Soya Chunks Curry

This soya chunks curry comes to my rescue whenever i dont have any vegetables on hand. When I am in no mood to do a lot of chopping work to prepare a side dish for rotis, I choose this. Because you need to chop just two onions which means the curry is ready in less than half an hour.

What you will need:

• Soya chunks- 1 cup
• Onion - 2
• Tomatoes- 3
• Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
• Red chilli powder- 1.5 tsp
• Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
• Garam masala powder- 1/2 tsp
• Tomato ketchup-1 tbsp
• Oil- 2 tsp
• Salt - as needed
• Water- 1/2 cup
• Coriander leaves- 2tbsp chopped

 To temper:

• Cinnamon- 1/2 inch piece
• Cloves- 3
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

How to:

1. Boil water in a pan. Switch off. Add soya chunks to it. Let them sit there till it gets soft. Drain water and squeeze excess water from soya chunks and rinse well. Chop onions.Grind tomatoes into fine paste.

 

2. Heat oil in a kadai. Add tempering items one by one. Add onion. When onion turns translucent, add ginger garlic paste and fry well till the raw smell leaves.

3.Add tomato puree, red chilli powder, coriander powder and salt.Mix well. Cook for around 5-7 mins.

 

4. Add tomato ketchup. Cook for around 2 mins. Add soya chunks. Mix well.

 

5. Now add water and garam masala powder. close with lid and cook for 7- 10 mins. Add coriander leaves and switch off.

 

P.S:

• Adding tomato ketchup is optional but it gives a sweet taste which is different.

French Toast

Some of you may wonder 'why a post on simple French toast?'. For someone like me who has been eating it without knowing its real name , it may be useful. Also I wanted to present the version with my own twist.

Until I watched the movie 'Queen', I never knew that French toast was not originated in France. Its interesting how it got the name French toast.

What you will need:

• Bread - 4 slices
• Egg-1
• Milk- 100ml
• Sugar- 3 tsp
• Vanilla extract-  3-4 drops
• Cinnamon powder- a pinch

How to:

1. Crack open the egg in a bowl. Add milk and sugar. Beat till everything mixes well. Add cinnamon powder and vanilla extract. mix well.

  

2. Heat butter or oil in a tawa. Dip each side of the bread in egg mixture not more than two seconds.

 

3.Place the bread on tawa and cook both sides.

 

You can serve it  as an evening snack or along with Spicy oats lassi for a complete meal.

P.S:

• I have used multigrain bread here. Milk or sweet bread suits this recipe well.
• You can increase quantity of sugar if you want it to be more sweet.
• You can replace sugar with honey.
• Bread soaked in egg - milk- sugar mixture and toasted is the basic french toast.
• Vanilla extract and cinnamon powder are optional.
• You can make stuffed French toast like French toast stuffed with nutella or cheese.

Nethili Karuvadu Fry/ Anchovy Dry Fish Fry

My mom and grandma make karuvadu kulambu which seems like a tedious process to me. I wanted to  make something simple with dry fish as it is very nutritious. I tried different recipes and settled down with this one as it turned out to be yummy.

If you dont have any vegetables on hand to make a side dish for rice,you can try this.

What you will need:

• Nethili karuvadu-200g
• Onion-1
• Shallots- 10 to 15 chopped
• Garlic- 5 cloves chopped
• Tomato-1
• Green chilli-3
• Curry leaves-1 sprig
• Chicken masala powder- 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
• Oil- 1 tbsp
• Salt-as needed
• Water-2tbsp

How to:

1.Remove the head part from each karuvadu and discard.Wash well in running water to remove sand particles if any. Add karuvadu to hot water and let it sit for 20 mins.

2.Peel and chop onion, shallots, garlic and tomato. Slit green chillies.

 

3.Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds. Let it splutter.Add onion, shallots, garlic, green chillies. When onion turns pink, add tomatoes.

 

4.Add chicken masala powder and salt.

 

5.When tomato turns mushy, drain water from karuvadu and add it to the pan. Mix well. Sprinkle two handfuls of water.

 

6.Close with lid. Let it cook for 5-7 mins. Stir in between. Switch off when the karuvadu gets cooked and becomes dry.

 

Karuvadu fry with rice and dal is a nice combo. You can try it with rotis too if you like dry side dishes for rotis.

P.S:

• As we put karuvadu in hot water for some time, there is no need to add a lot of water while cooking.
• You can use any other masala powder like mutton  masala or meat masala for flavour.

Spicy Oats Lassi

This is my go-to breakfast whenever I wake up late or I have no time .It is so easy to make, filling, nutritious and oil free. What more do you need?This is a recipe given by my dietitian. It has no definite name. You can call it whatever you want.

It takes hardly 10 mins to make this oats dish and its a great way to add oats to your regular menu considering the health benefits of oats.

What you will need:

• Oats-1/2 cup
• Water- 1 cup
• Curd- 1/2 cup
• Green chilli- 1/2
• Pearl onions/ shallots- 3
• Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
• Ginger- 1/4 inch piece
• Coriander leaves- 2 sprigs
• Salt- as needed

How to:

1. Add water and oats in a pan. Cook for 5 mins. Let the cooked oats cool down.

 

2.In a mixie jar(preferably a tall one), add shallots, green chilli, cumin seeds, ginger, coriander leaves.Pulse till everything comes together.

 

3.Add cooked oats, salt, curd. Grind once.Add water. Grind again.

 

Serve in glass tumblers or mugs.

P.S:

• You can add mint leaves if you like the flavour.