How To Make Lemon Rice

Simple and flavourful peanut and lemon rice -a South Indian specialty

Rice is the staple diet of South India and there are so many ways of making simple but flavourful rice pilaf .Many South Indian rice preparations are very quick and made by using left over rice.I love rice and often try different recipes to make quick and filling rice preparations.

lemon rice is a very popular south Indian preparation .It is very flavourful and can be made with either left over boiled rice or  fresh boiled rice. Its a dry preparation so a good recipe to use for lunch boxes and as a travel food.It is also offered as prashad in many south Indian temples.
If you have left over rice then it can be made in a jiffy,just a tempering of urad daal, mustard, peanuts and curry leaves are added in boiled rice and then lemon juice is added to give that tangy flavour. Addition of cashew nuts is optional.

This rice is a complete meal in itself so you don't need any accompaniment to serve with it but papad,salad and coconut chutney goes very well with this preparation .

Prep time-10 min
Cooking time-15 min
Difficulty level- easy
Spice level- mild spice
Cuisine- South Indian
Type-main

INGREDIENTS-

• Boiled rice - 2.5 cup
• Pea nuts /moongphali - 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice- 2 tbsp
• Curry leaves -10
• Green chili /hari mirch,chopped - 2 tsp
• Ginger/adrak,chopped -1/2 tsp
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds/rai - 1.5 tsp
• Asafoetida/hing - 1/4 tsp
• White lentil /urad daal - 1 tsp
• Bengal gram /chana dal - 1tbsp
• Whole red chili /sadut laal mirch - 4
• Cashew nuts /kaju - 12
• Turmeric /haldi-1/2 tsp
• Salt/namak- to taste

PROCEDURE-

1. Heat oil in a heavy and broad bottom pan.
2. Add peanuts and stir fry on low flame till golden in colour
3. Drain and keep aside.
4. Now add urad daal,chana daal and when it start's to get some colour add the cashew nuts and stir
5. When cashew start's getting a nice color then add whole red chilies,green chilies ,curry leaves and asafoetida.
6. Add turmeric,fried peanuts,boiled rice and salt and stir to mix well.
7. Switch off the flame and then add lemon juice and mix.
8. Keep it covered for about 10-15 minutes so it absorbs all the flavours and the urad daal and chana daal will also become slightly soft.

Serving suggestions-Serve with salad, papad,coconut chutney or tomato chutney

Check some more rice recipes-

• Puliyodharai
• Minty Tomato rice
• Curd Rice
• Vangi Bhath
• Sichuan kimchi rice
• Mexican chili bean rice

Kolhapuri Misal Pav (Spicy Tomato Stew with Sprouts)

Spicy tomato stew with moth sprouts and topped with Indian croutons

Misal Pav is a very popular street food/breakfast from Maharashtra. Healthy and spicy, there are a few different versions of making this, depending on the region. Misal is a medley of sprouts, a spicy broth and a crispy topping, served with fresh sweet buns (pavs).

I've never had misal pav before but had been wanting to try this from a long time now. A few days back I found this recipe in one of my old dairy, and I tried it immediately. I had no clue its such a wonderful dish, and will surely be making this more often!

This Kolhapuri Misal recipe, as the name suggests, is a popular street food from the city of Kolhapur. It consists of three main parts: 

1. Freshly ground spice mixture.
2. Stir frying the sprout mix (usal)
3. A spicy and tangy tomato broth (kat). 

The three are then topped with Indian fried savory mixes (namkeen/farsan), which is then collectively called as Misal, and served along with fresh sweet buns (pavs).

This recipe may look daunting because of its length, but is actually a very quick and easy to follow recipe. Enjoy my version of hot and spicy Kolhapuri Misal Pav!

