Vegetable Macaroons

                        Hello all! Today, I'm very excited to share a tasty and appetising snack and moreover a zero oil recipe - vegetable macaroons. A quick snack that is easy to put together with readily available ingredients and without much effort. A snack that you'd soon fall in love with. I admit We did!

                        While we all know, macaroons as a French dessert, I'm sharing a snack loaded with goodness of veggies in the shape of a macaroon.

                          Today's kids are our teachers and we will have to accept this fact sooner or later. I say this, 'coz today's recipe was so as to say invented and named by my niece and I feel proud enough to share this to the world. While my choice of vegetables is a regular one as that was what we possessed at the time of experiment you can employ your imagination and gather the best and healthiest veggies to your plate. Also, you can use whole wheat bread to make it more nutritious. Here comes the detailed recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. Bread - 1 loaf
2. Potato - 1 no
3. Carrot - 2 nos
4. Onion - 1 no
5. Red chilli flakes - 2 tsp
6. Red chilli sauce - 2 tbsp
7. Soy sauce - 1 tsp
8. Salt - to taste

Method:

• Boil, peel and mash the potato.
• Finely slice the onion and carrots.
• With a lid or round cookie cutter cut the bread slices into round shapes. Keep aside.
• In a mixing bowl take the rest of the ingredients together and mix well. Adjust the levels of salt.
• Take a spoonful of this prepared mixture and spread this over a slice of bread. Place another round slice from top. Keep aside.
• Repeat the previous step to make more vegetable macaroons.
• Sprinkle some more red chilli flakes from top and serve.

Alternatively, you can also toast the macaroons and then serve.

You may also like to try Mint cucumber sandwich, Aloo matar tikki, Aloo palak tikki, Aloo bonda and Masala vada from My Mom's Kitchen.

 Wish to hear from you

Happy Cooking!!!

Dahi ki Kadhi with moongdal bhajiyas

                      Dahi ki Kadhi is the vegetarian version of Gosht ki Kadhi wherein instead of mutton you find tasty moong dal dumplings or bhajiyas. This can be safely termed pakoda kadhi of Hyderabad.

                     This is personally one of my favorite dish and the bhajiyas or the dumplings of this curry can be eaten as a snack also or be even served with rotis. The batter for the dumplings can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days and can be made just when you crave for them or just before serving the Kadhi. The Kadhi tastes best when served hot with steamed rice.

                      As the name suggests this Kadhi recipe uses dahi or curd and that also includes sour curd. So whenever your curd turns sour you can happily cook this Kadhi just like my Mom & my sisters do. The dumplings or bhajiyas can be made using besan or gram flour too but in our house Moongdal is most preferred and that gives an additional step of grinding the dal. And as my Mom says it's worth it when you work for it.

                      The recipe can be divided broadly into 3 steps 1st preparing the Kadhi, 2nd Tempering and 3rd preparing the bhajiyas and adding it to the Kadhi. Sounds easy, doesn't it? Let's get on to the recipe now...

Ingredients:

for kadhi:

1. Curd - 500 gms
2. Besan/gram flour - 2 & 1/2cups
3. Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
5. Red chilli powder - 2 tsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
8. Curry leaves - 1 sprigs
9. Green chillies - 4 nos
10. Coriander leaves - few
11. Dry red chillies - 2 nos (optional)
12. Garlic cloves - 3 to 4 nos (optional)
13. Salt - to taste 
14. Oil - 3 tbsp
15. water - as required 

for bhajiyas:

1. Moong dal - 2 cups
2. Onion - 1 no
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp (optional)
4. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
5. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
6. Coriander leaves - few
7. Mint leaves - few
8. Salt - to taste 
9. Oil - for frying

Method : 

for kadhi:

• To begin making kadhi whisk the curd in a bowl. 
• Add besan or gram flour to the curd followed by two cups of water.
• Add red chilli powder and mix well. Sieve this mixture and transfer it to a cooking vessel.
• Now to the sieved mixture add turmeric powder, ginger garlic paste and salt.
• Add water as required. (As the kadhi cooks it will get thicker so don't worry if you have added an extra cup vice versa if you find the kadhi too thin or runny while cooking mix a little gram flour in water and add it to the kadhi on stove) 
• Place the vessel on medium flame.
• Add coriander leaves and curry leaves with the twig followed by green chillies.
• Stir the mixture frequently to avoid lump formation. 
• Let the kadhi come to a boil. If the green chillies has slightly changed its colour or when the kadhi looks cooked remove from flame.

                                             

• Heat oil for tempering in a pan.
• Add mustard and cumin seeds followed by curry leaves and also garlic cloves and dry red chillies if using.
• Add this tempering to the prepared kadhi. 

                                 

• Cover the kadhi only half way like in the pic below, cover it completely only after it cools down.

                                           

for bhajiyas:

• Soak moong dal in water for about an hour. 
• Grind into a smooth paste. Remove to a mixing bowl.

