Peeenzaaaaaaaaaaa!

Well, that's what my now three year old calls a pizza! She's a picky eater...very difficult to please little girl! Of late, she chants "peenza" every time she sees a pizza delivery boy in the apartment complex...so the other day, we tried to make them at home...I must say, they were way above the store bought ones in terms of quantity and taste...altho' I'm not really sure if the pizza base that we make is the authentic one...This recipe was passed onto my mom from my aunt!

Ingredients:

Pizza Base:
1. All purpose flour (maida) - 2 cups
2. Wheat flour (atta) - 2 cups
3. Eggs - 3
4. Yeast - approx 1 tsp,  proofed in warm milk (about 1/4 cup) and sugar
5. Oil - 1/2 cup
6. Salt - To taste

Mix all the above and knead well. The more you knead, the better your dough will turn out to be.Cover and  leave the dough to rise. Knead again after about 2-3 hours. The dough rises in about 5-6 hrs. It should ideally rise to about double the original. Knead again just before use.

Toppings:
I use just about any vegetable/meat that I can lay my hands on.
This particular time, I used the following -
1. Capsicum - 1 cut into slices
2. Tomato - 1 cut into slices

3. Onion - 1 cut into slices
4. Baby corn - 10, halved
5. Sweet corn - about 1/4 cup
6. Chicken Sausage - about 1/4 cup
7. Grilled Chicken -cut thinly, about 1/4 cup
8. Pizza Sauce - 2 tbsp
9. Mozzarella cheese - 1 cup

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 220 degrees before you start arranging your pizza :)
2. Bring out your pizza tray and lightly oil it.
3. In your pizza tray, roll out the base using your hands (you can chose to make your crust thin or thick, depending on how you like your pizza). My tray yields a family size pizza, which can be cut into 6 pcs.
4. Spread the pizza sauce evenly across the base.
5. Arrange the topping on the base depending on your sensibilities :)
6. Finally, top it all up generously with the mozarella.....
7. Pop into the oven and bake for approx 13-14 mins.
8. Once done, cut into slices and bite into a piece of bliss!

Pic depicts the pizza just before it was popped into the oven for baking

Lamingtons....

I love cakes...not the store bought ones...but I am no expert at baking either...and even if I were, the current numbers on my weighing scale discourgaes any kind of sweets :)
And, the husband enjoys only the "plum cake" and daughter needs only a chocolate cake...!
The plum cake isnt an easy bake and chocolates were beginning to get boring and that's when I came across this lovely lovely recipe from Ria's collection...
Baked it following the recipe to the T and they came out perfectly...My cousin, who was on a visit from Aussie land at the time, said these tasted exactly like how they do in Australia!
Thanks Ria for sharing the recipe....

Baked Veg Balls

It was school closing at my daughter's play school. Each parent had to send some "healthy" snack with their child so that they learn to share :)
My plan was to make "Oven Baked Potato Cheese Breaded Bites" , adapted from Deeba's blog . Needless to say the plan remained a plan, because I realized that there was no cheese in the house only in the morning :D Smart, ain't I ???
So, I adapted the entire recipe. What remained of her original (and superbly tasty) recipe was just the mashed potatoes, green chilly and the baking part :D, the rest I improvised :D

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes - 3 medium, pressure cooked and mashed
2. Carrot - 1 small, grated
3. Corn - 1/2 cup, boiled
4. Onion - 1 small, finely chopped
5. Green chilly - 1, de-seeded and chopped fine.
6. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Garam masala - 3/4 tsp
9. Salt - To taste
10. Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup

Method:

1. In a pan, heat a little oil and saute the onions until translucent. Throw in the chopped green chilly and grated carrot, saute for a minute.
2. To this add the mashed potato and cooked corn. Mix well.
3. Add turmeric powder, chilly powder, garam masala and salt to taste. Add a tea-spoon of water so that all the powders mix well with the vegetables.
4. Saute for a couple of minutes until all the powders and vegetables have blended well together.
5. Take off the stove and cool for a while.
6. Make tiny bite sized balls using the mixture. Drizzle some oil on each ball and ensure that they are evenly coated with oil.
7. Roll the balls in bread crumbs
8. To bake, grease a baking tray with oil and place the veg balls in it.
9. Bake at 180 degrees for about 40 mins until the balls turn a nice golden color.
10. Use your imagination to decorate before serving. This can either be served with ketchup or dip.

