Vegetable Hakka Noodles

Vegetable Hakka Noodles is simply loved by everyone. I would call it an Indo-Chinese dish. Hakka noodles are flat noodles and they are quick cooking noodles. Since I'm a big fan of Quick, Easy and Healthy Meals its no secret why this recipe finds itself here.

Ingredients:

• 1 packet Hakka Noodles (Ching's Secret)


• 1 cup cabbage shredded


• 1 cup carrot cut into julienne


• 1 cup green bell pepper sliced


• 1 bunch of spring onions chopped


• 1/4 cup ginger sliced


• 1/4 cup red onion sliced


• 2 tablespoon oil

Preparation :

• Prepare by chopping all the vegetables as shown.

*I buy carrots cut into thin strips like matchsticks...thats what you see in the picture. It's a real time saver.

• Now cook the noodles as per the package instructions. In case of Ching's Secret Hakka noodles. Boil 10 cups of water in a large pan. When the water comes to a boil, cook the noodles for ONLY 2 minutes. The noodles are cooked Al dente. Now drain the noodles and spread them on a flat surface. Add 1 teaspoon of oil onto the noodles to prevent them from sticking.

• Prepare the sauces : In one bowl take 1 teaspoon soy sauce,1 teaspoon green chilli sauce, 1 teaspoon chilli vinegar and 1 teaspoon red chilli sauce. The other bowl is 2 tablespoons of Schezwan sauce. This is optional. (I like to add this sauce as well to my vegetable hakka noodles though tradionally its added to Vegetable Schezwan noodles).

**You could adjust the seasonings to your taste if you think this is too hot for you . I use Ching's Secret Sauces.**

• Now heat oil in a wok or frying pan on a high flame. Add all the vegetables except the spring onions and stir-fry for about a minute. Add both the sauces and stir fry until vegetables are crunchy and half cooked. Now add the noodles and stir fry on high flame for 2-3 minutes.
  
• Ready to serve. Garnish with the chopped green onions.
  

Rava Dosa - Semolina Crepes

Rava Dosas are Instant. No Grinding, no pre-soaking required. I always enjoyed the Rava Dosa in the restaurants but never tried them at home. I knew you needed some practice in making Rava Dosa. So Today I mustered enough courage to try my hand at making Rava Dosa. Also I was getting ready to participate in Malar Gandhi's event "Mishaps in the kitchen". So I knew If this venture did not go well I could always send this post to her event.

The first couple Dosas were not really picture worthy. I had to scrape them off the Tava(Griddle). They tasted like Rava Dosa but did not quite look like the picture I envisioned. Also by now the kids knew there was going to be dosa for dinner. So I better start getting my act straight or cook something up real quick. Thank God it was Friday night, so no dead line for bedtime. I put the flame on slow. Then by the fourth try it did turn out a little better. I was happy and so were the kids as by now they were really hungry. Now you be the judge and tell me how they turned out.

Ingredients :

1) 1/2 cup Rava /Semolina /Sooji

2) 1/2 cup Rice flour

3) 1/4 cup Maida or All purpose flour

4) 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

5) 2 green chillies finely chopped

6) 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger

7) pinch of hing or asofoetida

8) salt to taste

9) 3 1/2 - 4 cups water

10) oil for roasting the dosa

* You could substitute water for butter milk. This recipe is a bit forgiving as to the amount of water or butter milk you could add, since the batter is not as thick . You could compare the consistency to that of butter milk.

Preparation:

1) Mix together Rava, Maida and Rice flour . Add the water and make a batter making sure that no lumps are formed.

2)Now add the salt, hing(asofoetida), cumin seeds, chopped green chillies and chopped ginger.

3) Keep this aside for 30 minutes.

4) Heat a Dosa Tava or Griddle.

5) Mix the batter well and pour a laddle full of batter start from the outside to the inside in a circular manner. The preparation of this dosa is quite different than our regular Dosa. The way its done is you first make the outer circle of the dosa and then fill the centre with the batter. While making the Dosa keep it medium to low flame.

6) Add oil around the dosa and some oil on top of the dosa. I do make it on a high flame now for the dark golden and crispy look.

7) Once golden brown turn over and fry for another minute or so.

8) Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.

Cranberry Raisin and Almond Biscotti

Ever since I saw this recipe last month on Julia Child's food show rerun on PBS, I've been dreaming about making these Biscotti. This recipe happens to be in her book, "Baking with Julia". She was a remarkable chef no doubt about it. In fact she had a guest on her show who was making these wonderful delicious Biscotti with Currants. I did not have any currants in the house so I have substituted Currants with Cranberry, Almonds and Raisins. The rest of the recipe is as is. This is my first attempt at making Biscotti. I was'nt really happy with the looks as I wanted to post this recipe on my blog. But they tasted really good and I wanted to share this reipe. I'll try it again and hopefully get some good pictures.

