Homemade Croutons

When we make sandwiches we cut the hard brown edges of it and we throw them. Don't do that from now on. You can make croutons with that. Croutons are crispy cubed and baked bread which can be added to soups and salads. You can also make croutons with the left over white or brown bread pieces but I prefer making these with the edges of the bread because of the texture. 

 Today I made croutons with a flavour of Italian Herbs and Coriander. You can try your flavours with garlic, ginger etc.

Ingredients

Edges of 10-12 Bread Slices or 4 Slices of White / Brown Bread  

1/2 cup Melted Butter 

1 teaspoon Italian Herbs 

1 tablespoon Chopped Coriander

3/4 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Ground Pepper Powder

1. Cut Bread Slices into small cubes. In a bowl, add corinder, herbs, salt and pepper to melted butter. Mix it well.

2. Add bread slices to the bowl and mix it. Pre heat oven at 180 degrees. Place an aluminium foil on baking tray and spread bread cubes on it. Bake them till the bred cubes turn golden brown. Takes about 10 -12 minutes. Turn them in between. 

3. Store these in an airtight container once they are cool. Add these croutons to salads or hot soups .

Rice Cakes with Nutella and Banana- Kids Recipes

Nutella is becoming kid's most favourite thing these days. They are asking me to make Nutella Rice cakes, Nutella Sandwiches, Nutella bread sticks, Nutella popsicles the list is endless. They want everything with Nutella. Here is one of those easy peesy crunchy snack for the them. 

Instant Crispy Rava Dosa - South Indian Breakfast Item

Ravva Dosa is another popular breakfast item and dosa variety from South India. This is crispy, delicious and almost instant. The batter for this doesn't require fermentation. This is the breakfast item I normally make when I am not prepared for any thing else and would like to have a dosa variety. Tastes excellent with Coconut chutney and sambar.

You can many varieties of ravva dosa by adding chopped onion, podis / powders on it or just have it plain with any podis.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Suji / Rava

1/2 cup Maida / All Purpose Flour

1 1/4 cup Rice Flour

3 Green Chillies

1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

Salt to taste

Oil as needed 

1. Mix suji, rice flour, maida and salt in a bowl, add a cup of water, mix it well. Then add 1/2 cup of water to make a batter with consistency like water. Add more water if required. Add cumin seeds and finely chopped green chillies. Mix it.

2. Heat a flat pan. Check the consistency of batter every time before pouring it on the pan as suji absorbs water. Add more water if required. Pour batter from the edges of the pan towards the center. When the batter is light and is like water you can see more small holes on dosa. Dosa will be crispy and tasty if there are more small holes and gaps in it.

3. Spread a teaspoon of oil around and over the dosa. When the bottom turns golden brown (you can see through the pores) Fold it and remove from the pan.  

4. Serve it hot. 

Cabbage Vada / Cabbage Garelu

Vada is a popular South Indian breakfast and snack item. We like Onion vada but Cabbage Vada has become our favourite recently and also I am making these quite often these days. It is easy to make and very delicious and crispy.

Vadas can be offered to god as prasadam. I usually make Medhu vadas / Garelu for prasadam but got bored with it recently and can't offer onion vada to god as there is onion in it. So found a better alternative in Cabbage Vada.   

Recipe for Medhu Vadas / Garelu

Ingredients (Makes 12)

1 cup Urad Dal

2 cups finely chopped Cabbage

3 Green Chilli

2 sprigs Curry Leaves

salt as needed

1. Soak urad dal in water for 2-3 hours. Grind it in pulse / juice mode with 4 tablespoons of water.Add salt and mix it. Finely chop cabbage,green chilli and curry leaves. Add all these to urad dal mixture. Mix it well.

2. Heat oil for deep fry. Wet your palms with water, take a big lemon sized dough, turn it and shape it a ball, flatten it and with your thumb place a hole in the middle.