Vellarikka (English Cucumber) Kalan

The mister carries lunch to office and it's quite a challenge to dish up something new every day (Ok, this never happens...but I try ;)) It helps that he isnt as food savvy as I am. So, any simple gravy and a dry side dish would make him immensely happy :)
Today it was this simple vellarikka kalan :)

Ingredients:

Vellarikka  -- 1 small, cut into cubes
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Curd - 250 ml

To Grind:

Grated Coconut -- 3 tbsps
Cumin seeds - a pinch
Green chilly - 2-3

Grind the above into a fine paste.

Seasoning:
1. Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
2. Dry red chilly - 2-3
3. Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
4. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:
1. In a vessel, cook the cucumber in about 1/4 cup of water. Add salt, turmeric and chilly powder as well. Cook covered on low flame until the cucumber is well cooked.
2. Add the ground mixture to the cooked cucumber, increase flame and cook until all the water has evaporated.
3. While the cucumber gets cooked, whip up the curd nicely.
4. Reduce the flame, add the curd, stir continuously and bring it close to a boil. You have to take the curry off the stove just before it boils.
5. To garnish, take a pan & splutter a few mustard seeds. Throw in the dry red chilly, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves. Fry for a few seconds and add to the curry.

This is a simple no-frill dish, and can be prepared rather easily.

Beetroot Thoran...

Ok, I've discovered in the last one month that "thorans" are by far the easiest dishes to make, esp if someone else is doing the chopping for you ;)
The beetroot is another of the daughter's favourite, so inevitably it ends being on our table atleast once in a week...and today was yet another beetroot day.

Ingredients:
Beetroot - 3 medium sized
Chilly Powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

To Grind:

Sambar onion -- 2-3
Jeera seeds -- a pinch
Green chilly -- 2-3 (would vary depending on your spice level) 
Grated coconut - 4 tbsps

Coarsely grind the above.

Method:
1. Beetroot can be either be grated or finely chopped. When I have a lot of time, I prefer to finely chop them.

2. In a frying pan, splutter a few mustard seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves.
3. Add the beetroot into the frying pan, along the chilly powder, turmeric powder and salt.
4. Add a little water (abt 3-4 tbsps), reduce the flame and cook until the beetroot is well cooked and until there is no more water in the pan.
5. Increase the flame and add the ground mixture into the pan.
6. Mix well, and saute on high flame for a couple of minutes more.
7. Turn off the stove.

Ulli Sambar....the way I like it...

Although I enjoy cooking, I normally dont do a lot of it since my mother is with us. But the last month has been quite an experience. She is away and I've been managing home :) Ok...I didnt think I could do it, but I wasnt the colossal failure I thought I would be. I brought out the cook book Amma had diligently written for me when I got married. I never had the chance to use it until now!!!! But I've been fairly successful in the kitchen...atleast, my daughter never had to sleep on an empty stomach in the afternoon, and I largely managed to cook the things she liked.

Sambar is a regular fare at our place, mainly because I am a huge fan and the daughter loves the shallots and  potatoes in them...Husband usually turns his face away at the very sight of it ;);)

Here's the recipe to A and D's "favouritest" sambar -

Section 1:
Ingredients:
Peeled sambar onions (shallots) - 20-25
Potatoes - 2 medium sized, cut into cubes
Green Chilly - 1 or 2
Dal - 1/2 cup toor dal
Tamarind - a small ball, soaked in water

Section 2:

Powders:
Chilly Powder - 2 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek Powder - a pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - a pinch

To Grind:
Fried coconut - 4 tbsps (Grate the coconut and fry in coconut oil until they turn a nice brown color)
Tomato - 1/2
Onion - 1 medium, finely slices

In a pan, heat a little oil and add onions. Saute till onion turns a light brown color. At this stage, add tomatoes and saute till tomatoes turn soft. Add chilly powder, coriander powder, fenugreek powder and hing. Saute until the raw smell of the powders goes off. Add the fried coconut. Stir for a couple of seconds more and turn off the stove. Cool well before grinding.