The word "biscotti" in Italian is the plural form of biscotto and applies to any type of biscuit (in the UK sense of a very dry, hard cookie or cracker). The word originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-cooked/baked". To read more about Biscotti its available here .

Ingredients:

1) 1 cup all purpose flour

2) 1 cup cornmeal

3) 1 full egg and 1 yolk

4) 3/4 cup granulated sugar

5) 1 teaspoon salt

6) 1 stick unsalted butter

7) 1 cup mix of Cranberries, Raisins and Chopped Almonds

8) 1 teaspoon baking powder

* I used the Indian Head old fashioned stone ground yellow corn meal.

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Sift together All purpose flour , cornmeal , salt , and Baking Powder. Add sugar.

3) Now bring the butter to room temperature.

4) Gently crumble the butter into the flour by hand . Add the Cranberry/Raisin/Almond mixture. Add the eggs and knead into a dough.

5) Grease a cookie sheet. Now roll the dough into a log. Gently flatten it a bit. I rolled the dough into two logs. It depends on the size of the cookie sheet.

5) Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. It will still be a little soft to the touch.

6) Cool the logs . Cool it for almost 20 to 30 minutes. Transfer them carefully to a cutting board and cut them diagonally into 3/4" thick slices. Arrange the slices so as to stand them ,as if you were to make a log. Bake for another 10 minutes.

7) Ready to serve.

Apple Green Raisin Muffins

We (my six year old son and Moi) made these muffins last weekend. Perfect day to bake. It was snowing outside so had to be indoors. Just before Christmas we always get into the mood to bake. There's something about this time of the year which makes you crave for sweet goodness.

My son announced the secret Ingredients - Apple and Cinnamon. (You could tell he's been watching a lot of Food Network along with me, especially the Iron Chef where the contestants are given a secret ingredient which they have to use in all their dishes in a set amount of time.)

This is the first time I made Apple Cinnamon muffins. I used to make Banana Walnut muffins and since its been a while that I made them, I had misplaced the recipe. No worries I thought to myself and looked up this very promising recipe on the internet. You can find the original recipe here.

Now to cut a long story short I did make a lot of changes to the above recipe and my muffins did not quite rise as they are supposed to. But they still tasted great. Oh, well To ERR is Human and to Forgive Divine. But good lesson learnt when baking follow instructions to a tee, especially the flour to liquid ratio has to be perfect. (So I should have added less amount of milk ).Well now I know. Or maybe not. If you are reading this recipe, feel free to give your insights as to why my muffins did not rise enough to show off their muffin crowns.

Ingredients:

1) 1 1/2 cups all Purpose Flour

2) 3 teaspoons Baking powder

3) pinch of salt

4) 1/2 cup granulated sugar

5) 2 eggs lightly beaten
6) 1/2 cup or 1 Stick butter

7) 1 tablespoon Orange Zest

8) 1 cup milk

9) 1/4 cup Orange juice

10) 1 1/2 cups Gala apple peeled,cored and chopped

11) 1/4 cup green raisins

12) 1 tablespoon sugar

13) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation:

1) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Grease the muffin cups or line them with paper muffin liners.

3) In one bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl cream butter and sugar. Add in the lightly beaten eggs. Whisk by hand. Add the Orange Zest, followed by milk and orange juice. Blend them together.

4) Now add the flour mixture to the butter mixture till its all moist and there are no lumps. Add the raisins and gently fold in the chopped apples.

5) Spoon the muffin mixture into the muffin cups already prepared.

6) Now to top the muffins , prepare a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

7) Sprinkle the sugar-cinnamon mix on top of the pre-baked muffins.

8)Bake for 15 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.

9) Let it cool for couple minutes and then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.

10) Ready to serve. I love mine with ginger tea. This recipe yields 2 dozen Muffins(12 small and 12 mini muffins.)

Rotini Pasta With Basil and Margherita Sauce

Rotini Pasta is cork shaped Pasta and has lots of twists thats how it derives its name. In my house you can eat Pasta everyday. There's never too much Pasta. I always stock up my pantry with different kinds of Pasta.

Ingredients:
1) 1 pound Rotini Pasta uncooked (1 box )
2) 1 Bottle Pasta Sauce -1 pound 10 oz (Old World style Ragu Margherita Sauce).
3) 1 teaspoon dry crushed Basil
4) 2-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
5) 1 Jalapeno pepper finely chopped
6) 1 small piece of ginger finely chopped
7) Salt to taste
8) 2 tablespoon Olive oil
* The Margherita Sauce contains Tomatoes, Pizza Seasonings and Mozzarella Cheese.

Preparation:
1) Cook pasta according to package directions. Just add basil and salt to the water when you boil the Pasta. The Pasta gets a very good flavor when cooked with it. You could cook it Al dente but I like mine a bit tender so I cook the pasta for another couple minutes.