Prep time-10 min
Cooking time-20 min
Difficulty level-medium
Spice level-hot
Cuisine-Indian
Type-snack,street food
Serves - 4

Ingredients-For sprouts/usal

• Moth/Matki sprouts - 3 cups
• Refined oil/tel - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds/rai - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds /jeera- 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 8
• Asafoetida /hing- 1/4 tsp
• Chili powder /mirch- 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric/haldi - 1/2 tsp
• Salt/namak - 1 tsp

For the dry spice mix (masala)

• Refined oil/tel-1/2 tsp
• Cloves /laung-6
• Pepper corns/sabut kali mirch- 8
• Cinnamon /daalchini -1/3 inch
• Cumin seeds /jeera -1 tsp
• Coriander seeds /sabut dhaniya -1 tsp
• Sesame seeds /safed til -1/2 tsp
• Fennel seeds /saunf -1/4 tsp

For the broth (rassa/kat)

• Coconut, dessicated and dry roasted - 1.5 tbsp
• Tomatoes, chopped - 2
• Ginger, chopped - 1/2 inch
• Kashmiri Red Chilies, whole -4
• Tamarind /imli  - 1 /2 inch
• Misal Masala-1 tsp*
• Turmeric /haldi -1/3 tsp
• Chili powder /mirch -2 tsp
• Jaggary/gur-1 tsp
• Salt /namk -1 tsp
• Water- 3 cup
• Refined oil-3 tbsp

For garnishing and serving

• Sweet Buns (Pav) -8
• Mixed Namkeen - 4 tbsp
• Fresh Cilantro - 2tbsp
• Lemon wedges - 4
• Sweet Chutney - 4 tbsp (optional)
• Yogurt - 3 tbsp (optional)

PROCEDURE-

1. For the Dry Masala (Can also use readymade masala )
1. Heat a tsp oil in a pan and add all the spices listed under For the dry spice mix (masala). 
2. When the cloves start swelling up, remove the spices and grind to make a fine powder. 
3. Take out in a bowl and keep aside.
2. For the Sprouts/Usal
1. Wash and pressure cook sprouts* with 2 glasses water for 2 whistles or till almost cooked (al dente).
2. Heat 1.5 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and when the seeds start crackling add asafoetida and curry leaves.
3. Now add turmeric and boiled sprouts, then add salt and chili powder, saute for few seconds.
4. Add 1 cup water, cover and cook till water almost dries up.
5. Take out in a bowl and keep aside.
3. For the Broth 
1. Grind tomatoes, kashmiri chilies, tamarind and the roasted dessicated coconut together and make a fine paste.
2. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pan and add the tomato paste and saute till oil separates from the sides.
3. Now add the dry masala, misal masala**, chili powder, turmeric, jaggary, salt and 3 cups of water.
4. Boil the broth for around 3-4 minutes.

How To Serve- 

1. Take a individual serving bowl and then add sprouts, pour the hot broth on top, depending on how spicy do you want your misal to be.

2. Garnish with Namkeen Sev/Farsan and chopped fresh cliantro.

3. Serve with sweet buns/pavs and another small bowl of just kat/broth.

MY TIPS and NOTES--

1-*To make moth sprouts-  
 Wash and soak 1 cup moth beans overnight in 4 cup water. Next day drain the water ,cover   with a muslin cloth and keep covered for 2 days to sprout them.
2-**Misal masala, is easily available in Indian stores and you can substitute it with garam masala.
3-You may substitute moth/matki sprouts with mungo (moong), black gram, dried green peas or with mixed sprouts.
4- You may also add some boiled potato cubes, crispy potato chips, roasted salted peanuts on top of the misal.
5 -If you are short of time then you may use readymade goda masala or Kolhapuri masala instead of freshly roasting and grinding the spice mix.
6 -Add yogurt and sweet chutney if you find the broth a bit too spicy for your taste. 
7-Misal also tastes great with steamed rice .

Eggless Blueberry Muffins

Eggless Blueberry Muffins-Soft and moist eggless muffins

Summers are the best time to get fresh and delicious blueberries. I love their flavour in cakes and muffins so when I find a bag of fresh blueberries in my local store, the first thing that came to my mind was to make muffins. After going through a few different recipes on the net, I made these muffins and  loved the caramelized berries in the soft and moist muffins. You can adjust the quantity of blueberries between 1/2 a cup to 1 cup depending on how much you like them.

I love making muffins and cup cakes and already posted Orange cup cakes and beautiful and delicious Strawberry cup cakes recipes. But these blue berry muffins are now my new favorites.