Once completed cool, grind into a fine paste using as little water as possible.

Section 3:
To Garnish:
Finely chopped sambar onions (shallots) - 5-6
Mustard seeds  - 1 tsp
Dry red chilly - 2-3
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Coriander leaves - a handful, coarsely chopped (this is optional)


Method:
Pressure cook the dal in about 2 glasses of water until well done. (I do not add extra water to cook my veggies, so ensure that there's enough water in the cooker). Once the dal is done, add the potatoes & shallots into the cooker, bring to a boil. You may also add a pinch of turmeric powder and salt to taste at this stage.
Reduce the flame and cook until the vegetables are almost done. At this stage add the tamarind water (I add about 5-6 tbsps since I prefer my sambar to be on the tangier side). Bring to a boil.
Add the finely ground paste from section 2 into the cooker. Bring to a boil (if you think the sambar is a way bit too thicker than you like it to be, go ahead and add some more water to bring it your desired consistency...)

To garnish, take a pan & splutter a few mustard seeds. Throw in the dry red chilly and curry leaves. Stir for about 30 seconds. Add the finely chopped shallot and fry it well until they turn a crispy golden color. Take off the stove and add to the sambar. Just before taking the sambar off the stove, add the chopped coriander leaves. Stir well  and serve hot with rice.

PS: This goes very well with idli and dosa too :)

Cabbage & Carrot Thoran

Ok, so my daugther isnt such a huge fan of this one...but yours truly certainly is...and esp, if there's a really spicy curry along with the afternoon meal, this thoran adds to the zing in my meal :)
Its no tough ask to get this done...and I'm actually ashamed to blog this one...but guess what, there are a few  variations to this as well...I've seen atleast two (that of my mom & grandmom)...but here goes mine :D

Ingredients

• Cabbage   -- 1/2 of a medium sized one
• Carrot       -- 1 medium sized

To Grind

• Sambar onion  -- 2-3
• Jeera seeds     -- a pinch
• Green chilly     -- 3-4 (would vary depending on your spice level)

Coarsely grind the above.

Grated Coconut   4-5 tbsps

Method

1. Grate the carrot and cabbage.
2. In a frying pan, splutter a few mustard seeds, dry red chilly and curry leaves.
3. Add the cabbage and carrot into the frying pan, along with a pinch of turmeric powder and salt as per taste.
4. Saute for a few mins and add the coarsely ground shallots, jeera seeds and green chilly into the pan. Saute for a minute. Close the lid of the frying pan and cook on low flame (for another 5 mins)until the everything has mixed well.
5. Add the grated coconut and saute on high flame for a couple of mins more. Turn off the stove

The thoran goes well with any kind of curry & rice, my personal favourites being sambar & mambazha kalan.

Potato Stew

I have a 2 year old who absolutely loves potato in any form....and this happens to be one of her recent favourites...picky as she is, rice finds a way into her tummy quite effortlessly if this is the dish for the day!!!
There are many variations of the stew and she loves them all equally...this particular one, that I have chosen to inaugurate my blog with, is also served in the traditional Kerala sadya...

Onto the recipe...

• Potatoes           -- 2 medium sized
• Ginger              -- 1 inch, thinly sliced
• Green Chilly     -- 3 (or more depending on your spice level), slit lengthwise
• Coconut Milk   -- 1-1.5 cups (medium thick)
• Curry Leaves    -- 1 sprig
• Salt to taste
• Coconut oil       -- 1 Tbsp

Pressure cook the potatoes until 3-4 whistles. Once the pressure is released, peel the skin off the potato and mash the potatoes (you can either mash the potatoes or cut them into little cubes, I personally prefer them mashed...)
Add the mashed potatoes, sliced ginger and slit green chillies to the coconut milk. Add salt as per paste. Stir continuously and bring to a boil...
Turn off the stove. Garnish with a spoon of coconut oil and a sprig curry leaves!

PS: The stew will thicken on cooling.