2) In a large Pan heat the oil. Add the garlic and ginger. Fry till you no longer get the raw smell of garlic . The olive oil will get infused with the garlic flavor. Now add the chopped jalapeno pepper. Fry just for about a minute.

3) Add the entire bottle of the Pasta Sauce. Keep it on slow flame. Stir for a minute and Cover. Let it cook for about 5 minutes.

***Caution - Cover the pan with the lid soon after you add the pasta sauce. It will splitter and splatter all over the place. Believe me..I've been there.

4) Now add the drained and cooked Rotini to the sauce. Cover and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes. Ready to serve. I serve it as is. You could garnish it with more cheese of your choice.

This recipe serves 4-6 people. In my house just serves 4 as we all love lots of pasta.

Aloo Gobi ki Sabzi

This is an easy recipe and except garlic it just uses the dry spices. Sometimes you need a little change in the way you prepare a particular dish. Sometimes I like to be a minimalist -just use lesser ingredients. Here the main flavor would be of garlic. You could make this Aloo Gobi without Garlic too if you are not much into garlic.

Ingredients:
1) 2 medium size Potatoes(Aloo) diced
2) 1/2 Cauliflower(Gobi) chopped into medium size florets
3) 1 cup frozen or fresh Peas
4) 5-6 cloves of garlic freshly grated
5) 1-2 whole red chillies
6) 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
7) 1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
8) 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
9) 1 teaspoon chilli powder
10) 1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala
11) 1/2 teaspoon amchur powder (dry mango powder)
12) 1/3 cup heavy cream
13) Salt to taste
14) 3 tablespoon Olive oil
15) 1 cup water
* You Could use regular oil too.



Preparation:
1) Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan. Add the Mustard seeds. When they splutter add Cumin seeds. Wait for it to splutter and add the whole red chillies.
2) Add freshly grated garlic and saute till you no longer get the raw smell of garlic.

3) Add the chopped potatoes and Cauliflower. Fry for about 4-5 minutes. Add turmeric powder,red chilli powder,amchur powder and Garam Masala. Fry for another 2-3 minutes.

4) Add 1 cup of water and cook covered on medium heat till almost cooked.

5) Now add the frozen peas and mix well. You will see its almost getting dry. Cook uncovered on low heat.

6) Just when you see the peas are almost cooked add the heavy cream. Cook on medium heat. The heavy cream will get absorbed into the Sabzi and will soon become dry.

7) It will look like this when its done.

8) Ready to serve with your choice of any Indian Bread. I serve mine with Garlic Parathas.

Curried Lotus Roots with Potatoes - Kamal Kakdi Aur Aloo ki Subzi

I'm Back after a short break for Thanksgiving. Hoping all my fellow blogger friends had a happy thanksgiving. We were visiting some dear family friends for thanksgiving. My friend Shashi made this for me. She's an excellent cook. She was kind enough to let me assist her in making this dish so I could learn it first hand and today I'm going to share this recipe with you. This brings back childhood memories when my Nani (maternal grandma) used to make this dish.

Lotus Roots has numerous health benefits. Its rich in Iron, Vitamins B,C and has great fiber content. It is used in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. It has a strong physical resemblance to the lungs which explains why it is used to treat various respiratory problems.You could checkout the health benefits here.

You should find this in any Asian grocery store. Lotus roots is an integral part of Chinese and Japanese Cuisine too. This is how a Lotus Root look likes....

If You cut it open , this is what the cross section looks like...its simply beautiful to look at..

Ingredients:

•  2 medium sized Lotus Roots/Kamal Kakdi
•  4 small potatoes diced
•  1 cup chopped onion
•  4-5 cloves of garlic
•  1 small piece of ginger
•  1 cup chopped tomatoes
•  4-5 green chillies slit
•  1 teaspoon turmeric
•  1 teaspoon red chilli powder
•  1 teaspoon Garam Masala
•  Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoon oil and some oil for shallow frying
• 2 tablespoon Freshly chopped Cilantro

Preparation:

1. Wash and peel the Lotus roots. Cut them into thin slices. Place the sliced Lotus roots in water to avoid discoloration.

 2. Now heat some oil in a Kadai or skillet and shallow fry the sliced lotus roots for about 6-8 minutes until they turn golden brown. Add the diced potatoes and fry for another 2 minutes.

3. Make a puree of onion, ginger and garlic. Also make another puree of the tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan or a pressure cooker. Add the onion/garlic/ginger puree and saute till golden brown. Add the tomato puree and saute till the oil leaves the masala.

 4. Next add turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Add the stir fried lotus roots and potatoes. Season with salt and add garam masala. Mix well.

5. Add around 2 cups of water and pressure cook ( 2 whistles) or cook covered until cooked for around 15-20 minutes.

6. Garnish with Cilantro and serve with Parathas, Phulkas or any Indian bread of your choice.