Category: Easy LunchBox Series.

Easy LunchBox Series. · Rice Varieties.

20 Minute Pudina Rice.

Shoba12 Comments

This has been one of my all time favorites since the day I ate it for the first time. Pudina is one ingredient that my mom hardly used to cook with. I have seen two distinct groups as far as this herb is concerned – One that swears by the pudina, and one that will never venture to even try it. My mom was in the latter group, but nevertheless, whenever I used to go to the vegetable market, I used to to love to see freshly made bundles of green pudina leaves, gently sprayed with cold water, near fresh pudgy lemons and succulent gooseberries and mango ginger. Some  how vendors in Chennai, always used to group these things together. It would be a sight to watch them laid out fresh against the calming green of the banana leaf all riddled with moisture and water. There is a slow pleasure in watching baskets of fresh colorful vegetables, displayed to sell by street vendors, rather than seeing them packaged in a plastic cover, sealed and artificially preserved in refrigeration.

Pudina was one such lovely herb , I felt I had to cook with. I was looking for recipes to use this amazing leaf which has many ayurvedic curative properties.  My good friend S`s mom used to make Pudina Rice with tamarind and lots of powders, but that was a variant that was pretty strong in masalas and with no veggies. I learnt this variation also from another friend L, who makes it with peas and potatoes. I loved the colours of orange coming through the green rice so I also add carrots, bell peppers and some times cauliflower also if available. Try it, and you`ll love it. It`s an easy option for travel foods. On long drives, this could be made the previous night, and taken for a very filling lunch.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of basmati rice cooked and cooled.

1 bunch of Mint leaves cleaned.

1/4 cup  of coconut powder or dessicated coconut.

6 Green chillies.

1/3 cup of peas.

1/2 cup of diced carrots.

1/2 cup of diced potatoes.

1/3 cup of cauliflower florettes.

1/2 cup of diced green peppers.(Optional)

1/3 cup of cubed Paneer.

Seasoning Spices:

Bay Leaf, 2 Cloves, A piece of cinnamon stick, 1 1/2 spoons of powdered cardamom (elaichi),  6-7 halved cashew crescents.

1 spoon of urad dhal, 1 spoon of bengal gram, 2 spoons of Jeera, curry leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • In a mixer pulse  the pudina leaves, green chillies and coconut powder to a coarse mix. Do not add water.
  • In a wide mouthed kadai, add 2-3 spoons of ghee and when hot add the seasonings in the following order – Bay leaf, Cloves, cinnamon, elaichi, urad dhal, channa dhal, cashew, jeera and lastly curry leaves.
  • Allow the seasonings to get fried in the oil and now pop in the vegetables on by one – carrots, potatoes, cauliflowers, bell peppers, and finally the peas.
  • Add turmeric, salt and allow to get cooked in the oil. Optionally I precook the veggied in the microwave for 4 minutes, so my prep time on the stove is reduced by more than 60%.
  • When the vegetables are almost half cooked, add the coarse pudina paste and mix it in well. Allow to cook well till the raw smell of the pudina and the chillies leave.
  • Add the cooled rice to the kadai, add salt and mix well. Take care that when mixing the rice does not break.
  • Lastly add the cubed paneer slices and serve HOT garnished with coconut and sliced lemon and a side of Cucumber Raitha.
Easy LunchBox Series. · Kid Friendly Recipes. · Snacks & Tiffin Items

Colourful Stuffed Dosa Rolls.

Shoba5 Comments

Colourful Stuffed Dosa Rolls served with Tomato Carrot Chutney.
Colourful Stuffed Dosa Rolls served with Tomato Carrot Chutney.

Dosas are always a pleasure to have at anytime. My daughter and husband, would nt mind dosa everyday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It`s also possible to variate the dosa with so many different sides like Tangy Tomato Gravy,  Tomato Carrot Chutney, Coconut Chutney etc..Many times, I would like to supplement dosa along with some thing a little more healthier. Dosa for lunch becomes a problem as it gets very dry and brittle, and is hardly filling. Stuffed Dosas are a great lunch idea, as they are lined  with a healthy chutney and layered with a stuffing that is hearty and filling,  making them into bite size pieces.It`s filling,  healthy, non-messy and non-fussy!!! Try it and you will love it!

INGREDIENTS:

Dosa Batter

Tomato Carrot Chutney.

Potatoes,Carrot,Onions & Peas filling.

