Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice

Lemon Rice is a delicious South Indian dish you can easily put together when in a hurry. It’s called Chitranna in Bangalore. You can also make it with leftover rice.
Serve Lemon Rice with a Raita for a simple yet tasty meal.

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
· ¾ cup Rice
· ½ cup Onion
· 3-4 Green Chillies
· 1 & ½ tbsp Lemon Juice
· ½ tsp Mustard seeds
· 1 tsp Urad dal
· 5-6 Curry Leaves
· 1 tbsp Groundnuts (optional)
· ½ tsp Turmeric powder
· 1 tsp Oil
· Salt as per taste


Method:
1. Cook Rice in pressure cooker. Rice should not become too soft, the rice grains should be separate after cooking otherwise it becomes paste when mixed.
2. Heat Oil in a pan and add groundnuts, mustard seeds and urad dal. When they start popping add green chillies, curry leaves. Fry for a minute.
3. Add onion, turmeric, fry till the onions turn slightly brownish.
4. Add rice and salt. Mix well.
5. Turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Mix well.

Tips:
While preparing rice use less water compared to normal or use rice from previous day so that rice grains can be separated easily.

1 Year & 6 Months and Still Counting!!!

1 Year & 6 Months and Still Counting!!! :-)

On 12th July 2010 this blog turned 1 year & 6 months old :-). Thanks to all of you who supported this venture. I was planning to post this on 12th Jan 2010 on the completion of 1 year but was busy with my wedding preparations and was not able to spare time to write, so decided to write when my blog turned 1 year & 6 months.

I had started Anjali’s Kitchen, on 12th Jan 2009 as a place to save our home-made food recipes and also some new trials by me, my Mom and now by my Mother in law :-). I would have never started this if my husband would not have encouraged me that time to go ahead and start my own blog. In the beginning, I had no clue about blogs; I used to try adding new features every day to my blog through lots of exploring. The day I received the first comment on my blog, I was delighted. The motivation has lasted so long due to the amount of love and admiration I have received from you all.

I was overjoyed when I got an invite from Zee Marathi for a popular Marathi cookery show “Aamhi Sare Khavayye”. It is a TV show featuring preparation of various delectable dishes. I was invited by them to show my culinary skills and it was hosted by well-known Marathi actor ‘Prashant Damle’. It was telecast on 7th Dec 2009 on Zee Marathi. It encouraged me even more to add new recipes to this blog. I have posted the videos of the telecast on my blog for making it easier for everyone to try out those recipes.

I always tell people to drop a comment on the posts as comments are the only way I get to know who is reading and what they like here. It may not be possible for me to always post what each and everyone wants, because each day I get so many different requests. But at least I would know what you want to read here. I encourage you to write at least a single line here when you try out any recipe from Anjali’s Kitchen. Tell me what you liked about it or what you did not like. If you have genuinely used this blog, please let me know. Please be polite while commenting. It takes a lot of hard work, time, energy and money, to maintain this blog, so let us make it a homely and nice place.

As said above, I post what I cook. Many a times, when I get a request, I try to find the recipe and prepare it. But it is not always possible. Sometimes I don’t know the recipe, sometimes I cannot prepare it for various reasons. I don’t post anything unless I try it myself.

So to sum it up, Anjali’s Kitchen is a place with the following purposes:
1. Preserve and document food recipes that my family enjoys.

2. Log the experience and preparation of new learning spanning across a variety of cuisines.

3. Connect with like minded food lovers, friends and bloggers.

Pasta With Paneer!

PANEER PASTA

Preparation time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15minsServes: 2Pasta

Preparation:

Pasta should always be cooked in large pan containing plenty of fast boiling water.
(½ liter water per 100g of Pasta).

1. Add ½ tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of oil to the pan when the water is boiling.
2. Once the water has reached a fast boil, add the PASTA. Stir continuously to separate it.
3. Leave the pan uncovered and stir the PASTA occasionally. PASTA will be cooked in 10 – 12 minutes.
4. Drain the PASTA as soon as it is cooked.

PASTA SAUCE RECIPE Ingredients:
100g boiled PASTA, 50g Paneer, 1 chopped onion, 1 chopped capsicum, 2 chopped tomatoes; 1 tsp finely chopped green chilies, ½ tsp red chili flakes, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp garlic paste, 2tbsp grated cheese, 1 ½ tbsp butter and salt to taste.

Method:

1. Heat the butter and fry the onion for 1 min.
2. Add the capsicum, tomatoes, green chilies and fry again for 1 min.
3. Take another pan and heat with 1tbsp oil and fry the paneer cubes till they turn in to golden yellow color.
4. Add the Pasta to above mixture.
5. Add cheese and salt. Mix well .
6. Serve hot :-)

Til-Gul ( Sesame- Jaggery) Vadi

Til-Gul ( Sesame- Jaggery) Vadi for Sankranti

"Tilgul ghya ani goad goad bola"....Happy Sankranti to all of you!!!

This is a special sweet made for Sankranti and the recipe is of course my mums.Ingredients:1 cup sesame seeds, 1 cup dry coconut, 1 cup jaggery, Green cardamom powder – ¼ tsp,
Nutmeg powder – ¼ tsp, ghee 1tsp.

