Vegetarian Nadan Chicken Curry

We are in to the second week of Blogging Marathon & this week we are blogging on "Meatless Dishes". I went crazy with looking for recipes that might look something similar to the original recipe & here I decided to make "Nadan Chicken Curry" where in replacing chicken with potatoes. 

Recipe Courtesy:Swasthi of Indian Healthy Recipes

Ingredients

For gravy

½ Cup chopped onions

½ Cup chopped tomatoes

1 Tsp ginger garlic paste

½ Cup coconut milk

2 Tbs sesame oil

Salt

For marinating potatoes

1 Tbs yogurt

1 Tsp red chili powder

½ Tsp garam masala powder 

Pinch of turmeric

2 Large potatoes diced

For masala paste

1 Inch cinnamon

4 cloves

2 cardmon pods

1 Tsp black pepper powder

1 Tsp fennel seeds

1 & ½ Tbs coriander seeds

4 Red chili’s (adjust acc. to your taste)

For seasoning

1 Tbs mustard

½ Cup thinly sliced onions

Few curry leaves 

Marinating

Mix all the ingredients for marinating  & set aside for 30mins

Grounded masala

Dry roast all the ingredients under masala paste. Grind them with little water to make a smooth paste.

Heat a pan with oil. To that add onions & fry them to medium brown. To that add ginger garlic paste & tomatoes & sauté them.

To that add marinated potatoes & masala paste. Add the desired salt. I added a ½ cup water to adjust the moisture in curry. Cook with a lid for 10mins.

Now add the coconut cream & mix it well. Cook on low heat for 5mins & switch off heat.

Heat a pan with oil & to that add mustards, onions & curry leaves. Fry them for 2 mins. Add it to the curry. 

Serve it with Roti's, chapati's & paratha's. 

Guacamole Puffs

Guacamole is one of the well know dips of mexican food. I sharing one of the recipes I tried recently and it was a instant best bite for us. 

Ingredients

For Guacamole

2 Hass avocados

1 Large garlic minced 

1 Jalapeño seeded & minced

1 Tomato thinly chopped

1 Tbs. lemon juice ( Adjust acc.)

Salt for taste

For puff 

6 Puff pastry sheets

½ Cup mozzarella cheese

1 Egg

2 Tbs. water

For Guacamole 

Cut avocado around the seed  vertically. Twist rotate the avocado & you get 2 halves. Remove the seed & scoop the flesh in to a bowl. Mash it well without leaving any lumps. Mix the other ingredients with avocado & mix them well. Taste it & adjust if needed.

For egg wash

Break egg in to a bowl & mix it with water. Whisk it & keep aside.

Mean while preheat oven @ 350degrees.

Take a puff pastry sheet and place a scoop of guacamole as shown in the picture. To that sprinkle cheese & egg wash the edges before closing them. Now close it as shown above & repeat the same with rest of the puffs. Egg wash all the puffs before baking them for beautiful color.

Bake them @350degrees for around 20 to 25mins till they are nicely puffed up & brown as shown above. Remove them from oven & allow them to cool a little before serving.

Note: 
Follow the rules of pastry package for baking instructions. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Thinking of hot chocolate reminds us the cold winter days where you have to have a cup of it. Right now Southern California is maintaining low temps, which made me crave for a hot chocolate. It is suppose to be summer but for past 2 weeks the temps are running little low while reminding of sweet fall time. So I'm sharing a recipe for those days you need a kick to boost your energy. 

Recipe courtesy: Food Network
Ingredients
2 Cups 2% fat milk
1 Cinnamon stick 
1 Anise star
4 Tbs Semi sweetened chocolate powder.
1/4 Cup Brown sugar ( Adjust acc. to your taste)

Heat a big pot with 2 cups of milk. To that add cinnamon & Anise. Stir well & let it boil for 10mins in low heat with closed lid.To that add chocolate & sugar.Stir it to dissolve sugar. Let it boil in low heat for 5mins. Then switch off heat & serve it hot.

