

Method 

Grease 3 thalis (10” diameter each) with oil on both the sides and keep aside.

Combine the curds and 1½ cups of water in a deep bowl, mix well and keep aside.

Combine the besan, curds-water mixture, asafoetida, lemon juice, turmeric powder, ginger-green chilli paste and salt in a deep non-stick pan and mix well using a whisk till no lumps remain to make a smooth mixture.

Switch on the flame and cook on a slow flame for 9 minutes, while stirring continuously or till it thickens.

Spread a spoonful of the batter on a greased thali, wait for a few seconds and try to roll it up. If it doesn’t roll then cook for 1 more minute and then check once more if it gets rolled perfectly.

While it is still hot, pour little portions of the mixture on the insides of 3 greased thalis and spread the mixture in a circular motion into a thin layer using a vati.

Turn all the 3 thalis and spread the remaining mixture on their back side in the similar matter as step 6.

Allow them to cool for 5 to 10 minutes and roll them up tightly.

Cut each roll into 6 equal pieces and keep aside.

For the tempering, heat the oil in a small non-stick pan and add the mustard seeds.

When the seeds crackle, add the sesame seeds, asafoetida and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.

Pour the tempering over the khandvis.

Garnish with coconut and coriander and serve.

Sending this to Srivalli's Kid’s Delight event, guest hosted by Sapana, themed on Bite Size Appetizers

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Cake Pops | Kids Birthday Party Idea

Happy 5th birthday dear blog and my love. .my daughter!  Yes they share their birthday month..just a week apart!  So you know how this blog is like a baby to me. And a sibling to my kiddo..helping me document her chirpings..her learnings.. .her tantrums..her activities which we love doing together!  And not to forget her very clever conversations!  

Kiddo and me together made these cake pops on her last birthday in Sydney.  Super excited as we always are.. had lotta fin making these and getting messy! She wanted us to make these again this year.. But being super busy in office and home..could not get myself to do it this time. Hope todo it soon! 

These aee really simple to make with no cooking involved.  Do give it a try with your kids..m sure ut will be fun! :)

Ingredients 

Any cake - crumble it ( i used chocolate cake )

Condensed milk / Milk Maid / Any frosting - 1- 2 tbsp ( depends on moistness of the cake )

Dark Chocolate - around 50 gms

Vegetable oil - 1 - 2 tsp ( one with very mild flavor )

Sprinkles / decorating

Lollipop sticks / fruit sticks

Method : 

Take cake in a wide bowl.Crumble the cake with your fingers such that it resembles coarse bread crumbs.To start with , add a tbsp of condensed milk to the crumbs. Mix it using your hands. Check if you are able to form a ball. If it is little dry, add some more condensed milk and make a dough. But be careful not to add too much and make it too soft.It should just hold shape

Divide the dough into small balls. Smoothen the surface by greasing your hands.

Cover n keep in freezer for abt 1-3 hours.

When its time to take out cake balls from fridge , prepare coating . Before you start melting chocolates keep all the things handy like sprinkles,stick,chocolate etc. Because decoration part has to be done quickly before chocolate coating hardens.

Cut dark chocolates to small pieces and melt it using double boiler method. i.e Fill a saucepan with water and keep it on stove to heat.Take chocolate pieces in another bowl and place it inside / above the saucepan.Take care that water doesn't enter into choco bowl .Now the from the heat of the inner saucepan chocolate gets melted .To it add oil , mix and bring to dropping consistency. 

Dip one end of the stick into the melted chocolate and insert gently to the cake balls. This will help the stick to adhere to cake balls. But do not pierce too deep or the cake ball may fall apart. Do for all the balls.

Now dip cake balls into chocolate coating. Swirl, rotate such that whole cake balls are covered well.Shake off gently side ways to remove extra coating.

Now quickly decorate the cake pops by sprinkling some sprinkles before chocolate dries off. My little one helped wth this step :)

Stick the cake pops to themocoal and allow them to dry. 