Method:
1. Roast the sesame seeds until golden brown.
2. Grind the sesame seeds to a coarse powder.
3. Heat the ghee and add jaggery with couple of tbsp of water until you get a thick syrup.
4. Grease (spread powdered sugar + powdered sesame+ grated coconut) a shallow plate to set the vadi in. 5. Mix in the coarsely ground sesame seeds into the syrup. Add cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and mix thoroughly. 6. Spread mixture evenly onto the plate and garnish it with dry coconut. 7. Cut diamond shapes before it cools down. 8. Allow it to cool and set and enjoy.

Note: The way this turns out depends a lot on what kind of jaggery you use. If you use less sticky one, it comes out better. Also, make sure your syrup is really thick before you add in the mixture otherwise it will stay moist and not harden enough.

BEETROOT TIKKIS !

BEETROOT TIKKIS !!!

Ingredients:
Beetroots, grated - 3 medium size, Pure ghee - 2 tablespoons + to shallow fry, salt to taste, lemon juice – 1tbsp, Garlic, ginger & chili paste - 2tsp, Cashew nut powder - ¼ cup, Roasted chana dal powder – ¼ cup, Caraway seeds (shahi jeera) – ½ tsp, garam masala powder – ¼ tsp, chaat masala – ½ tsp, black pepper powder - ¼ tsp and Raisins 2tbsp. Method:
1. Heat two tablespoons of ghee in a pan. Add grated beetroot, salt and sauté.
2. Add lemon juice and mix. Sauté till all the moisture dries up and the beetroot gets completely cooked and mashed. 3. Add ginger, garlic & chili paste and mix well. Continue to sauté.
4. Transfer the mixture into a bowl. Add cashew nut powder, roasted chana dal powder, shahi jeera, garam masala powder, chaat masala, raisins, black pepper powder and mix well. 5. Divide the mixture into eight equal portions. Grease your palms, take small portions of the mixture and shape them into tikkis. 6. Heat a pan and add sufficient ghee. Place the tikkis on the hot pan and shallow fry. When the underside is done, flip over and cook till the other side is done. Do not flip the tikkis too often as they are very delicate and may break. 7. Serve hot. :-)

ANGOORI PANEER TIKKA!!

ANGOORI PANEER TIKKA!!

Ingredients:
Cottage cheese (paneer) - 400 grams, Black grapes (chopped ) - 1 cup, Oil – 1 tablespoon + to shallow fry, Red Chili Powder – 2tsp, Black salt (kala namak) to taste, salt to taste, Gram flour (besan) – 2tbsp, White pepper powder – ½ tsp, Dry mango powder (amchur) – ½ tsp, Saffron (kesar) – few strands, Milk – 2tbsp, fresh cream – 1 cup, jaggery (gul), grated – 1 cup, lemon juice 1tbsp, chaat masala – 2 tbsp, Green capsicum, 1 inch pieces – 2 large, Tomatoes, 1 inch pieces – 2 large Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan, add black grapes and saute. Add salt, red chili powder, black salt and cook till soft. 2. Add jaggery to the grapes along with lemon juice and mix well. Cook till thick. Grind it to paste so that it’s easy to apply on the paneer slice. 3. For marinade take besan in a bowl. Add salt, red chili powder, pepper powder, amchur and mix. 4. Add saffron dissolved in milk, fresh cream to above mixture and mix well. 5. Cut paneer into half centimeter slices. 6. Place the paneer slices on a flat surface. Sprinkle salt and chaat masala on all of them.
7. Spread some grape chutney evenly on half of the paneer slices and cover with the remaining paneer slices. 8. Cut these paneer sandwiches into one-inch squares. 9. Take a skewer, thread on a capsicum piece, a tomato piece, one piece of paneer sandwich, followed by tomato and capsicum pieces. The tomato and capsicum pieces will keep the paneer pieces firmly in place. Similarly prepare the other skewers. 10. Arrange the skewers on a plate. Pour the marinade over them to cover the paneer pieces properly on all sides. 11. Heat oil in a pan. Place these skewers in the heated pan and cook till golden on all sides. 12. Serve hot with the remaining grape chutney.

COTTAGE CHEESE & WALNUT VEGETABLE

COTTAGE CHEESE & WALNUT VEGETABLE

Ingredients: Cottage cheese (paneer), cubed – 200 grams, Walnut kernels 4-5, ginger, garlic & chili paste – 2tsp, oil – 3tbsp, Potato, cut into batons – 1 medium, Black peppercorns 3-4, Cloves – 2, Yogurt – 1 cup, Salt to taste and White Pepper powder ¼ tsp.

Method:

1. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilies to a smooth paste.

2. Peel and cut potatoes into finger chips. Heat oil in a kadai and lightly fry the potato. Remove and drain well.

3. In the remaining oil, add peppercorns and cloves. When they crackle, add prepared (ginger garlic chili) paste and fry till oil separates.

4. Add beaten yogurt, salt and white pepper powder. Continue to cook for a minute.

5. Add cottage cheese cubes and continue to cook till the cubes are well coated.

6. Add the potatoes and half of the walnut kernels. Bring to a boil.

7. Remove from heat and garnish with the remaining walnut kernels.