Cashew Cookies (Cute crescents) and Award Time again !!!!!!

Now, the fall has started here at our place, leaves have changed colours and breezy winds in the evenings...these are the times that make you all the more lazy, sitting idle at home and feel to munch something with a hot cup of tea,Isn't it?
Cashew cookies is one good answer to this,the name itself depicts the recipe and the taste to it.I made these on a cozy evening and I must admit that the best cookies ever made by me as they all disappeared in a span of 15 minutes.The real delightful ones and very tasty ones too..My biggest reward was that kids loved the shape and taste as well :-) The munching went on untill we saw the platter it was empty!!!

Ingredients
all purpose flour- 1 cup
corn flour - 3/4 cup
cashew powder 30gms or crushed cashew 1/3 cup
butter 1 stick
sugar 70 gm or 1/4 cup (powdered)
milk 25ml -50ml or an egg
vanilla essence 1/2 tsp
baking powder 1/2 tsp
cashews half 1/4 cup to garnish on top




Method

• Sift the flour ,add corn flour,cashew powder, baking powder keep aside.
• Soften the butter ,add milk or egg and beat thoroughly.
• Add in the sugar,vanilla essence and stir well.
• Add the flour mix into it and prepare a soft dough.
• Keep aside for 30 minutes.
• Pre heat oven to 400 degrees .
• Divide the dough into 6 portions and roll each ball into a thick chapati.
• Using a sharp circular surface,start cutting out crescents(two crescents join together to form a cashew shape) OR you can shape into circle or squares whichever is comfortable.
• Top it up with cashew halves and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place it in the oven for 13-15 minutes.(varies with oven type),check at 10 minutes to prevent burning.
• Remove from oven and cool down completely.
• Serve it to munch with tea,kids will surely enjoy!!

Servings ~ 30 -40 crescent cookies




Also, sending this to Khushi@   A Gir'ls diary hosting My Diwali My way




I have also added a new page on 'GLOSSARY ',mainly in malayalam as many of my recipes are based on  Kerala .I hope this will help those who have just started of their cooking venture recently.The list is created based on the the ingredients I have used in my recipes..I will be updating as and when I find a new item.Please check this out !!



Also,I recieved a award from Deep @ Deep's Food blog. She is got a lovely homely collection of recipes.Do visit her friends and I thank her for passing these awards to me.

I would like to pass it to the following blogger friends,Please accept them:-)
1.Reshmi @ Easy cook
2.Roshu @ World of tastes
3.Vani@ Recipe world
4.Saji @ Saji's
5.Suhaina @ My Singapore Kitchen
6.Indu @ A bit of this and a bit of that
7.Amina @ Amina's creations
8.Wan @ Cooking varieties
9.Vineetha @ Ruchi
10.Khushi @ A Girl's diary
11.Aipi @ US masala
12.Deeksha @ Dee's kitchen
13.Hyma @ Hyma's Flavours
14.Torview @ Torview toronto
15.Pushpa @ Taste As you cook

Happy Blogging to one and all  !!

Sending this to Cookie event hosted by Shema @ Life Scoops

100 Diwali Sweet Recipes- Ebook from Indus Ladies

For the upcoming Diwali on October 26th, 2011, we at Indusladies are compiling an E-Book called “100 Yummy Diwali SweetRecipes”. We are collecting sweet/dessert recipes from various bloggers to be featured in this E-Book.

This E-book will be made available as a free download to our community's 1.3 Lakh+ members. In addition, we will also be making this E-Book available to our 9000+ Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It's LOTS and LOTS of exposure to those food blogs entering the E-Book!! We believe this would be a nice way to get the word out about a wonderful blog to the entire membership of IndusLadies!!

Those bloggers interested in submitting a recipe for this E-Book...all you need to do is as follows:
1. Send a link from your blog for a sweet /dessert recipe. It should also include the picture of the sweet/dessert. Your recipe, food picture, recipe URL as well as the entire blog URL will get featured in the E-Book.
2. In return, we need you to do two things:
- Now make a blog post in your blog announcing the E-Book compilation by IndusLadies and the recipe you are sending for this E-Book. That way inviting your co-bloggers interested to send in their contribution by Oct 10th,2011.


