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All posts for the month June, 2013

Seared Kingfish with Aubergine Salad

Posted by veeenajan on June 27, 2013
Posted in: Bachelors Recipes, salad, seafood, starter. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Ingredients

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Kingfish fillet -250 gms

Eggplant(aubergine)-1

Tomato-1(chopped finely )

Cucumber-1(chopped)

Big onion-1/2

Olive Oil-

Salt & Pepper -to taste

Lemon juice-

Balsamic vinegar -1tsp

Lettuce –

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Method 

Wash and cut fish into thick 2 inch pieces ..

Cut eggplant into same size and keep in the salt water …

Drain well and marinate the fish and eggplant  pieces with salt,pepper and lemon and keep aside for 15 minutes ..

Careful while adding salt into the eggplant coz we already  added salt in the water

Heat very less amount of olive oil and shallow fry the fish pieces in medium flame (5 minutes in each side )

Then shallow fry the egg plant also (3 minutes in each side ,u can vary the time according to the egg plant u r using )

Then marinate little bit salt in the onion slices and just saute for 2 minutes (till translucent )

Then in a bowl add all the ingredients one by one that is finely chopped tomato,cucumber ,salt,pepper powder,onion,fish,eggplant ,olive oil(1/4tsp) and balsamic vinegar ..

Mix well ..(if u want u can very less amount of lemon juice also )

Check the taste ..

Then for plating, place  this salad into a lettuce leaf and keep two lemon wedges in the sides ..

So the healthy and yummy fish-eggplant salad is ready to serve ..

Hope u all will like this salad..

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Kingfish-Aubergine Salad

Love 

🙂

Veena

Mango Halwa

Posted by veeenajan on June 24, 2013
Posted in: dessert, Kids Special, Mother`s Special. Tagged: , , , , . 5 Comments

Ingredients

Mango Halwa

Mango Halwa

Mango-5

Sugar-2cup

Cornflour-3/4cup

Water-3/4 cup

Salt-one pinch

Cardamom Powder-1/2tsp

Roasted cahsew nuts-10

Roasted Badam-10

Ghee-2tsbp

DSC_0018

Method 

Wash and peel mango.. Cut into cubes and blend well by adding 1 cup of water ..I used alphonso mango

From 5 mangoes u will get approximately 3 cup of mango pulp ..

Heat ghee in a heavy deep bottomed non stick vessel..

Then pour this mango puree into that and stir well  for 5 minutes ..

Then add sugar and salt ..Stir well..

In a bowl mix cornflour with water

To this mango puree add cornflour mix little by little and stir continuously (pour the corn mix with left hand and stir well with right hand 😉 )

Otherwise lumps will form quickly ..So very careful while adding this ..

Then the process starts 🙂

Mango Halwa

Mango Halwa

Stir well continuously until all the puree thickens and at this point all the mango mix will began to come from the sides of the vessel  ..

After 30 minutes add cardamom powder ,chopped cashew and  chopped badam.. Mix well ..

Stir for another 15 minutes

By this time quantity will be reduced ..

It will take almost 45 minutes …

Grease a pan with ghee and transfer this halwa and level it with a spoon or banana leaf ..

Let it rest for 1 or 2 hours undisturbed ..

Then cut into cubes and serve ..

So easy and tasty mango halwa is ready 🙂

Mango Halwa

Mango Halwa

Recipe Courtesy :Vahrevah.com

Love

🙂

Veena

Healthy Pumpkin -Carrot Soup

Posted by veeenajan on June 24, 2013
Posted in: Bachelors Recipes, Kids Special, Mother`s Special, Soup, starter, vegetable dishes. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

Ingredients

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Pumpkin -2 cup

Vegetable Stock Cube-1 small

Carrot-2

Onion-1

Garlic-2

Salt and Pepper -to taste

Oregano-2 pinch

Sugar- one pinch

Olive Oil-1 tbsp

Butter -1 tsp (opt)

Water-2 cup

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Method

Heat 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and 1/2 tsp  butter in a nonstick kadai ..

Add sliced onion and garlic and saute until raw smell goes ..