PREPARATION:

  • Make soft dosas on the tava and set them aside in a casserole so they remain warm. It`s essential that the dosas for this preparation are SOFT and not brittle.
  • Place a dosa on your work surface. Line it with the prepared  Tomato Carrot Chutney. This forms as a layer for the filling to stick, and also to keep the dosa moisturised.

Dosa lined with chutney and vegetable filling.
Dosa lined with chutney and vegetable filling.

  • Spoon out enough filling to cover the top of the dosa. Do not spread near the corners of the dosa as this may spill out when you roll them.
  • Place a second dosa on the filling. If the dosa is warm, it will immediately stick to the filling.
  • Carefully roll this and slice it diagonally in to little cartwheels.
  • Serve with a side of Chutney or a little cup of curd.
  • This a great picnic snack as well as a travel snack!

Stuffed Dosa Rolls.
Stuffed Dosa Rolls.

NOTES:

  1. The filling could be anything that you have. Depending on the kind of filling, you could make the sauce.
  2. If you have leftovers of a dry subzi, from the morning, you could line the dosa with pudina chutney or sweet tamarind chutney and serve with a cup of  curd garnished with chat masala and cilantro.
Easy LunchBox Series. · No Need of Onions!!! · Rice Varieties.

Quick Mushroom,Peas & Carrot Pulav.

Shoba3 Comments

Mushroom Carrots and Peas Pulav.
Mushroom Carrots and Peas Pulav.

Mushrooms are my all time favourite and I add them to anything I make- Pulavs, side dishes, subzis, pastas, salads etc. Yesterday was an official not-too-much-time-in-the-kitchen-day. So I grabbed some vegetables and my leftover mushrooms and created this rice dish. There is a small difference in the way this dish is made, which makes its taste also different. There are no harsh masalas and heavy garnishing. Its an easy tasting pulav and has no onions or potatoes, so its easy o the waistline. It`s also a quick fix entree so here it goes.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups of Daawat Basmati Rice cooked and cooled.

1/2 cup of Peas.

1/2 cup of diced carrots.

1/2 cup of cauliflower florets.

1/3 cup of diced mushrooms.

1/4 cup of chopped mint leaves.

1 tsp garam masala.

1 tsp of chilli powder.

Pinch of turmeric.

1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder.

2 spoons of powdered old fashioned oats.

Seasoning: Bay Leaf, Cloves (2), Somph and curry leaves.

PREPARATION:

  • Take a wide mouthed kadai and pour about 2 spoons of oil.  Add the cloves, somph, bay leaf, cinnamon powder and curry leaves in that order and allow them to fry in the oil for a couple of seconds.
  • Next, add the vegetables – carrots, cauliflowers, peas,turmeric and the required salt for the vegetables.
  • You could pre-cook the cauliflower and the diced carrots in the microwave so it lessens the time in front of the stove.
  • Stir in the chopped mushrooms and then sprinkle the chopped pudina, and red chilli powder over the vegetables and mix it in well.
  • After a few minutes, add the cooked rice to the vegetables. Add the garam masala and salt for the rice and mix it well. Take care that the mushrooms do not  break, so stir it carefully.
  • Garnish with coarsely powdered oats and cilantro.
  • Serve with Onion Tomato raita.
Easy LunchBox Series. · No Need of Onions!!! · Snacks & Tiffin Items

Delicious Sabudana Khichdi (Sago cooked to perfection flavoured with chilli-peanut powder.)

Shoba28 Comments

Delicious Sabudana Khichdi
Delicious Sabudana Khichdi

The first time ever that I ever had Sabudana Khichdi, was when my good friend L, made it. I was so completely love with the dish…She makes it so delectable taking time to soak it to a particular consistency, sauteing it in spices, with little pieces of potatoes peeking here and there and flavours it with a flourish with roasted ground powder of red chilli and peanuts. It was unimaginably delicious…The next time around, whenever she would make it, she would reserve a small portion for me, to partake and enjoy. Sabudana Khichdi is a pretty tricky proposition …It matters how you soak the sabudana and one should not soak for too long, or in too much water that all you get is starchy mush, or on the other hand, a little less water and it would roll off like balls of mercury away from  your palm.

Here I am posting my tried and tested method of making this amazing khichdi. It`s almost comfort food for me now. On a cold night, we would love to snuggle up to watch a great movie, eating cups of steaming  hot khichdi….

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound of Sabudana.

1 cup of raw peanuts.

5-6 red chillis

3 Medium potatoes cut in to big cubes.

2 spoons of jeera.

5 green chillis slit vertically

Curry Leaves

Salt to taste.

A pinch of turmeric.

