Indian Masala Chai Mix

When i make Indian Masala Chai , i do with fresh ingridients like ginger, cinamon etc....... the idea of the event was that we make something which we can keep under the christmas tree as a present and fresh Chai that u can't do can we :-)

This i made for zlamushka's event A spoonful of Christmas and the deadline is tommorow , so i had to hurry up in making this.

I am going to give this as a present for my Mother in law, she likes the Indian spice tea and she buys the ready made one we get in the shops.
So i thought why not make this for her which will be far far better than the shop bought one ( I hope).

I made them yesterday I will have to keep it for atleast a week or two before giving it to her , by then all the spices would have really blended well with the tea leaves.

Tea and the spices

Mix everything

Ready to deliver :-)

Indridients.
150 gm tea
Ginger few slices or according to your taste ( i cut the giner in thin slices and dried them in the oven for 20 minutes in a very low heat and left in the oven for a day.)
Ginger powder 1 tsp
Cinamon few sticks crushed
Cardamom 10 crushed
Cloves 4

I mixed all the ingridients and botteled it.I will write a remark here after tasting the tea. ( I will have to taste it before i give it as a present)

Updated the recipe on December 1st. I added few peper balls crushe the tip whic Rina gave me and Bee from Jugalbandi said she add fennel seeds so i added 1 tsp slightly crushed fennel seed to the mix. Thanks both of you for the tip.

Sambar

Sambar

Linda from Out of the garden is hosting the JFI Toor dal.
She had written that we can post even our older posts so if you have not send anything for her you can check you older post and send it in .

I thought i will make sambar for her as when ever i make dosa at home i make sambar too, but then i've to add drumsticks in it as my daughter and hubby loves drumsticks in sambar.

This is the way my sister makes a sambar she cooks the vegetables with the sambar powder. Lot of my indian vegetarian recipes are from her as she cooks delicious vegetarian dishes.
Back at home we had almost everyday dal.My mom used to make lot of different dishes with dal.

Vegetables....

Ingridients.
Toor dal 100 gms
1 tsp turmeric
Vegetables 250 gm ( i used beans, drumsticks, onions etc...)
Tamarind size of a lime.
Add warm water and make a pasteSambar powder 3 tbspSalt to taste

To temper:
Mustard seeds 1 tsp
Whole dry red chillies
Curry leaves few
Oil 2 tbsp.

Cook toor dal with the turmeric.
Cook the vegetables seperate with the sambar powder and salt .
When the vegetables are 3/4 cooked add the tamarind paste.
Add the cooked dal ( add more water if u need) Cook for few more minutes.

Heat in a small pan the oil and add the mustard seeds, when it pops add the rest of the tempering things fry for few seconds and pour it to the dal mixture , mix well.
Serve with rice or dosa etc.

Date,ricotta and polenta cake

This is what was written in my cooking book from the women's weekley.
This is a perfect cake to serve at the end of a italian meal or with a cup of expresso , when friends drop in by late afternoon.
Well i didn't had both, no italian dinner or friends who dropped by late afternoon but still the cake was good.
I am sending this to Chandrika from Akshay Patra , she is hosting this months AFAM event Dates.

Ingridients....

Everything into a bog bowl :-)

Mixing


Adding the dates, nuts etc...

Spread half the cake mixture into the pan

Delicious ricotta filling with the orange rind...

Covering the remain cake mixture

Finished baking.

Ingridients.
1 cup /160gm finely chopped seeded dates
1/3 cup / 80 ml Orange Liqueur
1/2 cup / roasted and finley chopped walnuts
2 cups / 300 gm selfraising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup /110 gm polenta
1 cup / 220 gm sugar
1 1/4 cup / 250 gm ricotta cheese
125 gm butter melted
3/4 cup / 180 ml water

Ricotta Filling
1 1/4 cup / 250 gm ricotta cheese
2 tbsp ornage liqueur
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tbsp finley grated ornage rind

Method:
Preheat the oven 180°c. Greast deep 20cm round cake pan, line base and side with baking paper.
Combine and dates and liqueur in a small bowl and leave it for 15 minutes

Combine flour, baking powder, polenta, sugar, cheese, butter and the water in large bowl, beat on low speed with a electric mixer until just combined.
Beat on in medium speed untill the mixture change to a lighter colour then , using a wooden spoon stir in nuts and undrained date mixture.
Spread half of the cake mixture into the prepared pan, using a spartrula, spread ricotta filling over the pan mixture and then cover with remaining cake mixture.
Bake in a moderatley slow over for 1 hour.
Cool in a wire rack and serve the cake sprinkled with icing sugar optional

Chilly Chicken Fried

I think one of the most famous dish in the Chinese restaurants in India is Chilly Chicken. At least when i was a teenager ( that was ages and ages ago :-)) )
Every time when we went to a chinese restauarant atleast one of us would take this dish. I have never seen this dish in any chinese place here, i guess this was invented for us for our taste.

