Saturday, March 31, 2012

DayPlanner-31stMarch2012-Oats Spinach Buttermilk


DayPlanner-31stMarch2012-Oats Spinach  Buttermilk:

Well this is the last day of financial year and people who work in banks are very busy including my hubby and my co-brother.

My SIL had sent dosa batter so the breakfast was a very quick for me today, just to make tasty chutney. Hmmm, when you don't have any pressure this is what happens, never in my hand salt would be more it will be always less but today in chutney I had put more salt I realized only when my hubby told while having dosas.

Once he finished his breakfast and went to office. My struggle to book tickets for my in-laws and my sons started. I checked in IRCTC but tickets were in waiting list till 12th April. After so many ways to convince my MIL, she told book only for your FIL. So, FIL will start his journey from Vizag to Bangalore tomorrow at 2:30pm in Volvo Multi-Axle 2+2 Bus and will reach Bangalore on 2nd April at 8am as he takes care of real-estate business he has a sitting on Monday/tuesday. I wish him all the best because he has struggled for 2 years to close this deal. Definitely he is very patient man. 

By the time I completed it was 11:45AM due to slow speed connection of tata photon and irctc. Hmmm, once I completed I ran to take my bath, did a puja and made dosas for me. I started preparing for my lunch only by 12:30pm. Then I realized the book I got as a gift along with Oats, I found an interesting page - oats spinach buttermilk.

Ingredients:
Oats - 1 cup

Spinach - 10 to 12 leaves


Curds - 1 1/2 cup
Rock salt - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Roasted Jeera (cumin) - 1 1/2 tsp
Cold Water - 1 cup

Green Chillies (turned into red) - 2 (optional)
Basil leaves - for topping - 4 (optional)

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp (optional)
Pepper Powder - 1 tsp (optional)
Vodka - 2 tsp


Method:
Heat water and once it is hot put a cup of oats into it



Mix well and put spinach into this and mix again well


Once cooled blend it to a smooth paste

  

Add roasted jeera (cumin), curds, rock star and cold water  and blend it again for 30 seconds
(This was the recipe from the book, to this I added other stuff)













Add green chillies turned into red to the blender and blend well once again
Remove it in a vessel and add lemon juice, vodka and pepper powder.
Pour it into big glass and add basil and slice of lemon on top just for decoration
If required, chill for 10 minutes but as I catch cold very soon I had it directly.

This was for my lunch.



My Lunch and dinner menu for today is:
Palak sambar, curd rice with pickle




Contributing this post to: 
"I'm the star" at Vegetarian and Me authored by Rasya Srinath.




"Let's Cook: Greens" at Ticking Palates authored by Radhika Subramanian








"Beat the Heat" at My Cook Book authored by Surabhi Nayak.


























"Kitchen Chronicles - Summer Splash" at Spicy Treats authored by Sangeetha. This event series was started by Kalyani










"Summer Spirits" at Tomato Blues authored by Anusha

DayPlanner-28-29-30-Mar12-NormalDays

DayPlanner-28-29-30-Mar12-NormalDays:

28th, 29th and 30th as I had been to office it was a normal food.

28th: I planned to make chappatis and palak paneer. But hubby told let us have chappatis with palya and chutney. So I went his words.

29th: He came home early and brought palak, we had Palak pappu and Rice.

30th: As I went to my SIL house and came I brought ridgegourd pappu made by her and prepared pulachaaru.

As it was year end hubby had a very hectic work schedule and couldn't literally concentrate much on things.