Once the chocolate is set , serve them . You can keep in fridge for a week and relish as required like any other chocolates .

lav-art-craft-food.blogspot.in/?m=0

Moong Sprout Usal | Steamed moong sprout salad - healthy breakfast

Hi friends
I am sharing the moong sprout salad. . This is one of my favorite dishes  as a kid, ofcourse by mom :) just loved having this as breakfast or even as side dish with chapati for lunch or dinner!

Recipe source: tarla dalal
Ingredients

1 cup Moong Sprout
2 tsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
salt to taste

For The Garnish1/4 cup finely chopped onions
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

For Servinglemon wedges

Method

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the cumin seeds and asafoetida.
2. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the onions and sauté on a medium flame for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook on a medium flame for 2 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
4. Add the moong sprouts, turmeric powder, salt and 1½ cups of water, mix well and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
5. Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.
6. Garnish with onions and coriander and serve hot with lemon wedges

Namak Paare | Easy diwali snacks

Hope you had a good diwali! Sharing one of the very popular diwali snack. .namak paare..these munchies are so addictive and so easy to prepare! 

You got to try these if not already! 

These are excellent with tea or pickle or on their own too :)

Ingredients -

• 3 Cup – APF(maida)
• 1 cup - Wheat flour
• 2 tsp – Carom Seeds
• 3 Tbsps – Oil for kneading the dough
• 2 tsp - crushed kasoori methi
• to taste – Salt
• Oil for frying

Method -

1. In a large bowl mix flour, salt, kasoori methi & carom seeds.
2. Add oil for knading mix gently. Now hold the flour in your fist, if it forms a loose clump, then the amount of oil is fine, if it doesn’t then add a bit more oil.
3. Using water knead the dough. The dough should be slightly hard to touch. Wrap in a wet muslin cloth & keep it aside for 1/2 hour.
4. Form big balls with the dough. Roll these balls using a rolling pin. Use a knife to cut square or rhombus shaped pieces.
5. Heat oil in a big wok, fry these pastry till golden brown.
6. Enjoy warm with tea or coffee or pickle.  It will store well in air-tight container at room temp for several days.

Sending this to blogging marathon 58 hosted by Srivalli.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#58

Pink Pound Cake

Like most girls, little miss loves everything pink! And then she wanted a pink cake! I thought of few options to make the cake pink—beetroot, strawberry..then thought why not add rooh afza to the batter and get lovely rose flavoured and aromatic cake..and yes it was pink too J

Any suggestions to get a lovely pink color for the cakes ?

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter (at room temperature) - 1/2 cup 

Sifted Cake flour - 150 grams 

Milk at room temperature - 3 Tbsp

Granulated sugar - 150 grams ( 3/4 cup)

Pure Vanilla extract - 1 and 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Large eggs (at room temperature) - 2

Rooh afza - 2 tbsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 F or 177 C and place the rack in the middle or center of the oven.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, rooh afza and the vanilla extract.

In another bowl add the flour, baking powder,sugar and salt and mix. you can use a hand mixer. Now add the butter and half of the egg mixture and mix at low speed just until the flour is moistened.

 If you are using hand mixer, you might want to do it a bit longer. This will help to aerate the cake batter and to develop the cake structure. Scrape down the batter and add the remaining egg mixture in 2 additions beating for about 30 seconds after each addition.

Scrape the batter in to the loaf pan which we kept ready earlier. 

Bake this cake for about 55 - 60 until the tooth pick when inserted comes out clean and the outer crust is golden brown. Keep an eye on the cake. At about 30 minutes, if you see that the outer crust of the cake is browning to too fast, here is what you do. Take an aluminium foil large enough to cover the open part of the loaf pan. Apply butter to it and cover the loaf pan with foil (butter side inside ).

When the cake is done, remove from the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Transfer the cake to a lightly butter wire rack.

This cake can be frozen for up to 2 months or remains fresh in the fridge for about a week or so.

ENJOY!!