Transfer to a plate

And then add remaining oil and butter and saute pumpkin and carrot for 5 minutes in medium flame ..

Then transfer to a cooker along with hot water ,onion-garlic mix and vegetable stock cube..

Cook well (2 whistle )

When cools down blend well ..

Transfer this to the kadai and boil for 2 minutes ..Add oregano ,sugar,salt and pepper to  taste ..

U can increase or decrease the amount of water ..

Hope u will like this healthy Soup .. Try and tell me ur opinion

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Pumpkin Carrot Soup

Love

🙂

Veena

Chicken Chukka

Posted by veeenajan on June 23, 2013
Posted in: Bachelors Recipes, chicken, kerala ruchi, Mother`s Special, Non Vegetarian Dishes, Taste of Kerala. Tagged: , , , , , , . 6 Comments

Ingredients

Chicken Chukka

Chicken Chukka

Chicken -1 kg

Tomato-5 (medium)

Onion-4

Onion-2 for frying

Small onion-250gms

Green chilli-4

Kashmiri chilli powder-11/2tsp

Red chilli powder-1/2tsp

Coriander powder -1tbsp

Garam masala-1/2tsp

Crushed Pepper-1tbsp

Salt-to taste

Ginger-garlic paste -2tbsp

Curry leaves-3 strings

Oil -2tbsp

Oil -for frying

Chicken Chukka

Chicken Chukka

Method

Cut chicken in to medium pieces ..Wash thoroughly and keep aside

Heat oil in a kadai and fry onion slices till it become light golden colour ..

Remove from the oil and transfer to a kitchen tissue

Then heat 2 tbsp of oil (if u want u can use the same oil  in we fried onion)

To this add ginger -garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes in low flame ..

Then add onion slices (4) and small onion (cut each into 2 ),green chilli slits and curry leaves (2 strings) along with salt ..

Saute till the onion become light brown shade ..

To this add all the powders and saut until the raw smell goes ..

At this stage add tomato slices and mix well ..

Close the pan and cook well in low flame (stir occasionally )

When it cooked well open the lid and add 1/4 cup of water and cook until u see oil coming out from it ..

At this point add chicken along with half portion of fried onion and half of crushed pepper ..

Mix well  ,close the kadai and cook in medium flame ..

Occasionally open the kdai and stir well ..

Cook until the chicken is done well ..

Check the salt ,add if needed .. Finally add remaining crushed pepper(check the spice level b4 adding )  and fried onion  ..Mix well

Then roast the chicken in low flame until all the masala is well coated in the chicken ..If u want u can roast more ..

So the yummy d easy chicken chukka is ready to serve …

Chicken Chukka

Chicken Chukka

Love 

🙂

Veena

Gajar Halwa/Carrot Halwa

Posted by veeenajan on June 23, 2013
Posted in: dessert, Kids Special, Mother`s Special. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Ingredients

Easy Carrot Halwa

Easy Carrot Halwa

Grated Carrot-2 1/2 cup

Full fat milk-3 1/2 cup

Sugar-1 cup or according to ur taste

Cardamom Powder-1/4tsp

Ghee-11/2tbsp

Salt- one pinch

Cashew nuts-10(opt)

Raisins-10(opt)

Easy Carrot Halwa

Easy Carrot Halwa

Method

Roast cashew nuts and raisins separately in ghee and keep aside .

Heat ghee in a heavy bottomed non stick pan.

Add grated carrot and saute  for 10 minutes in low flame .

Then add sugar and salt ,saute for 2 minute

Finally add milk and bring to boil ..

Transfer this to a cooker and cook in low flame(2 whistle )

After 10 minutes open the cooker and transfer this cooked carrot mix to the pan along with cardamom powder ,roasted cashew nuts and raisins ..

Stir this mix until all the milk evaporates ..

At this point halwa become soft and moist… U can see ghee oozing out from the halwa ..

I added only very small quantity of ghee ,if u want u can increase ..

Same thing with sugar .. U can increase or decrease according to ur personal taste.

So the healthy version of carrot halwa is ready to serve ..