Prep time - 15 minutes
Baking time - 35 minutes
Difficulty level - Easy
Cuisine - International
Type - Dessert, Breakfast

INGREDIENTS-

• Refined flour / Maida - 1cup +2 tbsp
• Fresh blueberries - 3/4 cup
• Corn flour - 3 tbsp
• Yogurt / Dahi - 1 cup
• Cooking oil - 1/2 cup
• Castor sugar / Pisi hui chini - 3/4 cup
• Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
• Lemon Zest / Kasa hua nimbu ka chilka - 1 tsp
• Baking Powder - 1 tsp
• Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE- 

1. Sieve flour in a big bowl.
2. Wash and wipe the  blueberries and dust(sprinkle) them with 1 tbsp of flour.
3. In a separate bowl add yogurt, castor sugar and mix well.
4. Now add baking soda and baking powder in the yogurt and mix.
5. Let the yogurt mixture rest for 3-4 minutes or till it froth.
6. Now add oil ,vanilla essence and lemon zest in the yogurt mixture and mix gently .
7. Now add the sieved  flour in the yogurt mix .(keep adding 1 tbsp flour at a time and keep mixing)
8. Now add the blue berries in the flour mix and stir gently.
9. Fill the prepared mixture in muffin cups till 3/4 level(don't fill it till the top ,as it need some space to rise while baking) 
10. Bake in a  preheated oven at 170 c for 35 minutes or till a tooth pick inserted come out clean.
11. Let it rest for 5 minutes in the oven.
12. Remove from the muffin cups and serve.

Ghughni / Matar Chaat / Dried Peas Potage

An easy to make and popular spicy snack made of dried peas

Ghughni is a chaat/street food from Eastern India, and is a very popular Bengali snack and is also quite popular in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

During my childhood days street food hawkers carrying hot and spicy ghughni in a big brass pateela were a common sight outside schools, on the road sides, near cinemas halls or just by the roadside.

Ghughni is made with dried yellow peas/dried green peas. Peas are soaked, boiled, tempered , cooked with tomatoes and spices and then garnished with radish, tomatoes and green chilies. A spoonful of hot green chutney and little bit of tamarind chutney is added  to make it more tangy and spicy.

It can be served as a chaat, snack or can be enjoyed with hot kulchas, parathas or pooris. Ghughni is also used as a stuffing for pani puri, instead of the usual boiled potato and chickpeas, in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The consistency of ghughni depends on your personal choice - some prefer it very thick, some make it with a little bit of gravy the way I made it, but it tastes great either way!

Prep time - 15 minutes
Cooking time - 20 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Spice level - medium hot
Cuisine - Indian
Type - Side dish/Chaat
Serve-5

INGREDIENTS-

• Dried Yellow peas /matra - 1 cup
• Tomatoes/tamatar, chopped - 1 (125 gms)
• Boiled potato/aloo -  1(optional)
• Green chilies/ hari mirch, chopped -1 tsp
• Ginger/adrak, grated -1 tsp
• Turmeric powder/haldi  - 3/4 tsp
• Chili powder/lal mirch - 1tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Tamarind pulp/imli  - 4 tsp
• Salt/namak  - to taste
• Black salt /kala namak- 1/4 tsp
• Sugar/chini - 1/2 tsp

Tempering-

• Cooking oil/tel - 2.5 tbsp
• Cumin seeds/jeera -1 tsp
• Bay leaves/tej patta - 2
• Cinnamon/daalchini - 1/3 inch

To Garnish

• Radish/Mooli, grated - 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes/tamatar, chopped - 3/4 cup
• Green chilies/hari mirch, chopped - 2 tsp
• Fresh coriander/dhaniya chopped - 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice/nimbu ras - 2 tsp
• Mint chutney /pudina chutney- 4 tsp
• Tamarind chutney/imli chutney - 3 tsp
• Roasted cumin powder /bhuna jeera- 1tsp
• Chili powder/lal mirch - 1tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Wash the peas and soak them in enough water for 6-8 hours .
2. Then take the soaked peas along with 2 cups of water and pressure cook till they become soft but not mushy (approx for 3-4 whistles,but depends on the quality of peas).
3. Heat oil in a pan and add cubed potatoes and shallow fry till they become crisp and red. Drain and keep aside.
4. In the same pan add cumin seeds, bay leaves and cinnamon.
5. When the cumin turns golden, add the chopped tomatoes, green chilies and ginger.
6. Saute till the tomatoes become soft, then add the chili powder, turmeric, salt and black salt and saute for a minute.
7. Now add the boiled peas along with the water and tamarind pulp (can add some more water if needed).
8. Cover and simmer for 5-6 minutes till done.
9. Now add the garam masala and mix well .