Any blogger interested can send their entry to partners@indusladies.com by October 8th.

Iam sending the Dates Nuts Laddu , Coconut laddu , Cheese cashew Burfi from my space .



Veg Samosa - Famous Indian snack

Samosa is a fried triangular cone shaped stuffed pastry and served as an appetizer or snack served with chutney. As the name suggest is a delightful treat and this snack has gained popularity over years.This is a famous snack in many parts in Asia ,now Indian restaurants across the world serve it hot.There are many variations to the filling which are brought up now,but initially it was the potato-green peas filling.I always admire it with that yummy filling and always prepare this recipe.This is a time taking recipe but the effort is worthwhile.

Ingredients



The veggie  ingredients for filling

for the filling
potato 2 peeled and cubed
onion 2 medium sized thin sliced
green peas 1 cup (I used frozen packet)
ginger -garlic paste 1 tsp
Cilantro 4 sprigs chopped
coriander powder 1 1/2 tsp
chilly powder 1 tsp or as per spice needed
garam masala 1/2 tsp
cumin powder 1/3 tsp
turmeric powder  1/4 tsp
salt


For the cover /wrap
all purpose flour 1 1/2 cup
salt
oil 2tsp
water

oil for frying



Method


For the filling preparation-

• Heat oil in a pan and saute onions for 2 minutes.
• Saute ginger garlic paste, and then add the spice powders and toss.
• In the meantime,add the potatoes cube in a microwave safe bowl .Microwave high on 10minutes.
• Add the semicooked potato cubes and green peas .Cook on low-medium heat till its completely cooked and becomes a little mushy.
• It takes about 20-25 minutes and the filling is ready .Cool down.

The prepared filling

for the wrap/ cover-

• Sift the flour and mix salt,oil  and water.knead the dough as like chapati and keep aside for 3 hours.
• Divide the dough into small balls slightly bigger than that of poori and roll it using a rolling pin and dust with flour if required.
• Cut the formed circle into 2 semicircles .Make 2 triangular cones and stick at the joints by pressing gently.
• Take a spoon and fill the filling in the cones without disturbing the shape of cones.
• Repeat the same till the dough or filling gets over.
• Place the prepared cones in a tray  greased with oil .
• Heat oil in a non stick pan or wok and deep fry till golden brown on both sides.Place on medium heat and turn frequently so that you get a even colour.
• Remove from oil and place on a paper towel.
• Serve hot with tamarind chutney /Coriander chutney /Tomato ketchup !!

Servings 30 samosas (as the size was smaller otherwise 20)

Sending this to Krithi's kitchen hosting Serve It- Festival Potluck

Sending this to Roshan's Cuccina hosting Sunday special

Sending this to Street Food Of India event hosted by Rosh @ Chef Al Dente

Spicy Chicken Dry Roast (Quick recipe with a tsp of oil)

Spicy,dry chicken roast  is a very quick recipe and easy to prepare recipe.The best thing I found about this recipe is that there is only one teaspoon of oil added to it and no hazzles of chopping onion and tomatoes.A very lovely recipe to serve in a small parties and doesnot take much effort and time.This is an excellent recipe to serve with fried rice or as an appetizer too.We all just loved it just like the Thattukada Chicken fry / Chicken 65 / Dragon Chicken !!!!!

Ingredients
to marinate
chicken - 2 lbs (boneless)
soy sauce -1tsp
tomato sauce- 2 tsp
chilly powder -2 tsp
pepper powder -1 tsp
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
lemon juice 3 tsp
food colour red- 1/4 tsp(optional)
salt

to fry
ginger garlic paste 2 tsp
cilantro 3 sprigs
oil  1 tsp





Method

• Make a paste using the marination ingredients and marinate the chicken.Place it in refrigerator for 4 hours.
• Heat oil in a skillet and saute ginger garlic paste till the raw smell disappears.
• Add the marinated chicken pieces with masala and cook for 15 minutes covered on low flame.
• Uncover the lid and give a quick toss.
• Cover and cook again for 10 minutes.
• Uncover and dry this spicy chicken .
• Serve hot with lemon slices and sliced onion.