I am sure everybody have their own version of making this dish.
You can make it with boneless chicken but i did with bones as it gives a better taste.

This is my entry for Sunita's monthly spice event Thinkspice....thinkginger

Chicken, spring onons etc...

Chilly Chicken.

Ingridients.
500 gm chicken cut into bit size pieces
1 tbsp ginger finley cut
2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp salt.
Mix all these ingridients and keep it in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Oil for deep frying the chicken pieces

2 tbsp oil
1 cup spring onions slices
2 tbsp galrlic chopped
2 tbsp ginger finmey chopped
6 to 8 Chillies finley sliced
2 to 3 tbsp soya sauce
2 to 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp of water. 5 you can add this if u think the dish is too dry)
I don't use salt as the soya sauce is having a lot of salt, if you want you can add salt after tasting the dish.

Mrthod:
Heat the oil in a wok and deep fry the marinated chicken till it is done.
Drain and keep it aside.
Now add the 2 tbsp of oil in a wok and add the onions, ginger, garlic and chillies. Fry them till they are soft, now add the fried chicken pieces , soya sauce and the tomato ketchup. Stril till all the pieces are well coated, sprinkle with few spring onions and serve with steamed rice.

Pasta with meat balls and CLICK

pasta with meat balls

One more day to go for the last day of sending in your pictures for the event which is hosted by the duo from Jugalbandi.

Normally I make atleast once a week a pasta or noodle dish. But after Jai and Bee had announced their theme for the Novemeber event, I have not made any new pasta dish and I didn't want to post the pasta recipes from earlier, so today I decided I better make something new and send it to the event

Ofcourse mostly kids love this dish. Adults too.

I am also sending this to Ruth from Once Upon A Feast for her Presto Pasta Nights

Minced meat, bread, parsley etc...

Frying them...

onions, bayleaf etc...

Frying the onions etc...

Add the balls to the sauce

Busy cooking

Yummy

Ingridients.

For the balls
400 gm minced meat.
1 cloves galrlic chopped.
2 slice of bread soaked in a little milk.
2 tbsp parmesan cheese/optional
2tbsp of chopped parsley
Pepper and salt to taste.

For the tomato sauce.
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion finley chopped.
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp parsley chopped
1 tbsp italian herbs
250 tomato passata
150 to 200 ml water
Peper and salt to taste

Mix all the ingridients for the meat balls and shape it into small balls.
Add a tbsp of oil and fry the balls for rew minutes. Keep it aslide.

Add the rest of the oil in a pan add the onions, fry for few minutes, then add the garlic, bay leaf , tomato pasatta, water, herbs , peper and salt. When the sauce is boiling add the meat balls and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or untill the meat is cooked and the sauce is thincker.
Serve with any kind of cooked pasta.

Pumpkin Potato Soup and Meme....

I have been planning to post this for a while but never happened like my meme. So i thought I will do it both today.

Pumpkin, onion ,garlic.....

Indridients.

1250 gm Pumpkin
1 onion Chopped
2 l vegetable broth
500 gm Potato
1 leek chopped
2 to 3 garlic chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
pepper to taste
200 ml cream
2 tbsp oil
Croutons for serving optional.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions and leeak when they are soft add the rest of the vegetables.
Fry them for few minutes and then add the vegetable brother and the tomatoe paste. Stir well and cook till the wegetables are done. ( I make always my soup in a pressure cooker)When it is cooke mix the soup with a blender.

Add the cream and serve hot
Mostly when i make soup i make them in huge quantities, so i put them in the freezer in portions.

Asha from Aroma had tagged me for What's in a name.
I had promised her I will do it in a week or two. But as you can see it took longer.

I was saying to my daughter that i was tagged by Asha and i didn't know what to write about myself and her reply was oh easy if it was me i can write a lot of things about myself. Kids they live in their own world.

So here it goes.

H : for Happy. The word say for itself. Most of the time i am happy. When i was in School one of our teacher used to call us ( my two elder sister and I ) lauging sisters ............so that says itself i am always (mostly) happy.

A for Aroma. I love the aroma comming from my kitchen when i am cooking with Indian spices.

P for Patience. Idon't get easily provocated. But then when i get angry, you better move, because then there is fire!!!!!!!

P forPen. If i was using a pen i would have written much better ( NOT) but i am typing.

Y for Yawn I am sure most of you are yawing by now :-)

The rest if the name say for itself. COOK I am not a professional Cook, but i love to Cook.

Few of you already know my real name stars with F

So i thought I will use it too.F for Friendship.
For all the friends I have met in the last few months. After starting my blog i have met lot of friends here.
So thankyou to all of my Blogger firends.