How to serve-

1. Take around 3/4 to 1 cup of ghughni in a serving bowl.
2. Add some green chutney and tamarind chutney and mix.
3. Add boiled and fried potatoes (I have not added them).
4. Now garnish with chopped tomatoes, green chilies, radish and fresh coriander.
5. Sprinkle lemon juice, roasted cumin powder, black salt and chili powder. 
6. Serve immediately.

Quick version-

1. Boil soaked peas with salt and turmeric till done. Let it cool down a bit.
2. Take the boiled peas in a bowl and add all the garnishing ingredients(listed in to garnish) and serve.

Vegetable Daliya Khichdi

Healthy lentil,vegetable and broken wheat porridge

To make healthy and filling breakfast daily is really a task, though their are many easy recipes like bread toast, Bread poha , Grilled potato sandwich and many other easy and quick recipes The very popular Maharastrian dish-Aloo poha is also a very easy recipe to make and is my personal favorite . But if we want to make something healthy and filling then we have to do little extra effort. The new era's health food -Oats ,broken wheat, bulgur are quite filling and healthy and we can make a variety of dishes with these ingredients.

Daliya /broken wheat is made with unrefined wheat so its full of fiber ,vitamins, Iron, phosphorous and minerals.In past few years oats have became very popular world wide and now in India it also become a favorite and popular breakfast but they are quite expensive and not very easily accessible in small towns and centers.

Broken wheat/daliya is equally healthy and nutritious like oats though not as quick to make as oats.You can make many sweet and savoury dishes with daliya,sweet milk porridge - Daliya ki kheer, or can make- Daliya and vegetable upma which take few minutes to make.

Today I am sharing a delicious, healthy and filling vegetable, daal and daliya ki khichdi which can be served for breakfast, main meal and can also be given to small kids and patients as it is not only very healthy but also very easy to digest.You dont need any accompaniment to serve with this, its a complete one pot meal but if you want to make it more interesting then curd,papad and salad are preferred to serve along with this vegetable daliya khichdi

Prep time- 10 min
Cooking time - 15 min
Difficulty level - easy
Spice level - mild
Cuisine - North Indian
Type -breakfast, main
Serve - 4

INGREDIENTS-

• Yellow lentil/moong daal - 3/4 cups
• Broken wheat /daliya - 3/4 cup
• French beans/faras beans,chopped - 1/2 cup
• Carrot/gajar, chopped - 1/2 cup
• Peas/matar, shelled - 1/2 cup
• Tomato,chopped  - 1 medium (125 gm)
• Green chili /hari mirch, chopped - 1tbsp
• Ginger/adrak, chopped - 2 tsp
• Lemon juice /nimbu ka ras - 2 tbsp
• Fresh coriander,chopped - 3 tbsp
• Turmeric/haldi - 3/4 tsp
• Chili powder/lal mirch - 1.5 tsp
• Salt/namak - to taste
• Cooking oil - 2 tbsp

Tempering/waghar/tadka-

• Ghee - 2 tbsp
• Cumin/jeera - 1.5 tsp
• Asafoetida/hing - 1/2 tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Wash moong daal with water and keep aside.
2. Heat oil in the pressure cooker and add daliya ,1/2 tsp cumin and green chilis and saute till the daliya change its colour and become slightly whitish (for about 2 minutes)
3. Add washed daal, tomato, carrot, peas and french beans and stir.
4. Add salt,turmeric,chili powder and 3 cups of water and mix.
5. Pressure cook on medium heat for 3 whistles.
6. Open the cooker when cool down completely.
7. Add 2 cups of warm water and chopped ginger in the cooker and mix well.
8. Let it come to a boil on medium heat and then simmer for 3-4 minutes.
9. Heat ghee in a small pan and add cumin and asfoetida.
10. When cumin become red then add it in the khichdi and switch off the flame.
11. Add lemon juice and fresh coriander and mix.
12. Serve hot with a tsp of ghee on top.

