My little cupcake has started school and week days are so well packed for us, but it isn't worse though. Her first day of school gave such an excitement to the whole family ; we were enjoying each and every part of it. It reminded us of our school days. Everything was new, dress to bags to pencil boxes , mostly every single thing. back in India every tailoring shops would be super busy stitching uniforms , and every shop would be so crowded with kids and parents

Well, this Vegetable Rice has a special place in for me , one of my cousin sister , luckily she stayed so near by our home ; well  she isn't much into cooking but there are a few of her staple dishes that i love , and one of that being her super easy vegetable rice.  Its best to be had right out from the hot pot.

The recipe is simple as well as the ingredients , but the aroma of this rice is so good, that i just finish it off without any curry. I love you so much for all those hot steel dabbas filled with super yum rice.

Simple Vegetable Rice

Ingredients :

1.5 cup Basmati Rice ( washed and soaked for 15 - 20 mins )
1/2 cup diced / chopped  Carrots and Beans
1/4 Green Peas ( i used frozen )
2 tbsp Ghee

2 -3 Cardamom crushed
1 inch Cinnamon stick
2 -3 Cloves

Method:

Heat ghee / oil in a pressure cooker and add in the whole spices.
Add in the veggies and toss in for about 5min.
Drain rice and add in to the pressure cooker; mix well with the veggies and fry in for a min.
Pour in 2 cups of warm water and let the rice get boiled and about just cooked .
Close the cooker lid and reduce the heat to low - medium and cook for about 15 min.
Open once cooled and serve with any curry of your choice ,i served mine with  Kerala Nadan Chicken Curry , but i have a few more non - veg recipes which goes well with this rice.

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                I am happy that i am back and trying a sneak peak into my blog baby after so long. Many a things are happening around me , excitement - happiness - a bit of stress - so many emotions and so much. Anyway , i do not guarantee a full fledged blogging in here for sometime , but i surely would not want to abandon my blog.
So , back to the recipe , it is a " usual or may be a staple " chutney amma made for most of the times to accompany papa's ever favorite breakfast dish " Idli ". Either a Red Coconut Chutney or  a White Coconut Chutney and even the Dry Coconut Chutney , but myself and my brother were never fond of these , until i came here to the US. Its usually called as " Vella Chammanthi / White Chutney "at home , and now i totally devour the taste of this chutney.

         This chutney is usually made with just Coconut - and Curd as the main ingredient , amma totally avoids adding roasted gram / pottu kadala , but i just added for a slight thickness , because my curd wasn't so thick you can totally avoid it or use it as per your wish.
This chutney goes very well with Idli , Dosa , Ada Dosa , Tapioca Adai Dosa etc.


White Coconut Chutney /  VellaThenga Chammanthi

Ingredients :

1 cup Grated Coconut
1 -2 tbsp Pottu Kadala / Roasted gram ( optional )
1/2 cup Thick Curd
1 1 /2 Green chili
1 inch piece Ginger
a small pinch of Tamarind
salt to taste

Method:

Grind all the ingredients together to a smooth paste, adding just enough water as needed to make it to a smooth paste , but not watery.
Heat oil in a Kadai and pop mustard  and curry leaves, and add in the ground chutney and just heat it in a low heat, do not boil the chutney.
Transfer into a serving bowl and serve.

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                  On and off summer really takes it toll on us. At times its really hot and gets hard  even to go out  in the afternoons so, something cold is the only option to keep us cool. Its rare that we buy ice creams from the store , actually i still love the ice creams we get back in India , the flavor is so different from here ; be it  even a simple Vanilla Ice Cream.
This time when my parents planned on a visit here i asked them for a bottle of  Butterscotch Essence back from India. So, i have been making this for so many times from then on. I tried omitting Butterscotch essence and adding in Vanilla Essence and a tiny pinch of orange colour and it almost tasted and looked the same too.

My mom being a great fan of Butter Scotch Ice cream , i'm happy to serve her the same flavor here too. Its great to cool off ourselves with this super easy Ice cream.
Im trying to keep my blog live with giving in sneak peeks in between ...hopefully !!!
 Anyway enjoy your summer peeps !!

ButterScotch Ice Cream - No Machine !!

Ingredients :
 2 cups Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Butterscotch Essence / Vanilla Essence
1/2 cup Milk
a tiny pinch of orange colour ( optional , only if you need the exact color of butterscotch )

For the praline :
1/2 cup Sugar
a hand full of roughly chopped Cashews

Method:

For the Praline : Prepare a tray by lining parchment paper or spread 2 drops of ghee on to a steel plate and set aside.
Heat a pan on medium and add sugar ; let it melt.
Stir until it turns golden brown , add in the nuts and stir.
Transfer it on to the prepared tray / plate  and spread out .
Let it cool completely and get hard. Break it down roughly using a mortar and pestle.

For the Ice Cream:
Beat whipping cream , sugar  and butterscotch essence together until soft peaks form.
Add in milk and  the prepared praline ( reserve some for garnishing ) and stir in well.
Transfer it into a freezer safe or a glass container and freeze for an hour or more ; take it out and whip the ice cream for a min and freeze again. ( i froze mine overnight )
Scoop out into a serving bowl and garnish some of the praline on top.

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           Ethappazham / Ripe Plaintain are always something very nostalgic to me. As a kid i was seen as the thinnest girl , and each and every aunties who met my Amma would suggest her many a ways to make me get atleast eat something and gain weight. Its now that being a parent i realize how hard it was on her to get me to put a bit of flesh !!! But never did something like that happen then, but now its not at all that way any more. ;)

Well talking about this particular recipe , this was one of the method suggested to my mom to help me put on some weight , i loved eating it , but nothing magical happened with my weight number. So its kind of nostalgically connected with me ;) . Now even after years of gaining more weight , i still love to have this not with the mind set of  gaining anymore of the weight , but for the taste.
Even my little darling she is a huge fan of this Ethapazham Fry. 
I usually burn my bananas and so the Caramelized taste , and we all love it.