Sending this to blogging marathon 58 hosted by Srivalli.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#58

Applesauce cinnamon oats muffins | Healthy breakfast recipe

Hi Friends

 Sharing yet another yummy breakfast recipe which is loved by kids and adults! Since it is healthy combination of Apple, cinnamon, oats, eggs and wholegrain, it can be had without guilt any time of the day J

Don't forget to share your yummy breakfast recipes for kids with us. For details check here : http://lav-art-craft-food.blogspot.in/2015/08/kids-healthy-breakfast-announcing-kids.html?m=0

Ingredients:

Half cup unsalted butter

1.5 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1tsp vanilla essence

1 cup plain flour

1.5 cup wheat flour

Half cup dry roasted oats

Pinch of salt

1 tsp cinnamon powder

2 cups applesauce (I cooked the apple with little water and mashed it after it got cooked for the puree)

Nuts and raisins optional (u can use walnut, cashew, almond)

Method:

Cream the butter in a mixer. Add brown sugar and continue mixing. Add the eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla. Mix till well blended and fluffy.

In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients. Add to the creamed mixture. Add the applesauce. Fold in the nuts and raisins. Pour batter in the muffin tin lined with liners. Bake until firm. Insert a tooth pick or knife (around half an hour. The time will increase if the batter is poured in a cake tin instead of muffin). It should come out clean. Serve the individual muffins warm or cold. Love them J

Sending this to Srivalli's Kids delight event hosted by me this month.

Also sending this to vallis event
http://cooking4allseasons.blogspot.in/2015/08/come-join-us-for-breakfast-august-event.html?m=1

Microwave Rawa Idli | Steamed semolina and curd dumplings | Breakfast recipe

Hi friends

Sharing a traditional, yummy, all time favorite breakfast recipe! We love this cooked on gas steamer or microwave. Sharing the microwave preparation steps with you. This is my entry for Valli's Kids delight event, which I am guest hosting this month for the theme healthy breakfast recipes for kids.

Ingredients

For The Batter

1 cup semolina (rava)

1/4 cup curds (dahi)

1 cup water

salt to taste

3/4 tsp unflavoured fruit salt

oil for greasing

Method 

For the batter

Combine all ingredients together, other than the fruit salt and leave aside for 10 minutes.

Pour 1 cup of water in the base of a microwave safe idli steamer and microwave on high for 1 minute. Grease the idli moulds using little oil.

Add the fruit salt to the batter and mix well.

Pour 2 tablespoons of batter into each greased cavity of the idli moulds and microwave, covered, on high for 7 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining batter to make more idlis.

Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.

Sending this to Srivalli's Kids delight event hosted by me this month.

Hello Kitty breakfast

Hi friends
Sharing a simple hello kitty bread to entice your fussy eaters :)
You see the little parrot puppet was giving some competition as to who will finish eating first!

Zucchini Pancake/chilla | Healthy Breakfast recipe

Sharing a yummy breakfast recipe with you today. This is full of protein with the goodness of egg and zucchini. You can skip the eggs and add some curd for a vegetarian version. These pancakes are quite filling too and sure to be a hit with children! 

Tried these some time back and i am glad it was liked by all. Health bhi taste bhi..happy me  :)

This is my entry for Blogging marathon 50 - one ingredient -three dishes - chse Zucchini as my ingredient

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Wheat flour
1/2 cup APF/rice flour
1 Zucchini (peeled and grated about 1 cup)
1 small Onion(finely chopped about 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp Dry mint leaves
Coriander leaves handful
2 Eggs
a small pinch of Baking powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
Oil as needed

Method:
Mix all the ingredients adding water as needed to make a thick batter. Heat a non stick pan / griddle and pour a ladle full of batter to make a small thick pancake.Spoon a little oil and fry both sides until done. Serve hot with ketchup or chil sauce.

Khaman Dhokla

Khaman dhokla, yummy snack from the streets of gujarat. These can be enjoyed as breakfast, snack or as a farsaan (savoury accompaniment) in the lunch or dinner menu. Traditioanlly it is made by soaking and grinding chana dal. These versatile dhoklas can be steamed in a traditional dhokla steamer or in a microwave oven.