Breakfast on 28th was: Lemon Rice and Curd Rice


Lemon Rice:


As shown in above figure the ingredients are:
Salt - 2 tsp
Cooked rice - 1/2 glass
Roasted Groundnut - few
Cashewnuts - few
Green chillies -4
Curry leaves - few
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Channa Dhal - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - extracted from 1 lemon
Oil - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp

Method:
Heat oil in a kadai once its hot roast cashewnuts and keep it aside
Take it out and in the same oil add mustard seeds once it splutters add urad dhal, channa dhal, groundnuts, curry leaves
Once the dhal becomes red add green chillies and mix well
Add powdered salt and mix well again
Before switching off the stove add 1 tsp of turmeric and mix well
Once this mixture gets cooled add lemon juice and mix well
Spread the rice in a big bowl so that it becomes little cool
Put the above mixture and mix well

Curd Rice:
Salt - 2 tsp
Cooked Rice - 1/2 glass
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Channa Dhal - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Curds - 1 cup (which appears like a bowl)
Green Chillies - 2

Method:
Heat oil in a kadai once its hot add mustard seeds when it splutters add urad dhal, channa dhal, curry leaves, green chillies and saute well
Remove it from the stove on the cooled rice, add salt and curds and mix well

Curd Rice is ready.

Note: I first prepared tadka for curd rice and used the same kadai for lemon rice. So the time to heat the kadai for the second time gets saved.

Oh God, that black colored one in the photo is mustard seeds and cumin seeds which i have kept for both lemon rice and curd rice.

DayPlanner-27thMar2012-Tuesday-Jeera Candies

DayPlanner-27thMar2012-Tuesday-Jeera Candies:

Aditya had completed his exams on Monday and fully prepared to go in flight alone for the first time. This was the first time in my family a child traveling alone. Whole family was afraid but we did not have any other alternative. He was also afraid and said all his friends that he was traveling alone in flight. 

Flight was Jetlite and it had a one hour stop at Chennai. From Bangalore to Chennai it was one hour and from Chennai to Vishakapatnam it was one hour. So total of 3 hours was his travel. 

My mother-in-law who just traveled on 24th informed me that we would not get anything good in the flight. She told there was only sandwich and did not taste well, this is what happens if we don't taste different food. Aditya is also the same he carves for South Indian food and shows his face if anything new has to be tasted. He had dosa with paneer curry in airport as we were running short of time due to traffic jams and the repair of runway from 11th March to 30th April as per the circular put up in airport.

I went and filled up a form (which would be 3 in number) and paid 1000rs to the Archana, air hostess, attender for my son. She was an air hostess in jetlite flight who would make him to sit inside the flight. She collected the forms from me and took Aditya along with his check in baggage into the airport. I stood there waiting for him to sit inside the flight and then tell me "momma i am safe".  But once he went just till check-in I called him and asked is the check in over, he said yes. I asked him to give it to her and told her to buy one ice cream and sandwich for him. She did that and my son finally boarded the flight. I found out this once his mobile was switched off. I was there till 10am to check if he will give a call but no luck.


Coming to one of my favorite recipe, Jeerige (kannada word) Peppermint or Cumin Candies which I started liking from my childhood days. Wondered always how to do this, might be its too difficult. But came across this post, heartburn on Indian food rocks. I had this in a big wishlist of mine. 

Ingredients:
Amchur Powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Powdered Sugar - 8 tbsp
Lemon Juice - extracted from 1 lemon
Salt to taste

Method:
Roast the cumin seeds on a iron pan until it darkens but watch out it should not get burnt
Allow it to cool for sometime
Blend roasted cumin seeds along with amchur, and salt and 6 tbsp of powdered sugar
Mix it well with lemon juice, check the tangy taste it should taste like a candy so adjust with sugar if required
Instead of getting a mass it became slightly fluid, I kept it under the hot sun (as it is summer) after sometime it had become a thick mass
I made the different shapes (you should patience to make the small tiny balls into shape) because this little mixture will yield you nearly 100 candies
Roll it well in remaining powdered sugar
Leave it to dry for half a day and store it in an airtight container




As this was ready before aditya's departure expect for drying under sun Aditya tasted one and shook his head by closing his eyes and told momma, it tastes like peppermint. Thus, a long awaited cumin candy is ready at last.