Solkadhi

A nice recipe which can be served as a soup or as accompaniment with white rice. I like this as it has a very nice colour... and flavour too.. So one more for SWC Maharashtra...

Ingredients
250gms coconut milk
10-12 Amsul
1tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp green paste
Coriander for garnish (optional)
Salt if required




Mehtod
1. Soak Amsul in water for 2-3 hours. Remove the pulp from it.
2. In a blender add coconut milk, pulp of amsul, ginger-garlic-green chilli paste and salt if required.
3. Blend this all together nicely. Garnish with coriander and serve cold with white rice. Or have it just like a soup.

Note: Before adding salt check the taste of the Kadhi. Amsul has lot of salt hence there might not be any neccesity to add extra salt.
For coconut milk grate fresh coconut. Blend it with water, strain and use the extracted milk. Ready made coconut milk works much better...

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Rajasthani Panchamel Dal, Matar ka Shorba & Chawal Ka Parantha

Rajasthani Panchamel Dal

Ingredients
1/4 cup Split gram (chana dal)
1/4 cup whole green gram (moong dal)
1/4 cup Splic black gram, skinless (Urad dal)
1/4 cup piegeon peas (toor dal)
1/4 cup red lentils (masoor dal)
salt as per taste
1" piece of ginger
2 dried red chillies
1 tsp coriander powder
2 green chillies
2 tbsp coriander leaves
1tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 medium size tomatoes
3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 cloves
a pinch asafoetida
1/2 tsp garam masala.

Method
1. Soak the pulses for at least two hours. Then boil them in salted water with turmeric powder till done. Wash green chillies, coriander leaves and peel ginger.
2. Make a paste of ginger and green chilli. Chop the coriander leaves. Wash and chop tomatoes.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, cloves and dried red chillies. When cumin starts to change colour, add ginger-green chilli paste and saute for sometime.
4. Add cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Add the tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Add cooked lentils and water if required.
5. Cook for ten minutes, stirring well. Add garam masala powder and serve hot.



Matar Ka Shorba

Ingredients

500gms Green peas
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
2" piece of ginger
8-10 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
3 tbsp ghee or oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
salt as per taste
1/4 cup cream

Method
1. Peel abd boil the green peas. Blend in a blender to make a fine puree.
2. Peel and finely chop onion. Peel ginger and garlic and grind with green chillies to make a paste.
3. Heat ghee or oil in a pan; add cumin seeds and bayleaves, stir-fry for half a minute. Add chopped onion and saute till onion turns light pink. Add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste. Saute for a while.
4. Add green peas puree, cook for five minutes, stirring continuously. Add three cups of water and bring to a boil.
5. Season with salt and stir. Remove bay leaves and discard. Reduce heat and cook further for five minutes. This soup has a thick consistency, however you may make it of the consistency of your liking, by varying the quantity of water used.
6. Stir in fresh cream and serve hot, garnished with a swirl of cream.

Chawal Ka Parantha Ingredients
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1tsp salt
1/4 cup yogurt
2 tbsp ghee
1 medium sized onion
1cup steamed rice
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 green chillies
oil to cook parantha

Method
1. Seive whole wheat flour along with salt. Make a soft dough with yogurt, two tbsp ghee and half cup water. Cover with a moist clean cloth and set aside for half and hour.
2. Knead again and divide into four equal parts. Make balls and press between palms of your hand to make pedhas.
3. Peel and chop onion finely. Wash and chop green chillies.



4. Mix cooked rice with red chilli powder, cumin powder, chopped green chillies, chopped onions and salt.








5. Roll our each pedha into 3" diametre disc.
6. Stuff rice mixture in the flattened pedha and shape into a pedha again.











7. Roll into a 7" diametre disc using a rolling pin.
8. Heat tawa. Place the parantha over it. Turn over once and spread some oil around it. Turn over and again spread little more oil on the other side. Cook till both sides are well cokked.







9. Serve hot with fresh yogurt and pickle of your choice.






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Rice Aubergine Casserole and Lebanese Cold Cucumber Soup

A great weekend this time... It was a very very nice meet of the food bloggers on Saturday... Did not get time at all the update about it since then.. But my dear friend Priyanka was so fast and enthu. She has already updated with the meets agenda. I personally met a few them first time. Really had a very good chat and tips from all. The surprises were great. I too got a surprise ingredient from Nupur and will try very soon. A big thanks to Lakshmi for arranging this event. Waiting to meet all again.

A wonderful Saturday night special...

Rice Aubergine Casserole
A Complete Continental meal by itself.
Serves 4
Ingredients

1 Cup rice
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black cumin (shah jeera)
1 large round brinjal or aubergine (bharte waala baingan) cut into 1" pieces
1 large capsicum -cut into 1/2" pieces
oil for frying

Red sauce
2tbsp oil
1 1/2 onions chopped
4 large tomatoes pureed
1 tsp oregano
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp sugar

Cheese Sauce
1tsbp butter
1tbsp plain flour (maida)
2 cups milk
2 cubes cheese-grated
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Method
1. Srpinkle 3/4 tsp salt on the brinjal pieces. Mix and keep aside for 1/2 hour to sweat. Pat dry the aubergine pieces on a paper napkin or kitchen towel. heat oil and deep fry till golden brown. keep aside.
2. To boil rice, boil 5-6 cups of water with salt, bay leaves and shah jeera. Wash and add rice. Cook till tender. Strain excess water. Run a fork through the hot rice to separate the rice grains. keep aside.
3. To prepare the red sauce, heat oil. Add chopped onion. Ciik till it turns light brown. Add the pureed tomatoes. Add sugar, salt, pepper, red chilli powder and oregano. Cook for about 5 minutes till slightly thick. Remove from heat.
4. For the cheese sauce, heat butter in a clean pan. Add maida and stir on low heat for a minute. Add milk and stir continuously till it comes to a boil. Cook for about 2 minutes till it coats the spoon well. Remove from heat. Add cheese, salt & pepper. The sauce should be thin.
5. To assemble, spread half the cooked rice in a oven proof dish. Spread half the aubergines, and the chopped capsicums. Sprinkle with half the red sauce and then the white sauce.
6. Again spread the remaining rice, followed by aubergines then red sauce and then white sauce and lastly the capsicums. Cover with aluminium foil and bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes at 200degree C. Uncoveer the casserole and bake further for 5 minutes. Serve hot.


Lebanese Cold Cucumber Soup


Serves 3-4 Ingredients

2 small cucumbers grated (1 cup)
1 1/2 cups thick fresh curd
1 cup full cream milk
2-3 tbsp raisins (kishmish)
2-3 tbsp walnuts chopped
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
a tray of ice cubes
2-3 tbsp mint leaves finely chopped to garnish

Method
1. Soak the raisins in water for 5-10 minutes
2. Peel and grate the cucumbers (check that they should not be bitter)
3. Place the curd in a large bowl and blend well with an electric beater or a whisk till smooth. add 1 cup milk and blen well again.
4. Add walnuts, cucumber, salt and pepper.
5. Drain raisins from water and add to the curd mixture. Add ice cubes and chill covered for 2-3 hours. The ice cubes melt and thin down the soup. Serve in bowls garnished with mint.






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