Ingredients

1 cup besan (Bengal gram flour)

1 1/2 tbsp semolina (rava)

3 1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp ginger- green chilli paste

1/2 tsp citric acid (nimbu ka phool) or 1 tsp lemon juice

salt to taste

1 1/2 tsp fruit salt

1/4 tsp oil for greasing

Other Ingredients

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)

1/2 tsp sesame seeds (til)

2 green chillies , chopped

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

2 to 3 curry leaves (kadi patta)

For The Garnish

2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania)

Method

Combine all the ingredients together, except the fruit salt in a bowl and mix well adding water as required (approximately ¾ cup) to make a thick batter.Just before steaming, add the fruit salt and add 2 tsp of water over it.

When the bubbles form, mix gently.Pour the batter immediately into a greased thali/flat vessel and shake the it to spread the batter in an even layer.

Steam for 12 to 15 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked. Keep aside.

Tempering:

Heat the oil in small pan and add the mustard seeds.

When the seeds crackle, add the sesame seeds, green chillies and asafoetida, mix well and sauté on a medium flame for a second, while stirring continuously.

Remove from the flame, add 2 tbsp of water and mix well. Pour the tempering over the dhoklas.

Cool slightly and cut into equal pieces. Serve immediately garnished with coriander.

This is my entry for Blogging Marathon #50, Week 1, Day 1, with the theme Colorful dishes for kidswhich also happens to be the theme Varada of Varada's Kitchen is hosting as a part of Srivalli's Kids Delight series.

Nayana's event: Event announcement ~ Lets cook for Mothersday

Cheesy Egg Penne Pasta | Kids favorite!

I am basically a vegetarian turned eggetarian after marriage. I was not comfortable eating egg, but would try it because of the health benefits. Now also I cannot have egg in the raw forms like half fries or some bland egg scrambles!
But yes now i do try to include egg in my cooking so that it becomes nutritious for the little one as well as all of us.

Here i have created the sauce with egg, cheese and lots of veggies. I added the egg after adding the boiled pasta to the veggies and stirred it continuously, so that it remains like a sauce.

Do try this out and let me know how you liked it :)

Ingredients

2 cups Penne pasta
2 Eggs
1 Onion
1 tomato
1 tsp Garlic powder
1 tbsp chopped Green capsicum
1 tbsp Red bell pepper cut lengthwise
1 carrot cut lengthwise
1 broccoli floret
1 cheese slice
2 tbsp of mixed grated cheese
half tsp Black pepper powder
oregano
Salt As needed
1 tbsp Oil


Method

Cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the water from the pasta and keep it aside. I have used penne

pasta, you can choose any pasta of your choice.

Heat oil in a pan, add finely chopped ginger, garlic and saute until raw smell vanishes.add the onions, salt and saute until they turn golden brown color. Add tomato. Cook until it turns mushy.
Now add the capsicums/bell peppers, broccoli, carrot and fry for 3 to 4 minutes  covered on medium flame or until the vegetable turns soft.
Add mixed herbs,cheese, salt and mix thoroughly until well combined.
Now add the cooked pasta and toss it gently on low flame, Add the egg to the mixture. mix until the vegetables and eggs are well mixed with the pasta.
Adjust the amount of salt, black pepper powder according to your taste.
Switch off the stove and transfer it to a serving bowl.
Finally sprinkle mixed herbs or oregano, garlic powder .drizzle few drops of olive oil and serve them hot.

This is my entry for Blogging Marathon #50, Week 1, Day 1, with the theme Colorful dishes for kidswhich also happens to be the theme Varada of Varada's Kitchen is hosting as a part of Srivalli's Kids Delight series.

Nayana's event: Event announcement ~ Lets cook for Mothersday

Baked veggie and bread savory muffins

Hi Peeps

Sharing a recipe on  my bog after almost 2 months..no i didnt stop cooking! Its just that my vagarious mind was in a mood to post all the itty bitty crafts that i did with my little one..hope you enjoyed the :)

Today sharing with you a yummy recipe which instantly became our family favorite! I desperately wanted to try this when I saw the recipe here and got a chance to make this during christmas holidays. So happy that DH and little miss loved it! yeppi..taste bhi health bhi 

These savory muffins can be had as breakfast or evening snack, Makes an excellent snack or kids lunch box. The only catch for me was to get it out of the tin or the muffin liners, I am sure it will come out easily when cooled, but both the times that I made this, we did not have the patience to let it cool! :) This is definitely a must try recipe.