3. Drop it gently in hot oil. Fry till vada turns golden brown on both sides. Remove it onto a absorbent paper.

4. You can have these Crispy cabbage vada with coconut chutney or sambar.

Basil Pesto Pasta

My kids love, love pasta. Today when I told them I made the pasta with homemade basil pesto they were excited. Thumbs up for this yummy pasta. They liked it and gave me a suggestion to make it more and try Tomato Basil Pesto.   Sure, anything for my kids and to see smiles on their faces.

I used Basil pesto which was my last post to make this pasta. Pasta tastes so good with the freshly made pesto. Check the Basil Pesto recipe. Leftover Pesto can be used in sandwiches too.  

Click on the link for Homemade Basil Pesto Recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup of Pasta
2 cups of Water

1 teaspoon Salt

2 teaspoon Olive Oil

3 teaspoons Basil Pesto

1. Boil water with a teaspoon of salt. Adding salt to water while boiling pasta adds flavour to pasta. When you bubbles in water, add pasta and cook it till pasta becomes soft. Read the directions on the package for boiling pasta. It takes around 15 minutes. Drain the excess water.

2. In a pan, add oil and basil pesto, saute for 2 minutes, add boiled pasta saute again for 2 minutes.

3. That's it. Yummy basil pesto pasta is ready. Serve it hot.

Homemade Basil Pesto

You can make your own version of Pesto at home in a jiffy!!!! Why to buy processed food when you make them at home. This simple, delicious homemade pesto tastes so good and can be stored for an year in freezer.  Try it. 

Traditional Basil Pesto is made with cheese and pine nuts / walnuts, but I tried it with almonds. Tasted excellent. I made with just a cup of basil leaves which I finished that day itself. If you can also make large quantity and can store it in freezer. Pour few tablespoons of Olive oil on pesto as a layer to keep the pesto from darkening. 

This Pesto can be used in pastas and in sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 cup of Tightly packet Basil Leaves

3 tablespoons Pine nuts / Walnuts / Slivered Almonds

1 teaspoon Garlic Paste / Crushed Garlic 

1/4 teaspoon Salt 

Black Ground Pepper Powder as required

1/4 cup  + 2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1. Process Basil leaves and nuts several times then ad salt, ginger and pepper. Process it again. Bring the pesto together by scrap the walls of the processor. Now while processing, add 1/4 cup of olive oil.  

2. Process it till you make a smooth paste of it. Transfer this to a air tight glass container. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive it on the pesto.

3. Keep it refrigerated. 

Punjabi Aloo Paratha - Indian Flat Bread stuffed with Spiced Potatoes

Aloo Paratha is a staple food in North Indian menu and Punjabi food. Indian Flat Bread stuffed with spiced, boiled potatoes tastes a little spicy, tangy and yummy. Paratha is served with butter, yogurt, sliced onions, green chillies and any pickle and of course lassi. 

You will enjoy this very, very tempting food during winters. Adding oil to the wheat flour while making dough makes the parathas very soft. Adding lemon juice, to the stuffing makes the paratha a bit tangy. 

You can have parathas for breakfast, lunch or for dinner. My kids like to take parathas in their lunch boxes. It is so fillings and gives them enough energy for their extra murals.

Click on the links for Sweet Lassi , Mango Pickle , Yellow Cucumber Pickle , Lemon Pickle and Amla Pickle recipes.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups of Wheat Flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Oil

3/4 teaspoon salt

Water
Oil / Ghee as required for roasting the parathas 

For Stuffing

1 Big Potato 

1 onion

2-3 green chillies

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Add Salt and 2 teaspoons of oil  to Wheat flour, mix it and then add water little by little to make a soft dough. Cover it, keep it aside for atleast 30 minutes. Meanwhile cut the potato into 4 pieces, pressure cook it for 3 whistles. Let it cool and remove the skin.

2. Chop onion, green chillies and coriander. Mash potato, add red chilli powder, salt and coriander powder.Mix it. Add chopped onion, green chilli, coriander, turmeric powder and lemon juice. Mix it well.