Serving suggestions-taste best with plain yogurt, raita, salad and roasted popadam

My Notes-

1. I have used yellow moong daal but you can also make this with green moong daal, masoor daal or tuvar daal but avoid using urad daal or chana daal if you are making this for kids or patients as these two daals are quite heavy and not so easy to digest.
2. Can add any vegetable of your choice like chopped potato,cauliflower,corn ,squash, bottle gourd,spinach etc.
3. I have used 1/2 cup of each vegetable but you can increase the amount of vegetable if you wish.
4. If you want to make it little watery then add 3 cups or 3.5 cups of water at step-7

Stuffed Mawa Modak

Stuffed Mawa Modak

Stuffed sweet dumpling made with milk and dry fruits

Ganesh Chaturthi/Vinayak Chaturthi is a very popular festival in India. Different varieties of sweets and Naivaidhyams are made during Ganapati utsav. Sweet Modaks of different varieties are made and offered to Lord Ganesh. There are many versions, flavours and variety of making modaks.

Most popular and authentic modaks are made with flour stuffed with coconut and jaggery and then deep fried and  the other very popular modaks are made with rice flour dough ,stuffed with coconut and jaggary filling and then steamed.

I have already posted an easy recipe for making Coconut rose modak ,which are made with coconut and condensed milk. Today I am sharing an easy, healthy, and delicious Modak recipe to offer to lord Ganesha.The outer covering is made with milk powder and condensed milk and cooked in microwave. If you don't want to make it in microwave then you can cook it in a non stick pan till the dough start separating from the pan.
 
The filling is made with crushed nuts and dates and then stuffed inside the modak. A special type of mould is used to make these modaks, which is very easily available all over India, but may not be that easily available outside. In case you don't have access to a mould, you can easily shape it without it - just make a stuffed ball and then gently pull the top with greased fingers to make a dome.

Prep time - 10 min
Cooking time - 4 min
Difficulty level - medium
Spice level sweet
Cuisine -Indian
Type -sweet,dessert

INGREDIENTS-

• Milk powder- 2 cup
• Condensed milk-1 can
• Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
• Butter- 3 tsp
• Saffron /kesar - 1/4 tsp
• Milk- 1.5 tsp

Stuffing-

• Almonds /badam - 15
• Pistachio /pista ,chopped- 2 tbsp
• Cashews nuts /kaju - 12
• Dates /khajoor - 10
• Condensed milk- 3 tsp
• Cardamom powder/elaichi powder - 1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE-

1. Chop or crush the nuts and make a coarse mixture.
2. De-seed, chop and mash the dates in the grinder.
3. Take a bowl add nuts, dates, cardamom powder and 3 tsp of condensed milk.
4. Mix and mash every thing to make a dough.
5. Can add some more condensed milk if it is too dry
6. Now make small size balls from this nut mixture and keep aside.
7. Soak crushed saffron in 1.5 tsp of warm milk and keep aside
8. In a big microwave proof glass bowl add butter and micro for about 40 seconds .
9. When butter melts then take out the bowl from the microwave.
10. Add milk powder and condensed milk and whisk well.
11. Now put the bowl in the microwave and cook for 1 minute on micro high.
12. Take out the bowl and stir and mix well.
13. Now again micro for 1 minute.
14. Take out the bowl and mix it again.
15. Now add saffron and cardamom powder and mix well.
16. Again micro for 1 minute.
17. Take out and mix well and then repeat the process for 1 more time.(total 4 times )
18. Let the mixture cool down a bit,keep stirring in between to avoid any lumps.
19. When it cool down then take a small portion of the dough and stuff it in the greased mould from the opening in the bottom
20. Press the dough all around with the help of your thumb and make a cavity in the center.
21. Take a nut mixture ball and stuff it in the center of the modak.
22. Take a small portion of the milk dough and seal the bottom.
23. Now open the mould carefully and take out the modak from the mould.
24. Garnish modak with a paste of saffron and milk.