Ingredients:

brown bread, chopped – 1 cup (i took 3 slices)

egg – 2

black pepper powder – 1 tsp

butter – 1 tbsp

shredded cheese – ½ cup

salt as per taste

finely chopped vegetables – ½ cup (tomato, bell pepper, carrot, onion)

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.

Combine chopped bread, egg, pepper powder, and salt in a large bowl.

Whisk well, and add butter to it. Mix well till butter melts.Add all the vegetables and cheese to it, and mix well. Insert muffin liners into the muffin baking tray.Evenly distribute the batter into muffin pan. Spread some cheese on top. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow them to cool before eating. We could not wait for it to cool and finished it off within minutes!

This is my entry for Blogging Marathon #50, Week 1, Day 1, with the theme Colorful dishes for kidswhich also happens to be the theme Varada of Varada's Kitchen is hosting as a part of Srivalli's Kids Delight series.

Nayana's event: Event announcement ~ Lets cook for Mothersday

Tilkut Ladoo| Til Gud Ladoo | Sesame and Jaggery balls

Meethe Gud me mil gaya Til,

Udi Patang aur khil gaye Dil,

Jeevan me bani rahe Sukh aur Shanti,

Mubarak ho aapko Makar-Sankranti

"Makar Sankrati" or "Sankrat" is one of the major festivals in the state of Maharashtra and Rajasthan (It is also celebrated in other states with different names). The day is celebrated with some special Rajasthani delicacies and sweets such as pheeni (either with sweet milk or sugar syrup dipped), til-paati, gajak, kheer, ghevar, pakodi, puwa, and til-ladoo.

The ladies observe a kind of ritual in which they give any type of object (related to household, make-up or food) to 13 married women, we call it Terunda (13 things) . People give out many kind of small gifts such as til-gud (jaggery), fruits, dry khichadi, etc. to Brahmins or the needy ones. Kite flying is traditionally observed as a part of this festival. On this occasion the sky is filled with kites, and youngsters engage in kite contests trying to cut each other's strings.

Til Laddus are a traditional Marwadi/Maharastrian sweet made with Sesame seed, Jaggery and ghee. Served on various ocassions and festivals. This particular dessert is especially popular during winter months as sesame has heating properties. In Maharashta While exchanging til-gul as tokens of goodwill people greet each other with the words, "तिळगुळ घ्या आणि गोड गोड बोला/til-gul ghya, aani god god bola" meaning ‘Accept these tilguls and speak sweet words’. The underlying thought in the exchange of til-gul is to forget the past ill feelings and hostilities and resolve to speak sweetly and remain friends.

Here comes the recipe. I like this type of ladoo better than the one where jaggery is melted in wok and then ladoos are formed.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Til

• 1 cup Jaggery

• 2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

Dry roast til/sesame till it turns slightly pink.  Chop the jaggery into small pieces. Grind both ingredients once til is cooled.

Add ghee and bind into small ladoos or just enjoy the tilkul as is. Easy peasy J

Corn Chat | Healthy Snacks

Hi Friends, 

Sharing a simple and yummy appetizer. It is vary healthy with goodness of boiled corn and zero oil. Made this as a accompaniment for tea when few friends visited us. Well loved by all :)

Ingredients:
1 can tinned corn
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped (optional)
finely chopped coriander leaves
1 or 2 tsp lemon juice
¼ tsp red chili powder or as required
1 tsp chaat masala powder or as required
black salt or rock salt as required
for garnish:
a few coriander leaves
sev
tamarind chutney
green chutney

INSTRUCTIONS
boil or pressure cook the corn till the kernels are cooked well.when the corn cools down, mix the corn kernels along rest of the ingredients in a bowl.check the taste and add more salt or chaat masala or lemon juice if required.serve the corn chaat immediately, in individual serving bowls or plates topped with sev and a garnish of coriander and chutneys.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked today for BM# 47.