Servings 3 adults

TIPS
*As soy sauce has salt ,adjust the remaining salt accordingly.

Rustic Apple Cake (Tea Cake)

Yesterday I was in a mood to bake something very simple but different from the usual recipes of vanilla and chocolate.Browsing through, I found my eyes upon this fantastic recipe with fresh apples.My brain started blowing out thoughts to prepare this cake as my younger kid has started rejecting fruits in the very form.That was easy sneaking way to feed apples and baked home made cakes were his weakness everytime.This cake is very simple but the looks and tastes are different.We all loved each bite of it  and hope you'll enjoy reading this recipe too!!

Recipe source : You Tube






Ingredients
all purpose flour / wheat flour - 1 1/2 cups
sugar- 1 cup
butter -1 stick (125g)
apples 3(approx 700g) thin sliced and chopped
eggs 2
milk -1 cup
lemon zest 1 1/2 tsp (1 lemon grated)
lemon juice 2tsp
vanilla extract 1 tsp
baking powder 1 1/2 tsp
cinnamon powder 1 tsp
powdered sugar to dust 4 tsp



The baked  apples  are visible at the base

Method
-Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
-Wash and peel the skin of apples,remove core,slice in quarters and thin slices further.
-Add the lemon zest and lemon juice to the sliced apples,keep aside.
-Sift the flour and add baking powder,cinnamon powder.
-Beat the eggs till fluffy,add in the butter,sugar and milk.
-Slowly add the flour  and mix thoroughly.
-Add the vanilla extract.
-Slowly add the sliced apples into it and mix it in the batter.
-Pour it in a cake tin greased with butter and flour.
-Place it in the oven at 350 degrees F for 50-60 minutes.
-Cool it completely on a wire rack and dust it  powdered sugar using a sieve.
-Rustic Apple cake is ready to serve.





 Servings 1 cake

Notes
*The cake doesn't rise and bloat up like other cakes.



Enjoy the apple leaf carvings and Have a great weekend too !!

Cheese Cashew Burfi

The other day I was wondering what to prepare with the Ricotta cheese pack.Kids were very relunctant to the taste of cheese as such and so thought of making it sweet and simple.Then came out the idea of a burfi,which was absent in my posts too..Very simple burfi and a perfect sweet for an untimely guest .The main ingredients are cheese ,milk powder and sugar.I had all these ingredients ready at hand and so tried this out. It was a very lovely treat.To my wonder,I made and cut it into pieces and they vanished in no time :-)

Ingredients
Ricotta cheese - 8 oz
milk powder 1/2 cup
sugar - 1/2 cup
cardamom powder 1 tsp
cashew nut  - 1/4 cup
ghee 2 tsp







Method
-Melt the cheese in a nonstick pan.
-Add the shredded cashew.
-Add milk powder and sugar .Keep stirring till it leaves the sides of pan.
-Grease a plate or tray with ghee and smear the contents into the plate and level it with a spoon dipped in ghee.
-Garnish with half cashew on top.
-Refrigerate for an hour, cut into desired shapes.





Servings 10-12 pieces

TIPS-
* You can replace the cashews with any other dry fruits.



Sending this to Anu's Healthy Kitchen hosting Diwali event

Inspirational Blogger Award and a Thank You card (cooking varieties)

There was a time when I was new to blogging around 7 months back and was new here.Now I have so many blogger friends and learnt so many things in blogging.Today I feel very happy to be awarded the Inspirational blogger Award which was given to me by Ms.Wan @ Cooking Varieties .She is from Kuala lumpur,Malayasia ; a great blogger ,a great friend.Her interests are compiling recipes and writing /publishing cookbooks for the Interational market.She has always supported my blog through her comments and her comments are always an indepth learning to the post.I feel inspired reading through her comments.As a token of regards,I would love to give her the thank you card for the inspirational blogger award.

The inspirational blogger award is got a very lovely thought of answering 8 questions regarding you as a person and a sweet award too..

The questions are as follows-

1.What makes you laugh,smile or giggle?

2.What are your dreams for your future?

3.If you are going to a cruise,where would it be and why?