U can serve hot or chilled ..

Best combination with ice-cream

Hope u all will try this yummy halwa and leave ur comments 🙂

Easy Carrot Halwa

Easy Carrot Halwa

Love

🙂

Veena

Easy Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Posted by veeenajan on June 10, 2013
Posted in: Bachelors Recipes, Kids Special, Mother`s Special, Soup, starter. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Ingredients

Broccoli-1/2 of small head

Button mushroom-15 (medium)

Potato-1 small

Garlic-3

Big onion-1/4 of one

Vegetable cube-1/2 of 1 cube (here i used magi veg cube)

Water-3cup

Salt &pepper -to taste

Olive oil – 2 tsp

Butter-1tsp

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Method 

In a cooker add potato slices and mushroom slices  along with 2 cup of water and vegetable cube.

After 1 whistle remove from the flame and keep aside ..

Heat olive oil and butter  in large pan, sauté onions, once translucent add garlic, stir for a minute, add broccoli till tender

Now add this mix to a blender along with cooked mushroom-potato mix and make a fine paste..

Then pour this paste to the pan again and add  boiled water if needed..

Boil for 2 minutes .Season with salt and pepper …  U can adjust the consistency of  soup .. (Some like thick soup and others like thin .

If u want u can add 1 tbsp of fresh cream (for kids only 😉

So hope u will like this easy and delicious healthy broccoli-mushrrom soup ..

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Broccoli-Mushroom Soup

Love

🙂

Veena

Muesli In Orange Juice -A Healthy Breakfast

Posted by veeenajan on June 6, 2013
Posted in: Bachelors Recipes, Breakfast, Kids Special, Mother`s Special. Tagged: , , . 1 Comment

If u want to make ur own muesli try this

Muesli

Ingredients

Wholegrain Rolled Oats- 200gms

Wholegrain Wheat-100gms

Mixed Dry fruits-150gms(raisins,dates,prunes etc.)

Mixed roasted nuts -100gms like cashew  nuts ,walnuts ,pista ,almond  etc  (of ur choice   (chop roughly)

To serve for one

Apple-1/2

Orange Juice -of 2

Water-1/4tsp

Sugar or honey -to taste

Plain Yogurt -(opt)

Muesli In Orange Juice

Method

In an airtight container  add oats along with dry fruits (chop if necessary ) and nuts and mix well .Close and keep it in a dark place ..So our muesli is ready .. Now we will how to soak in the juice ..

Now put about  3 tbsp of this mix into a bowl ..To this add enough orange juice ,water and sugar and mix well ..

Tightly close this bowl and keep in the fridge overnight..

In the morning take the bowl and check the mix .. If the mix is too dry u can add more juice or water to get the right consistency .And add grated apple and fruits of ur choice ..If u want u can  add yogurt too .. Check the taste and if u want u can sprinkle little more honey or sugar ..

So enjoy the healthy Muesli in orange juice  ..This is especially for those who fed up of eating oats with milk 😉 Hope u all will like this .. Expecting ur feedback ..

Note :

If u want u can buy muesli from the store and do the rest of the step as i described above .. I think Bachelors  will love this way 😉

Recipe Courtesy :Channel4.com

Muesli

Muesli

Love

😉

Veena

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Posted by veeenajan on June 3, 2013
Posted in: Mother`s Special, salad, starter, vegetable dishes. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

Ingredients

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Ripe Avocado-1

Tomato-2

Big onion -1/2 of 1

Coriander Leaves-2tbsp

Lemon juice-of 1

Salt-

Sugar- one pinch

Extra virgin Olive Oil-1tsp

Pepper-pinch (opt)

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Method

Peel your avocado and cut into desired shape ..U can cut either into cubes or slices ..

Here i cut into small cubes ..

Also cut tomatoes in to small cubes ..

Finely chop onion ..and coriander leaves

In a bowl squeeze lemon juice  then add salt ,sugar ,coriander leaves, olive oil and pepper .

Mix well .. Check the taste .. If anything lacking add and balance the taste ..

Now add cut avocado,tomato and onion and toss well ..