Fantastic Four.
I have also been tagged for fantastic four by few of you ... A kitchen Scientis with a white rat hubby , Rak's Kitchen , Jeena's Kitchen so i guess it is high time i did that too.

I have read quiet a lot of Fantastic Four and every time i read about somone else fantastic four i used to say wow , don't think mine is a wow effect, but here it goes.....

4 place i've lived

Ernakulum ( Kerala-India). Lived there till i got married.

Belgium. Living here after marriage. In the same town.

So i guess 3rd and the 4th still have to come..........

4 Jobs I had.

Daughter. Beeing a good daugter, well most of the time

Sister. Beeing a good and bad younger sister.

Wife. Beeing a wife. Don't know if i am a good wife that you all should ask my Husband :-)

Mother . Beeing a Loving Mother to my 15 year old daughter.

4 places I've holidayed.

Agra. When i saw Taj Mahal it was like a dream come true, i have always wanted to go there from the time when i was in school.

Murshidabad in North of Kolkatta. It was such a small village. But it was a beautiful town and so peace ful. We only stayed there for 2 days just on the way to a another place.

Egypt. We were there for 3 weeks and i loved it would love to go back there again.

London. What can u say about London. I love the place

4 favourite foods

Rice and Simple Dal

Any kind of pasta dish.

Adda which my mom makes in banana leaf with coconut and jaggery

Masala Dosa with Coconut chutney and sambhar

4 places I would rather be.

I don't know if i have a place i would rather be.I am happy here with my hubby and daughter. So as long as they are with me. I am happy.

4 people I would like to Tag.

I am tagging the people who have not done any Meme. Atleast i hope they have not done. I checked their blogs and i didn't see anything there. I might be wrong too.

TBC from The Budding Cook

Seena from Simple and Delicious

Meeso from My Humble Kitchen

Kribha from En Samayal Pakkam

All 4 of you girls are not obliged to do. If you like it you may :-) You can choose any of the Meme. You may also do both of them if you like, your choice...
whoooooo it is done :-))))))

Added after the few comments i had from all my blogging friends. Most of you wanted to know when my pic was taken which i had added in my profile.
It was taken this year for my b'day in May.
I thought i will add a pic with me any my lovely ( proud mother speaking :-)))daughter .

I might remove it after few days otherwise she might sat why i am adding her pic in my blog....
Daughter and I (picture removed)

Happy Diwali and Mysoore Pak

Happy Diwali or Deepavali दिवाली or दीपावली to all my friends around the world whoVisit My Kitchen Treasures.

When i saw the recipie for Mysoor Pak by Latha Narasimhan from The Yum Blog I knew What sweet i have to make at home for Diwali.
Thankyou Latha.
Mysore pak is one of the favourite Indian sweets for my daughter and I. We both love it, so now i saw the recipie it was my chance to make them.

They came out very well even though i didn't get the fully honey comb effect.
Maybe i took out from the fire too fast. But still the taste was divine.
Woudn't it be with all the ghee in it.It reallt tasted good.

We have few Indian musicians comming over from India for playing few concerts with my husband, and they have a concert tommorow.

So i was saying to my daughter we'll give for them each packet of sweets and we can also give them homemade mysore pak.And after feww seconds she asked me you are not going to give all the mysore pak for them are you.
I told her no I will keep for us also and she said better believe it.

I am also sending this to Meeta's Monthly Mingle event Traditional Feast

Ghee, Sugar, Besan

Keep on stirring

Cooling

Mysoore pak

Masala Peanuts

To my DELIGHT i saw this delicious looking Masala Peanuts in Cooking 4 all Seasons by Srivalli. I was so glad or is it HAPPY :-) to see them. Thankyou Sirvalli.

I love masala peanuts but i had to wait till i am in India for holiday to eat them as i didn't know how to make them.

And the way srivalli made it looked so simple , i coudn't wait to try them myself.
I was not disappointed at all. They are so easy to make and delicious too.......

While loading the picture to the computer i was eating them and now while i am writting this post i am crunching them on.

My daughter would love this also so i had to tell myself keep for her too so she can have them when she is back from school in few hours. Otherwise i would have ate them all. I know i know i am a greedy pow......
I am not writting the recipe down. If you want to make them just go to Cooking 4 all Seasons

This i am sending to An Easy Cooking blog, for the "power" less cooking event hosted by Easycrafts

The Ingridients

Mixing the peanuts

Frying them

This is my first bunch of peanuts i fried, they were a bit too brown. Srivalli had written fry them in a slow heat, but i think i was GREEDY

I learned my lesson from the first batch, so this batch i fried in a slow heat.

I mixed both the batches so you can see they are in two colours.