4.How would you spend your vacation and with whom?

5.If given a life,what life would you choose ?

Your life now or your past?

6.Is there something that you wished before when you were young but you didn’t get it?

7.Have you been in a situation where you might have given up but you still choose to move on?

8.Is there someone in your life who has been your source of strength and inspiration?

Here are my answers-

I would like to pass it to the following bloggers who have always inspired me through their innovative ideas,awesome clicks ,beautiful posts and also helped me to reach this stage in blogging .Please visit their space if anyone is left out !!So,Friends grab the lovely inspoirational blogger award and please answer the questions accompanied by the award.Copy and paste in your space,feel proud of it!!

1.Shobha @ Food Mazaa

2.Deepa @ Hamaree Rasoi

3.Tina @ Kaipunyam.com

4.Sobha @ Good Food

5.Shireen @ Ruchik Randhap

6.Roshan @ Roshan's Cucina

7.Savitha @ Savitha's Kitchen

8.Priti @ Indian Khana

9.Aipi @ US masala

10.Mugdha @ Cooking fundas

11.Christy @ Mykitchen Flavors- BoN Appetit

12.Priya @ Bon Appetit

13.Priya @ Now Serving

14.Jeyashri @ Jeyashri's Kitchen

15.Rinku @ Rinku's Kitchen Treats



I recieved this 'Thank you 'card for passing  Ms.Wan (cooking varieties) the hundred hearts award.Thank you Ms.wan ,as I never had anything like this before.

Happy Blogging!!

Meen Pollichathu / Baked Fish in banana wraps

Today I have a delightful recipe of Kerala,very loved one- Meen Pollichathu / Baked fish in Banana wraps.Baked Fish in banana wraps / Meen Pollichathu is a common delicacy of Central Kerala in India.Usually its Karimeen / pearl spots which are wrapped in banana wraps and baked with a tasty masala mix.But we can replace pearl spots with tilapia/pomfret/ salmon fillets too.The taste may be a little milder compared to pearl spots but we loved it !!

The toddy shops in kerala serves the best recipe of this.There are mainly three steps involved in this recipe .The marinated fish is first carmalized in a shallow pan with oil ,the masala mix is prepared in another pan and finally layered into the banana wraps and sealed thoroughly and cooked again in a a covered non stick pan or oven.Though there is more effort but the final result is awesome !!

Ingredients
for marination
Tilapia fillets -2 large sized
ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp
pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
chilly powder 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
lime juice 2 tsp
salt

for masala mix
shallots 1 cup fine chopped
tomatoes 2 medium sized chopped
green chillies - 4 chopped
ginger garlic paste 1/2 tsp
chilly powder- 1 /2 tsp
coriander powder- 1 tsp
pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
garam masala - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
fenugreek / uluva - 1/2 tsp
lime juice 2 tsp
coconut milk 3/4 cup
mustard seeds 1 tsp
oil 5 tsp(preferably coconut oil)
curry leaves

for wrap
banana leaves / aluminium foil to wrap the fish
tooth pick to secure

Method

-Wash and clean the tilapia or pomfret or salmon as per desired using salt and lime juice.
-Cut gashes on the fish if its with the bone,otherwise if using fillets no gashes required.
-Marinate the fish using ingredients listed under marination and place it in refrigerator for 3 hours.
-Heat oil in a non stick pan and shallow fry the fish for 5 minutes each on both sides,till its caramelized.(no need to cook thoroughly)Keep aside on a paper towel.
-Heat oil in the same pan ,splutter mustard seeds.
-Add in the chopped onion ,saute for 5 minutes.
-Add the green chillies,curry leaves and tomatoes.
-Cook the tomatoes till mushy.
-Add the spices and give a quick toss.
-Lower the flame and add the coconut milk ,keep stirring till the masala thickens.Put off flame.
-Clean a banana leaf / foil and add the masala mix ,then place the caramalized fish and add another spoon of mix on top so that its covered completely.
-Wilt the banana leaf on a stove top so that it is easy to fold and wrap.
-Wrap the leaf /foil completely to cover the fish. and secure with tooth picks.(I cooked two in foil and two halves in foil)
-Pre heat oven to 350 degrees and place it in a baking tray ,bake for 20 minutes.
OR  If using the stove method,Use a pan and place the foil / leaf wrap in it and cover with a lid .Keep on medium  flame for 5-7  minutes each side.(I used the baking method)
-You can find the leaves get browned and shrink  so I have not displayed it here,rather used a fresh leaf to place the baked fish.
-Serve hot with lemon wedges and sliced onion.

