Kitchen-Kollections

Celery is actually a salad dish..can be eaten raw with hummus or just boil it and make a soup out of it…I never ever thought there would be a curry out of CELERY!!!
Kudos to crazy curry

I had bought two bunches of celery..and i generally make delicious creamy soups out of it. This time I thought of making curry with the help of Crazy curry. I modified the recipe a bit..because I misread some of the instructions given….I cooked instead of roasting it…so i will try roasting the veggies..

here is the simple recipe

Ingredients
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
1 tomato chopped
1 cup chopped onion
2 green chillies
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup beaten curd
2 tsp tamarind juice
1/2 tsp crushed jaggery
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
a pinch of turmeric
Salt to taste

For tempering
1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds

Method 

• Take a deep pan and add 1 tbs of vegetable oil and fry red chillies, onions, green chillies, tomatoes and coconut. Fry for 5 minutes and take it off the stove. Cool it and grind it into a paste
• Now take another pan, add oil and add all the tempering ingredients – urad dal, chana dal, jeera, mustard seeds. Add chopped celery,turmeric and salt. Fry for 2 minutes and then add 3 tbs of water. Mix it well and cover it with a lid so that it cooks properly. This would take about 10-15 minutes. You dont want half cooked celery right!!! Cooked celery smells AMAZING!!!
• Add the paste into the cooked celery and mix it well. Add red chilli powder and again cook for 5 more minutes so that celery becomes juicy!!
• Add tamarind juice and let it cook for 2 more minutes. Take it off the stove and add the curd. The reason why I added curd was because the whole curry was really spicy. So if want spicy then dont add curd. But it reallllly tastes awesome with curd. Garnish it with chopped coriandar.

Serve hot with either rice or chapatis!!! It can be eaten with pita bread or dinner rolls tooo!

I was tried this upma from a magazine almost 7 yrs back..till then i knew only rava upma. This upma is really tasty. There is quite number of versions for this upma..some dont add tadka or popu at all but i do because I love the spicy nature of red chilli.I generally add lot of veggies sometimes i even add sprouts…after you make the upma….just add littlelemon juice!! It really enhances the flavour!!!!! This is quite common recipe but many might not know about this so here is the recipe in a jiffy.

Ingredients

1 cup poha
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 chopped green chillies
1 cup frozen veggies – beans, carrots, corn
1 cup moong sprouts(optional)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 tsp lemon juice
A pinch of turmeric
1/4th spoon of red chilli poder
Salt to taste

For tadka

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
1/4 tsp jeera
1/4 tsp Gram dal
1/4 tsp urad dal
2 red chillies
10 curry leaves
Oil – 1 tsp

Method

• First of all, sprinkle some water on poha and keep it aside.Take a pan and add oil. Add the tadka ingredients and fry till they turn light brown. Add onions, green chillies and curry leaves and cook.
• Add the chopped veggies and sprouts. Add salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Cook tilll all veggies are done. Add the poha and mix it well. Cook for 2 more minutes then switch off. While serving, add a little lemon juice and mix it. It tastes YUMMY!!

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand!!

Munch! Crunch!  Cookies or biscuits are incredibly satisfying treats. Those little little baked goods that make our tummies warm and leave of dusting of sugar on our lips. One can eat a cookie dipped in warm milk or eat just like that! There are sooo many varieties of cookies or biscuits that one can make!! There are salt biscuits, pepper biscuits, fennel biscuits  and the list goes on! So here I am hosting my first ever event – Cookies and Biscuits fest. I invite you all to join me in the world of Cookies and Biscuits.

Cookies are generally made with flour, sugar and butter but cookies are made with other ingredients also like oats or wheat.

Here are the guidelines for your participation -

1.      Prepare your choice of cookies or biscuits..in any shape of your choice..you can top it off with choclate or nuts. Eggs are allowed too. Specify the ingredient with which the cookie or biscuits are made.  If you would like to share information about the method, I would gladly include the article in the roundup.

2.      Post the recipe/article in your blog/website between now and december 22′08. Provide a link back to this announcement.

3.      Send a mail with KK – Cookies/Biscuits fest in the subject line to kitchen.kollections@gmail.com with the following details:

• your name
• your blog name or website name
• Name of the entry
• URL of your post
• A photo that is 800 pixels wide or 800 pixels long (not both)

4.      If you don’t have a blog but would like to participate, send an email with your name, recipe and a photo.

5.      Older posts are accepted if they are re-posted with a link to this announcement.

6.      Feel free to use the logo in your post.

I have been planning this event since a long time. Holidays are just around the corner and this is the best time to indulge in sweet treats! So go ahead and make a cookie! Here is the recipe for the black and tan pinwheels.

Courtsey : my favourite magazine

I feel that any baking process is lengthy and one has to be careful with the proportions…but in the end its all worth it!!

Ingredients

2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup finely chopped peanuts

Method

•  In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, butter and peanut butter at high speed, scraping down the bowl, until fluffy, about 5 minutes.
• Beat the egg and yolk. Mix in the milk and the flour mixture at low speed. Turn out onto a work surface and divide the dough in half.
• Knead the cocoa into one of the halves; cut in half and shap into two 3 inch squares. Cut the remaining piece of dough in half and shape in two 3 inch squares.
• Scatter 1/4 cup peanuts onto a 15 inch sheet of parchment paper. Place of piece of chocolate dough on top and roll out to a 5-by 11 inch rectangle, straigtening the sides with a bench scraper or just by your palm.Roll out a piece of plain dough to a 4 by 11 inch rectangle on another sheet of parchment paper.
• Invert the plain dough onto the chcoclate dough; peel off the parchment. Grasp the bottom piece of parchment from the long side and roll up the two pieces of dought together into a cylinder. Wrap tightly in the partchement paper, transfer to a cookie sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and peanuts.
• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line 2 large cookies sheets with the parchment paper. Unwrap the dough trim the ends and slice into 1/3 inch thick rounds. Transfer to the cookie sheets and bake. switching halfway through until golden, 15-18 minutes.

Snow is here finally….its really chilly out here in michigan. Snow fell quite early this year…generally snow comes in by nov end..i guess this year snow will be more worse than the previous yr..hmm..anyhow..i am tired of drinking coffee and tea..its never enough for me!! usually i drink only tea but yesterday..for the first time..i made coffee with instant coffee powder..it came out well..but somehow my head was spinning…I made rice flakes kheer today….i make poha upma usually..or chidwa..but for the first time..made kheer..its quite simple to make..here is the recipe…try it out!! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup rice flakes (poha)
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
10 raisins
10-12 strands of saffron
5 pistachios crushed coarsely
1/2 tsp. cardamom powder

Method

• Wash the rice flakes with water andDrain the water.
• Bring to boil the milk and add rice flakes.
• Cook till the kheer is semi-solid (or preferred consistency is reached).
• Add sugar and stir till sugar dissolves and add nuts. Serve hot.