Caramelized Ripe Plaintain / Ethappazham Fry

Ingredients:

1 Ripe Plaintain / Ethappazham ( cut in rounds )
1 -2 tbsp of Ghee ( or even more during the frying )
Sugar to sprinkle

Method:

Heat ghee in a pan and fry the bananas on both the sides on medium to high heat.
 Until the bananas turn  golden brown or even darker,  ( i usually add in a extra spoon on ghee while frying for that extra taste ).
Once done, transfer on to a serving plate drizzle a tsp of ghee on top and sprinkle sugar while still hot, and serve.

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Our dearest little one !!

 I was busy baking a sweet little cutie and its been 3 months that we welcomed our newest little munchkin into our family !!! Our darling little baby girl Nila born on April 27 at 4.34pm.
It was totally a roller coaster ride  for me from day one ; but the cutest grins are all worth it. We had tons of things happening in our lives ; we shifted to our new home , my parents visited us and we welcomed our little one too.
      And talking about the new Big Sister; she was all excited as ever ; even before the little ones birth. Adya would voluntarily  talk to people at the billing counter , shopping malls or other parents at the park with expressive eyes all wide open and sharing her most happy news of having a baby sister very soon !!! She has been really sweet and caring to the little one , and above all she really adjusted very well more than what we expected.
Hugging on to my  little girls i know; we are going to have the best memories that are going to last for a lifetime. My blog would surely be on a slow mode but i wish to keep posting on some new recipes thats coming out for our kitchen.

I'll be soon back with a recipe !!! Smiles to all ....

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Getting pretty hectic for sometime is totally keeping me away from my blog, still i try a sneak peak on to whats happening with my blog these days. Yes friends, i am totally getting exhausted at times but still i am enjoying each and every little thing happening around me, and i am so much waiting to share a lot of things with you all, just waiting for me to get back and settled, and i'm sure its going to happen pretty soon too.

So today , its just a simple recipe with Veggies and Seafood combo!! Tindora is my dad's ever favourite veggie, and i still remember him buying loads of them, but even though its bought in huge quantities he has a limit to it too, and explains us kids about the goodness of it.
I saw this recipe in our fortnightly regional language magazine a while ago , and thought of sharing it with you all.
We three loved it with steaming hot rice in the afternoon, and for night with rotis. And i must say , it went well with both rice and rotis.


Tindora - Prawns with Coconut and Spices / Peera

Ingredients:

 8 - 10 Tindora / Kovakka ( slit length wise into four )
10 Prawns / Shrimp
1/2 tsp Turmeric
Salt

1 cup Grated coconut ( give it once pulse in your mixer )
4 Green Chili ( slit )
1 inch Ginger ( chopped )
1/2 of a Onion ( sliced )
2 piece Gamboge / Kudampuli ( soaked in hot water, cleaned )



Method:

Clean and de -vein the prawns, mix it with turmeric , enough salt and boil it adding enough water until half done, and drain and set aside.
In a bowl add in Coconut + Green chili + Ginger + Onion+ Gamboge / Kudampuli and give it a nice crush with your hands or you can use a motar and pestle.

Heat oil in a Kadai and pop mustard seeds , add in Tindora / Kovakka and saute for a min or so.
Add in the prawns + the coconut mixture, sprinkle in some water and cook over low  - medium heat until done.
Serve hot with Rice / Roti.

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     There is so much going on with us these days , but cooking isn't having any delay for that matter , and i do photograph a few dishes in between , but nothing is being uploaded and posted.
 I hope to sort out everything soon and get busy back with my blog.

So last month it was his birthday , and as usual i had a cake all ready for him in the evening when  he came back from office.  I had been eyeing on this Coffee Cake from Passionate about baking , for long , and felt his birthday to be the perfect time to bake it. I personally love and prefer Coffee flavored in a Cold dessert or a drink, more than Hot Coffee Drinks.
I made very few changes to the recipe , and it was up to the mark , and we loved it.
Little Adya was all happy to help her Appa blow and cut the cake.

ESPRESSO COFFEE CREAM CAKE

Ingredients:
5 Eggs ( separated )
1 cup Sugar
1 tbsp Instant Espresso Powder ( i used Nescafe )
1 cup Flour
a pinch of Salt
1/4 cup unsalted Butter ( melted and cooled )

Method:
 Pre - heat oven to 350F, and line two 6" round cake pan, grease and dust with flour.
In a bowl, beat eggs + sugar until thick and mousse like, add coffee powder and beat again.
Mix flour + salt until well mixed.
Fold the flour in the eggs in 3 goes, until mixed through, be careful not to release the air bubbles.
Take a cup of batter in a small bowl , mix the melted cooled butter , and gently fold this back into the rest of the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan, and bake for 30 - 35 min , till a tester comes out clean.


Filling :
1 tbsp Coffee dissolved in 3 tbsp water + 1 tbsp sugar
400 ml / 2 cups Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Instant Coffee

Method:
Whip together till medium peaks form
Brush the cake with the coffee syrup and  sandwich with the filling. Reserve any remaining cream for garnishing.


Topping :
1 1/4 cup / 300 ml Heavy Cream
2 - 3 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Instant Coffee powder
Dark Chocolate for garnishing

Method:
Whip the ingredients together until stiff peaks, frost the sides and the top.
Garnish with chocolate.

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