Also sending this to THE KERALA KITCHEN hosted by Divya of easy cooking this month



Also sending this to SUNDAY SPECIAL  weekly event hosted by Roshan's cucina

Prawns Manchurian -Indo Chinese Cuisine

The word 'Manchurian' itself waters many of our mouths,whether its the gobi manchurian, chicken manchurian or any other variety form.Iam also a big fan of manchurian and same with my family.Kids eat slightly more that day :-)
Very familiar Indo-Chinese appetizer and an important dish in any party.But friends,yesterday I didnot have chicken or cauliflower at home and I badly wished to try it out.The prawns were ready at hand and so innovated with this recipe.I used the prawns with tail on.So,here comes the prawns manchurian.This also tastes equally good and yummy !!

Ingredients
to marinate
 prawns -1.2lb (I used deveined,tail on prawns)
wheat flour -4tsp
pepper powder -1 tsp

corn flour -2tsp

chilly powder -1/2 tsp

pepper powder 1/2tsp

lime juice 1tsp

salt

For gravy
capsicum - 1 cube sized
onion -1 cube sized
tomato ketchup -4 tsp
soy sauce - 2 tsp
chilly powder -2 tsp
ginger garlic paste -2tsp
corn flour 2tsp
salt
oil  5 tsp

Method

• Marinate the prawns with the mix and keep it in for 4 hours.
• Heat oil in a skillet and shallow fry the prawns on medium heat,till light brown .Place it on paper towel.
• Saute the ginger garlic paste till the raw smell vanishes,Add the chopped capsicum,onion and saute till transparent.
• Saute for a minute and add all the sauces.
• Mix the fried prawn pieces to it.
• Mix the corn flour in 2tsp of water and add to the mix.
• The gravy thickens,adjust salt and serve.

Servings  3 adults

TIPS
-I prefer shallow frying,you can use the deep fry method if the quantity is more.





Sending this toUmm Mymoonah hosting  ANY ONE CAN COOK :series 34

Paneer - Green onion Stir fry / Thoran

Paneer / Cottage Cheese is a richly packed source of protein and a diary product preferred by both vegetarians and non vegetarians.Mostly a very good body building food for the growing age groups as well.There are tons of recipes using paneer in the Indian cuisine and a very delicious ingredient too.This is a very quick and simple recipe similar to the egg burji and the tastes are also similar.

Another intelligent way of moms to sneak the cottage cheese in the packed lunch boxes for kids :-) My kids donot like it in the cube sized form,but this was a trial n error recipe and they loved it. I like green onion cut in any form and also added the green onions to it .You can replace it with any veggies or make it simple with paneer alone.



Ingredients

paneer / cottage cheese - 200gm

green onion 1 bunch

onion 1 small chopped

ginger 1'' shredded

garlic 3 pods thin cut
coconut grated 1/3 cup (optional)

pepper powder 1 tsp

turmeric powder 1/3tsp

salt to taste

oil 3 tsp

mustard 1 tsp

curry leaves



Method

• Shred the paneer in a blender without adding water and keep aside.
• Heat oil in a non stick pan ,add oil. Splutter mustard seeds followed by curryleaves.
• Saute chopped onion and then add ginger ,garlic pieces.
• Add the spices except salt,and  shredded paneer to it.
• Cover cooked for 5 minutes on low flame.Add in the grated coconut at this point.
• Stir it in between to prevent sticking to the bottom of pan.
• When its 3/4th cooked,add  the chopped green onions.
• Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Add salt at this point and dry it up.
• Serve hot with chapatis or plain rice.

Servings 3 adults



Sending this to The kerala Kitchen hosted by Divya of Easy cooking this month


Also,sending this to Any One can cook Hosted by Umm Mymoonah