PREPARATION:

  • Depending on the time you have to prepare, first toss the sabudana in to a collander and wash it under the tap. Allow it to drain but keep the collander closed so that the moisture is retained. If you feel that the sabudana is getting too dry, go ahead and sprinkle a few drops pf water so it stays moist. Keep it this way for 3 hours at least.  Just before cooking add 1 1/2 spoons of salt to the sabudana as it soaks up the salt really well.
  • Pop the cubed potatoes with a sprinkle of salt, in to a microwave safe glass bowl and cook it with water for 5 mins. Drain all the water after its cooked and let it stay. It will finish cooking in the khichdi.
  • Take a dry kadai and dry roast the peanuts first and then add the red chillis. Keep the flame on medium low and roast so that this unhurried method, enhances the flavour of the peanuts.
  • Grind the roasted peanuts and red chillis together to a near fine powder in a mixer and store it in a container sealed with cling film. This forms the sole “masala” for the khichdi. Make this powder ahead, so it can be used whenever you want to make this khichdi.
  • In a kadai, add a spoon of ghee and a spoon of oil and when it begins to smoke, toss the jeera, slit green chillis and the curry leaves.

Spluttering Jeera and Chillis...
Spluttering Jeera and Chillis...

  • In a few minutes, toss in the cooked potatoes which already has the salt in it and a pinch of turmeric. Saute it for a couple of minutes before adding the sabudana.
  • At this stage its important that the gas stays at medium low. The sabudana needs to cook in a uniform flame, in steam. So try to use a vessel thats not too high. Keep stirring every 4 minutes or so and keep covered.
  • Take care that the sabudana doesnt form clumps. Use a wodden spatula and keep seperating and stirring them every once in a while. At any point if you feel that the khichdi looks dry sprinkle a few drops of water.
  • It should take approximately 20 minutes to slow cook in steam. Now add 4-5 spoons of the  peanut-chilli powder. If you feel that its too dry, add a spoon of ghee as this enhances the overall flavour.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and a spoon of coconut. Squeeze fresh lemon juice  as garnish.
  • Keep closed until its time to serve. Best eaten HOT!!!

NOTES:

  1. Sabudana is something that is not at all standardised  in its performance, in my opinion. Every brand reacts ever so differently.
  2. My opinion would be to try this whole thing in a quantity of say 1/2 cup.  The spices are also completely left to the individual`s opinion. Try it once and then you can benchmark the spice and salt levels that work for you.

Bon Appetit!!!

Easy LunchBox Series. · Kid Friendly Recipes. · Snacks & Tiffin Items

Colourful Heart Sandwiches – Quick & Tasty.

Shoba6 Comments

Colourful Heart Shaped Sandwiches.
Colourful Heart Shaped Sandwiches.

As always I am looking for newer and more innovative methods to present the same food to my daughter to spruce it up to make it look a lot more colourful and lively. There are certain food items where she also helps me making it, so there is that additional excitement, that her labour has gone into it too. I also believe that the physical presentation and appeal are quite important in itself . So I try to make the maximum use of colors to play with one another, keeping in mind not to alter the original intended taste and yet to see If I could use many items.

Yesterday we had this surprise bday party for my friend A, with the Valentine theme, and we had to decide what to chip in for starters. I offered to make these Colourful Heart Sandwiches as they are easy, fast, colourful and of course go with the theme. I had picked these lovely heart shaped cutter from Dierbergs yesterday …so I wanted to put them to use. The method is pretty much the same, only I dressed it up with half a cheddar cheese topping for the kids and pepper jacks for the adults…Here`s how..

INGREDIENTS:

2 Medium sized Potatoes.

1 Juicy Carrot.

1/4 cup of Peas.

1/2 spoon Dhania Powder.

A pinch of garam masala powder.

1 tsp salt.

Somph or Fennel Seeds to season.

Chopped Corriander.

1 loaf of White Bread / Sandwich Bread sliced.

Slices of Cheddar Cheese and Pepper Jack Cheese sliced in to triangles.

Ketchup.

PREPARATION:

It`s ok to make this filling a day ahead, If you are planning a small party or your kid`s sfriends come over for a snack, or even for a picnic.

  • Cook with minimal water, potatoes and carrots in the cooker with a little bit of salt. Chop the veggies roughly so they cook easily.
  • Take them out when cool, and roughly mash them.
  • In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and when smoking, add somph/fennel , chopped onions (optional) mashed veggies, peas, dhania powder, garam masala, turmeric, and salt.
  • Stir it all in and after 5 mins switch off the stove.
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and keep your filling ready.
  • When it`s time to serve the sandwiches, use the cutter and cut out cute hearts from the bread slices. Save the corners as this can make you delicious bread crumbs for cutlets etc.
  • Lightly toast the bread hearts on a tava and arrange them on a serving platter.

