A reason to celebrate with Blueberry Yogurt Cake and Besan ke Paranthe

I RAN MY FIRST MARATHON !! :) :) and I am so proud of it ....

Many of you who would be regular runners might be thinking what is the big deal .... But it is a BIG Deal for someone who would wait for the next bus rather than run to catch the one leaving. I did it not because of any medical conditions or because I could not ...but just because I did not feel like running. But all that has changed over the last few months.

This year I made only one new year resolution..unlike the previous years wherein my resolution list would run for at least a mile :) .

My resolution was to do all that which I have never done before ,..but would have liked to do and experience. Running a marathon was one such thing . I had a mental block about running , I could never imagine myself running ..like all those regular runners and joggers who would pass by me during my walks . I wanted to experience the "runners high" i kept reading about in various magazines . It helped that one of my colleagues wanted to restart running after having a baby and when she asked me whether I would be interested in joining her for post-office runs , I grabbed the offer with both hands. Initially it was painful and humiliating ....a person who could walk for hours could not run for more than ten minutes ...but we persevered and set up a challenge of completing a 10km run in march . The Suburban Run run was on 15th March'09 and we completed the whole 10Km in spite of the energy sapping heat ...... now I intend to keep running :) and to do something new in the coming months.

Hubby dear was very very supportive of this decision to run and he was more excited and proud about my completing the 10km than me . We celebrated this small achievement with a blueberry yogurt cake and simple besan aur pyaaz ke paranthe . I followed the recipe given by Clotilde of chocolateandzucchini . The cake turned out perfect . I forgot to take picture of the slices :) as we were too busy gorging on those .





The recipe for Besan aur pyaaz ke paranhte ( Indian Gram flour and onion bread) is -


Ingredients :-
Gram flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large sized one , finely chopped
Finely chopped green chili - 2-3 as per taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Oil
Water - as much as required

Mix the gram flour and wheat flour. Add all the spices and mix well . Add about 3 tb sp oil and mix well so that the oil gets well incorporated into the dry ingredients. Now add the chopped onion and green chili . Add water and prepare a stiff dough.

Divide the dough into golf ball sized balls . Make into round balls and roll out each ball separately into circular shape.
Cook over a hot skillet , apply oil on both sides and cook till small brown specks appear .

Serve with butter, yogurt and pickles


This is another popular travel food as it lasts for up to 2-3 days. Hence this is my second entry for SWC-Meals on wheels hosted by LG of tasteofmysore.

Masaledaar aloo aur Kuttu ki Poori

While fasting I prefer to eat more of fruits or light food , but this particular combination is a must have during these Navratri fasts . The spicy curry along with the crunchy and exotic tasting poori not only fill your empty stomach but also bring life your deadened taste buds . This combination is prepared only during these nine days in our house and we do look forward to it . Once again the fast friendly tuber - potato is used in the curry . The gravy is made up only of spices , no onion, ginger or garlic is used in it and that is the reason we call it Masaledaar Aloo .

Kuttu ka atta or buckwheat flour is a popular substitute for the normal wheat flour. This flour is gluten-free and hence potato (once again !) is used to bind the flour together . This flour has a very different taste and the pooris are much more crunchy than the normal wheat flour pooris.

Masaledaar Aloo/Potato Curry :-

Potatoes - 2 large ones , peeled and cubed

Cumin seeds / Zeera - 1 t sp

Green chillies - 2 ( as per taste) , cut length wise

Coriander powder - 3/4 tb sp

Red chili powder - 1 t sp

Turmeric powder - 1 t sp

Garam masala powder - 1/2 t sp

Rock salt /sendha namak - as per taste ( you can use normal salt if you are not fasting )

Water - 2 cups

Oil - 2 t sp

Coriander leaves - for garnishing

Heat oil in a pressure cooker , once hot add the cumin seeds and green chillies . Stir for a couple of seconds then add the potatoes. Stir nicely to coat the potato pieces with the oil . Then add all the spices( except garam masala) and mix for a minute till it becomes fragrant. Add water and close the pressure cooker . Keep on high heat till the first whistle and then lower the heat . Switch off the flame after second whistle. Open once its cool and then add garam masala . Mash some potato to make the gravy a little thick . Bring to a boil .

Garnish with coriander leaves before serving with parathas, pooris , rice dishes.

Kuttu ki Poori :- (makes about 8 pooris)

Kuttu atta / Buckwheat flour - 1.5 cup

Potato - 2 large ones - boiled and peeled

Rock salt/ sendha namak- as per taste ( you can use normal salt if not fasting)

Warm water - if required

Oil - for deep frying

Mash the potato , add it to the buckwheat flour, add a little salt also .Knead with hands till the dough becomes soft . If required you can add a little warm water or a little more potato (You can also add some chopped green chili , coriander leaves to the dough) Once the dough is ready keep it aside for 10- 20 minutes, then form small balls by rolling in your hands . Flatten and then roll them into small circles . Since the flour is gluten free the edges may spilt , do not worry just ensure that the pooris do not break from the centre. Add one poori at a time gently into hot oil . Deep fry till it becomes little golden brown on both sides.

Serve immediately with the potato curry and curd.

These combo goes as my entry for Navaratra-Festive food event being hosted by dear LG of Tasteofmysore.

Bread Poha

Hi everyone …posting this recipe after a long time. Increased work load , followed by a bout of viral kept me busy all these days and as a result I couldnot make and subsequently blog something interesting . These photographs were languishing in the pending folder for quite a longtime and so I thought I would post this recipe just to become active again. A simple recipe for a hearty breakfast …using all the left over bread slices which are not stale enough to be thrown but not fresh enough to be eaten also.

Once after 2 years of marriage I remembered this recipe when I had a whole lot of semi stale bread slices and decided to make it for a weekend breakfast, and since then I have been making it regularly on request from hubby dear. Infact, many a times he puts in his request on a Thursday or a Friday itself ;-) …..

The recipe is real simple and you can freely incorporate your own ingredients.

INGREDIENTS :-

Serves 2

Bread slices – 8
Eggs – hard boiled –2
Onion – 1 medium sized, chopped
Tomato – 1 medium size – chopped finely
Boiled potato – 1 medium sized
Peas – ½ cup
Green chilies – 2
Mustard seeds – ½ t sp
Oil – 1 tb spoon
Milk – ½ cup
Red chilli powder – ½ t sp
Turmeric – ½ t sp.
Salt – as per taste
Chopped coriander for garnishing

You can add chopped carrots, capsicum, and baby corn if you wish.

METHOD :-
In a pan heat the oil and add mustard seeds. Once they have stopped spluttering, add the chopped onion and green chilies. Sauté the onion till it becomes pinkish in color, and then add the finely chopped tomatoes. Add the salt, red chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir 2-3 times. Cook till the tomatoes are squishy. Then add the chopped boiled potato and peas . Cover the pan and cook on low flame till the peas are cooked.
In the meanwhile, slice the bread pieces into about 2 cms squares and keep them aside. Also slice the boiled eggs into squares.
Once the peas are cooked, add the bread slices to the pan and mix well. Sprinkle the milk over the slices, mix and immediately cover the pan. The milk will evaporate and make the bread soft. Keep the flame low otherwise the bread will get burnt. After 2-3 mins open the pan and mix the poha lightly and add the boiled egg pieces. Garnish with coriander and serve with tomato ketchup.