Moong Sprout Kachori

Crisp home made pastry shells stuffed with mildly spiced bean sprout filling

Kachoris are very popular breakfast and snack from North India.They are flaky and crisp shells made with refined flour, stuffed with either savory or sweet stuffing but savory version is the most popular version of kachoris.

They are often made on festivals,on every special occasion or can be made any day when ever you want to have some thing crisp and spicy. Kachories are easily available in all restaurants ,chat corners and on road side stalls.They are served with chutney, kadi or allo ki subzi depending on each city and region. In Rajasthan kachoris are served with kadi and in Uttar pradesh kachoris are served with sweet and sour kaddu ki subzi. and thin potato curry

They are usually made with refined flour/maida but can also be made with wheat flour or a mix of wheat flour and refined flour or even with multigrain flour. Stir fried spicy lentil or vegetable mixture is made to stuff inside the kachori and then the stuffed kachoris are deep fried on medium heat till golden and crisp.

There are so many variations and versions of making kachoris .If you love making kachoris then do check these kachori recipe from my blog -The popular  Urad daal ki khasta kachori  ,  Aloo ki kachori,  Corn kachori , Moong daal ki khasta kachori  and tangy and spicy Kachori chaat

Prep time-25 min
Cooking time -15 min
Difficulty level -medium
Spice level -medium
Cuisine-North Indian
Type-snack

INGREDIENTS-

For outer layer/puff

• Refined flour /maida- 2 cup
• Semolina /sooji - 3 tbsp
• Cooking oil- 4 tbsp
• Lemon juice- 1/4 tsp
• Salt /namak - to taste

For the stuffing-

• Bean sprouts /ankurit moong - 3 cup
• Potato /aloo, boiled - 1(medium)
• Mint leaves /pudina, chopped - 2 tbsp
• Fresh coriander,chopped- 2 tbsp
• Green chili /hari mirch, chopped - 1 tbsp
• Turmeric /haldi - 1/3 tsp
• Ginger /adrak, grated - 1tsp
• Mango powder/amchoor - 1.5 tsp
• Chili powder/lal mirch - 1.5 tsp
• Coriander powder /dhaniya - 1.5 tsp
• Garm masala - 1/4 tsp
• Salt /namak -to taste
• Cooking oil /tel - 2.5 tbsp
• Cumin /jeera - 1 tsp
• Asafoetida /hing - 1/4 tsp

PROCEDURE-

For the outer covering

1. Mix and sift flour,sooji and salt in a bowl
2. Add oil and lemon juice and rub to mix well
3. Add water and make a soft dough.
4. Cover and keep aside for 20 minute

For the filling-

1. Wash bean sprouts very well with normal water.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan.
3. Add cumin,chopped green chili and asafoetida
4. When cumin start crackling add bean sprouts and saute for a minute
5. Now add turmric and salt and 1 tsp of water
6. Cover and cook on low flame till it get cooked but remain crunchy,don't over cook them.
7. Now add mashed potato and all the spices .
8. Stir fry for a minute.
9. Take out in a bowl and let it cool down completely.
10. Now add chopped mint and coriander and mix .

Making the kachori-

1. Knead the prepared dough to make it soft and pliable.
2. Make small size balls of equal size from the dough and keep aside.
3. Cover the balls with a damp cloth .
4. Take a ball and flatten it a little with the rolling pin.
5. Put about 1.5 tbsp of filling in the center.
6. Bring together all the sides and collect in the middle .
7. Close it and press it slightly,make sure it will seal properly.
8. Press the kachori with your palm to flatten it slightly.
9. Heat enough oil in a deep pan.
10. When it become medium hot then gently slide few kachoris in hot oil.
11. Now lower the temperature to medium.
12. The kachori will puff up then turn the side.
13. Fry it till it become golden from both the sides.
14. Drain the fried kachori on a paper napkin.
15. Serve hot .

Serving suggestions-Serve with green chutney and date and tamarind chutney.