    Heart Shaped Cutter.
    Heart Shaped Cutter.
  • Squeeze a little ketchup on the top side of the bread hearts and spread them lightly so that the filling sticks on them.
  • Use a spoon and scoop a small serving of the filling on the bread hearts and spread them.
  • Top them with a triangular slice of Cheddar cheese.
  • Continue  and complete all the slices with this arrangement.
  • Pop the entire plate in the microwave for 30 seconds. This slightly melts the cheese triangles and makes a little pocket for the filling, so it stays in to the cheese pocket.
  • Decorate with a squeeze of ketchup over the cheese so you get a pretty colour and flavour!!!
  • Watch your kids  enjoy the colorful sandwiches.

HINT:

This is easily a quick fix snack for a potluck or as a starter. Use any filling that is left over in your pantry.

Also a snack that can be easily whipped up for unexpected guests.

This is my second entry to Srivalli`s Kids Delight Event happening at Spice Your Life.

Easy LunchBox Series. · Kid Friendly Recipes.

Instant Healthy Bread Pizza & Masala Bread Chat

Shoba6 Comments

My daughter has always been a poor eater all the way. And like any another kid, getting her to have her daily dose of vegetables is a pretty herculean task. I some times wonder how big chunks of pasta and pizza can get past her oesophagus in a matter of seconds, but rasam sadam and keerai always seems to get stuck some where midway!!! But, as is the dilemma of other moms, I have to invent creative little dinners for her to eat, on the other hand, make sure that she does not lose her veggie spread . Yesterday I had to create a quick fix one for daughter and one for the dear dad for a Valentine Day Pre Party snack!!! They both enjoyed it and I did too…

INSTANT BREAD PIZZA:

 

Instant Bread Pizza

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup The prepared Vegetable Topping.

Tomato Ketchup.

Salt to sprinkle.

1/4 cup part skim mozzarella cheese grated.

Bhujiya to sprinkle

ASSEMBLY:

  • Take a single slice of bread either slightly toasted or plain. Start by smearing a single layer of tomato ketchup. Alternatively you could use Marinara sauce, but the ketchup does not make the bread soggy and allows whatever is placed about it to stay in place.
  • Scoop a big chunk of the prepared topping and flatten it over the layer of ketchup.
  • Add a small dash of the bhujiya and top over that with mozzarella cheese.
  • Pop it for just 30 seconds in the microwave and serve it to your child and enjoy the smiles and praises you get right there!!!
  • Mine said “Mommy, you are the best”!!!…and my day was made!!!

Flagging off this post to The Bread Mania – by Bayleaf.

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QUICK BREAD CHAT:

 

Quick Bread Chat

 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup of prepared vegetable topping.

Tomato Ketchup.

Sweet Tamarind Chutney

Pudina Chutney.

Salt to sprinkle.

A spoon of chopped onions to sprinkle.

Corriander to garnish.

ASSEMBLY:

  • Take a single slice of lightly toasted or plain bread. Spread over it, a thin layer of tomato ketchup.
  • Scoop the vegetable filling and flatten. Add a dash of sweet tamarind chutney and pudina chutney.
  • Add a garnish of bhujiya, raw onions and chopped corriander.
  • Serve as it is – Almost felt to me like a quick chat snack!!!..and smelt like one too…

The chunky topping is a combination of the following:

3 Medium Potatoes  cooked and mashes.

1/2 Onion chopped.

1/4 cup Peas

1/4 cup beans

1/4 cup carrots.

1 spoon of salt

1/4 spoon of amchur.

1/4 spoon of dhania powder.

1/4 spoon of red chilli powder.

Corriander to garnish.

Pinch of turmeric.

Jeera to season.

PREPARATION:

  • In a kadai, add oil and when warm add a pinch of jeera and the onions. Saute till they turn pinkish brown.
  • Add the carrots, mashed potatoes, peas and beans and stir in turmeric and salt.
  • Drop in the powders – amchur, red chilli powder, dhania powder and incorporate them in to the mixture.
  • When nicely cooked, switch off and allow to cool. Garnish with chopped corriander.
  • This cold be a base for any filling – Stuffed Capsicum, Stuffed Tomatoes, Vegetable Puffs, sandwiches etc.