3. Now the stuffing is ready. Keep it aside. Now divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Flatten each part, dust it with flour.

4. Roll the dough to a circle. Place 1/4 of the potato stuffing on it in the middle. Cover it with dough by bringing the dough from all sides to the center. Remove the extra part. Dust the surface with flour, keep the dough with stuffing upside down.

5. Flatten it by hand and then roll it gently with roller pin to a circle. Heat a skillet / tawa. The tawa shouldn't be too hot. Place the paratha on it. When it is partly cooked flip it spread some ghee or oil on it flip it again and do the same thing on the other side. Cook it till you see crisp dark brown spots on both sides.

6. Serve it hot from tawa, or keep it in casserole. Serve it with some butter on paratha and some lemon or mango pickle. Punjabis like to eat these parathas with yogurt, sliced onion and green chillies.

Broken Wheat Upma / Matar Dalia / Gothuma Ravva Upma

 If you are bored of eating Ravva upma or Semiya Upma, you can try this Upma with Broken Wheat.  It tastes nice, filling and a very healthy food.  I added potatoes and green peas in this. You can add carrots, tomatoes and onions too. 

You can have with any chutney, side dish or pickle.

Ingredients (Serves 3-4)

1 cup Broken Wheat (Dalia)

1/2 cup Peas (I used Frozen Peas)

1 Potato

2 Green Chillies

2 tablespoon Oil

1/2 teaspoon Cumin Seeds

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper Seeds

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder

1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

1 teaspoon Coriander Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoon chopped coriander

1 tablespoon Lemon juice

1. Soak broken wheat in water for about 1 hour. Drain water and keep it aside. Cut Potato to small cubes. Slit green chillies. Heat a pan with oil, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds start to splutter add green chillies saute for a minute, add potato cubes. Saute for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add all powders and greean peas, mix it add 1/4 cup of water. Close the lid and cook it till all the water evaporates.

3. Then add broken wheat stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Close it with a lid cook again on low flame for another 5 minutes stirring in between. Remove from fire. Add Chopped coriander and lemon juice.

4. This upma sticks to the bottom of the pan, so better to make in a non stick pan. 

Sooji Appam / Ravva Appam

 

Appam stuffed with Sooji Halwa. I have posted Sooji Halwa already. I made that with lot of ghee which I felt is not a good idea to use as stuffing, so I made another sooji halwa version here for the stuffing. 

Sooji Appam is crispy on the outside and chewy inside. Everyone including kids will love it.

 

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup Sooji / Ravva

3 1/2 cups Water

2 cups Jaggery

6 Cardamoms

Oil for deep frying

Directions

1. Dry roast sooji till  light golden brown. Transfer that into another bowl and keep it aside. Chop Jaggery to small pieces.Keep it aside.

2. Boil 3 cups of Water. Then add Sooji. Keep stirring it continuously so that no lumps are formed and cook it till till it is almost done.

3. Then add jaggery. Cook it till Jaggery melts and sooji becomes non sticky and starts leaving wall of the pan. Keep stirring till then. Let it cool completely.

4. Meanwhile, make the outer layer. Add 2 teaspoons of Oil to all purpose flour. Rub it into flour. Add 1/2 cup of water to flour (1/4 cup of water at a time) and knead it well for 5 mins. Keep it covered for 45 minutes. Then divide the dough into 8 parts and make balls with it. Make 8 lemon sized balls of Sooji halwa. (I have almost 1/3 of sooji halwa left. You can reduce the quantities if you want).

5. Now grease a plastic sheet with little oil. Take a maida ball flatten it by hand on the sheet like a circle keep sooji halwa ball on it. Cover it with outer layer from all the sides make a ball again and flatten it. 

6. Keep oil for deep frying. Now take the appam onto your hand and gently drop it hot oil. Deep fry it till both sides turn golden brown.

7. Tasty and yummy festive food.