Serve immediately ..So simple but yummy Avocado-Tomato Salad is ready …

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Avocado-Tomato Salad

Love

🙂

Veena

Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Salad

Posted by veeenajan on June 2, 2013
Posted in: Mother`s Special. Leave a comment

Ingredients

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Cabbage-1/4cup (long strips)

Cucumber-1

Carrot-1/2

Mushroom-2 (opt)

Lettuce-

Apple-1/4

Orange-1

Pomegranate -handful

Capsicum -Green , Red d Yellow (1/4 part of each )

Coriander Leaves-few

Salt-to taste

Balsamic Vinegar -1tsp (opt) or

Lemon Juice  –

Pinch of sugar

Oregano –

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Method

Cut all vegetables in long strips ..

Cut orange and apple into small cubes ..

Take pomegranate seeds..

Mix everything together with coriander leaves ..

U can season with ur own choice ..

Sometimes i use to add balsamic vinegar ,sugar,oregano  and pepper powder combination  or

u can take 1/4 cup of orange juice and add pepper powder ,oregano ,sugar and salt to it ..

Sprinkle the seasoning and mix well ..Serve immediately .. So the healthy and yummy fresh fruit and vegetable salad is ready 🙂

Note : Cut all the vegetables in the time of serving ..Otherwise it will loose its freshness and many of them will loose colour ..

If u  have sprouts u can add that too ..That all depends up on each persons taste ..

So enjoy  🙂

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Fresh Fruits & Vegetable Salad

Love

🙂

Veena

Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

Posted by veeenajan on June 1, 2013
Posted in: Baking, dessert, Kids Special, Mother`s Special, tea time snacks. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

For the cake

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

Unsalted butter-113gms(room temperature)

Sugar-160gm

Egg-3 large (room temperature)

All purpose flour-195gms

Vanilla Essence -1tsp

Baking Powder-11/2 tsp

Milk-60ml (room temperature)

Salt-1/4tsp

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

For the buttercream frosting

Butter-113gms(room temperature)

Icing sugar-230gms(sieve well )

Vanilla essence-1tsp

Food colour-one drop(opt,here i didn’t use)

Milk-1tbsp(room temperature)

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

Method

Cupcakes

Preheat oven at 180 degree and line 12  muffin cups with paper liners.

Mix all purpose flour ,salt and baking powder and sieve 2-3 times and keep aside..

In a bowl break three eggs and keep aside..

In a deep bottomed wide bowl ,add butter  and using a electric mixer or hand mixer beat well ..

Then to this add sugar in 3-4 addition

Beat well until light and fluffy ..(In the original recipe ,she used granulated white sugar ,as I don’t have electric mixer ,so I used powdered sugar. It didn’t effect the taste and texture 😉 )

It will take around 5 minutes

Then to this add eggs ,one at a time, beating  well after each addition ..

Now add vanilla essence and beat well ..

Now alternately add flour  and milk  in 4 portion and mix ..

Fold this mix with a whisk or using ur hand .. I personally prefer to use hand so that we can feel the texture .. 🙂

Dont over mix it ,otherwise ur cake will get hard ..

Scrap down the side of the bowl as needed..

Evenly fill the muffin cups (3/4th of the cup) and bake them in a preheated oven at 180 degree for 17 minute or  just until set and a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.

(Always check a few minutes before the stated baking time. Do not over bake or the cupcakes will be dry.)

Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

Once the cakes are cool we can start making frosting ..

Vanilla Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

Buttercream frosting

In an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter until smooth and well blended. 

Add the vanilla extract.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the sugar.

Scrap down the sides of the bowl.

Add the milk and beat on high speed until frosting is light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Add a little more milk or sugar, if needed
Then if u want u can add colour ..Mix well..

If you want to pipe the frosting you can use a star decorating tip.This will give a nice swirls over the cupcakes..

Don’t touch the cupcakes for minimum 1 hour or u can refrigerate them ..So enjoy the yummy vanilla cupcakes 🙂

Recipe Courtesy :Joy of baking 

Vanilla Cupcakes

Love

🙂

Veena