Check my other Blogging Marathon friends here. 

Mexican Corn on the Cob

I'm once again back on Blogging Marathon. The theme for this week is Mexican Cuisine. For which I'm sharing a recipe, which was sitting for 2 yrs in my draft. The Mexican Corn on the Cob is a simple recipe, which is easy to make, & and also a delicious indulgence.

Ingredients
2 Corn, husked 
2 Tbs mayonnaise 
2 Tbs non fat yogurt
1/2 Tsp cumin or jeera powder 
1/2 Tsp chilli powder
Salt 
1 Lime cut into 4 pieces 
chopped cilantro for garnish

In a bowl mix mayonnaise, yogurt, jeera powder, chili powder & salt. 

Now grill corn on stove top. Turn it for every 2mins & cook till it's done perfectly. It takes around 10mins to complete the grilling. Switch off heat & allow it to cool down. 

Spread each corn with the sauce & squeeze a little lemon juice. Garnish it with cilantro and serve it right away. 

Healthy Bite

The groundwork of all happiness is health

~~ James Leigh Hunt, an English critic, essayist, poet and writer

“Healthy” is a word of this century. You hear it almost everyday from who ever you meet & greet. It seems as though everyone is trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

It made me think what exactly it means to me & how can I be one. There are some inevitable things that we can’t control so leaving them behind here are some things I want to follow myself.

1.    Including fruits, Vegies & grains in my diet
2.    Consuming minimum 8 glasses of water
3.    A 1-hour workout daily or 5days a week.
4.    Keeping calm & quiet even when you feel like sharing a piece of your mind with others.

A simple equation can define as

Good food habits + Work out + self-care = Healthy.

Coming to the event it concentrates on recipes, which are healthy & nutritious. The food that has less saturated fat, trans fat & sugars are the least welcome recipes to the event.

1. Vegan & vegetarian recipes only.
2. Post it in your blog and link back the recipe to my event.
3. Use of logo is appreciated.
4. Can link in multiple entries.
5. Event ends on 31 August 2013.
6. For any queries you can just leave a comment on my facebook page Ammaji Recipes or do mail me. 

Kattu Pongal with Quinoa | Khara Pongal with Keenwah | Quinoa Ven Pongal

Ven pongl is a well know break fast dish in south India.It's a combination of rice & moong dal with a kick of black pepper to it.I'm gonna share a little healthy version of pongal made of quinoa & dal here.The texture looks dry & you can change it to a creamy one by adding a little extra water while cooking. 

2 Servings 
Ingredients
1 Cup dry quinoa
1/2 Cup moong dal 
1/2 Cup coconut powder
1&1/2 Cup water 
Salt 
Seasoning
1 Tbs mustard seeds 
1 Tbs Jeera
2 Tbs ghee or butter
1 Tbs chopped or grated ginger
2 Tbs black pepper powder
2 Red chili's 
2 Tbs peanuts
Few curry leaves 

In a pressure cooker take quinoa, dal, coconut & salt with 1& 1/2 cups of water. Cook it for 2 whistles & switch off heat.

Heat a pan with butter. To that add peanuts and fry them for few seconds & to that add mustard seeds, jeera, ginger, pepper powder red chilis & curry leaves. Fry them till mustard starts jumping & off heat.

Now transfer the contents directly to pan while it is hot & mix well with the seasoning.

Allow it to sit for ten minutes & serve with chutney.

Appetizers

- Grissini - Italian Breadsticks | How to Make Grissini
- Mango Avocado Salsa
- Omelette in Mug
- Veg Momo
- Mini Omelette | Omelette Paniyaram
- Paneer Kabab
- Asparagus Fry
- Gobi Manchuria
- Veggie Dumplings
- Quesadilla with Hummus

BWW #92

Sending this to Susan's BWW event which was passed to Cindystar & being hosted @ Simona of briciole.