                               

• To the bowl, add finely chopped onion along with finely chopped coriander and mint leaves.
• Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
• Heat oil for frying in a pan or griddle. 
• Put spoonful of batter and this way you can fry around 3 to 4 bhajiyas at a time.

                                                     

• Turn them once they are golden brown. 
• When golden brown on both sides remove to an absorbent sheet.

                               

• Add few bhajiyas to the prepared kadhi. Serve the rest alongside rice and kadhi.

                                        

• Serve hot.

                     Also try Hyderabadi khatti dal, Vegetable khorma, Dum ke tamaate (Stuffed tomatoes gravy), Tomato chutney and Dal bhaji from My Mom's Kitchen.

Happy Cooking!!!

                 

Almond cookies

                     Almond cookies made from whole wheat flour make a great tea time snack.

              These almond cookies are both nutritious and delicious and very easy to make. Substituting plain flour with whole wheat flour in this recipe makes these cookies fiber dense, and since we are using whole wheat flour and not the refined one makes it even more nutrient dense. Almonds provide with Vitamin E and antioxidants. While I have used powdered sugar you can safely replace it with brown sugar but remember to adjust the amount to suit your liking.

            
             Previously in my kids summer vacation special series I had shared the recipe of Kaju badam biscuits do check it out. You may also like to try Jeera biscuits and Tutti frutti biscuits from My Mom's Kitchen. Now onto today's recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. Whole wheat flour - 3/4th cup
2. Almond powder - 1/4th cup
3. Almonds - 10 to 12 nos
4. Powdered sugar - 2 to 3 tbsp
5. Butter - 1/4th cup
6. Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
7. Salt - 1/8th tsp
8. Milk - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

• Soak the above mentioned 10 to 12 almonds in water for about half an hour. Peel and sliver. Keep aside.
• For almond powder - Take about 10 to 15 almonds in a grinder and grind to get a coarse powder. Add this almond powder to whole wheat flour in a mixing bowl.
• Add rest of the ingredients except milk. Mix well to combine.
• Add milk little by little and form a dough. No need to knead, just bring it all together.
• Next, using a cookie cutter or manually shape the cookies in the desired form.
• Now take the slivered almonds and add it to the cookies on top.
• Grease a baking tray and arrange the cookies on it.

 

• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 15 minutes or till they change to golden in colour. (Keep an eye on the oven after about 12 minutes as every oven settings are different)
• Remove to a plate. The cookies will turn crisper with time.

 

                         This was the first time I was using whole wheat flour for baking and as this was an experiment I have used very little quantities however, if you are confident then you can double the quantity to yield more cookies. And I'm happy to share that my experiment was quite successful and next time I bake these goodies I will make more than enough to fill our cravings.

                          Hope you give this delicacy a try, waiting for your thoughts. Connect with us on Facebook by texting and sharing pictures of recipes you tried from My Mom's Kitchen.

Happy cooking!!!

Budmey ka salan (Lemon cucumber curry)

                     Salan literally means curry and budmey (plural) are the round, yellow coloured vegetables with orange stripes  known as lemon cucumbers in English. So, this is a lemon cucumber curry. A very simple, very easy curry and one that is very low on calories...

                     I always thought that budmey were known as round gourd in English, after all they are so perfectly round in shape (in our region). To double sure myself, and not spread around wrong information and confuse my readers I opted to search for it online. After google-ing for about ten minutes I was surprised to know that these are called Lemon cucumbers owing to their lemon colour skin.

                     Lemon cucumbers are rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin K, potassium, calcium, fiber and antioxidants. They have lots of seeds that can be consumed. But, too many seeds in every bite may become overwhelming as they are a little hard. So, you can choose to include seeds in your recipe or discard them or use some, may be of one lemon cucumber and discard the rest. This is what my Mom generally does but, owing to a dental issue that I was facing Mom discarded all the seeds making it seedless but it was not fruitless as the curry was still delicious. ☺

                    Lemon cucumbers are measured in kilograms like the rest of the vegetables and as I have mentioned below in ingredients list that 1kg of lemon cucumbers are used in this recipe we had 4 medium sized ones you may get more or less depending upon the size. Here comes the detailed recipe:-

Ingredients:

1. Lemon cucumbers/budmey - 1 kg
2. Onion - 1 large
3. Tomatoes - 2 to 3 nos
4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
6. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
7. Green chillies - 4 to 5 nos
8. Coriander leaves - few
9. Salt - to taste
10. Oil - 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

• Peel the lemon cucumbers. Wash and cut them into half. Keep the seeds or discard depending on your taste (Refer 2nd para above) Thinly slice the lemon cucumber like in the picture below.
• Slice onion and tomatoes too.

• Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
• Add onions and saute for two to three minutes.
• When the onion turns slightly translucent add salt, ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and turmeric powder.
• Now add the sliced tomatoes and lemon cucumbers. Pour in half a cup of water. (You won't need more as the vegetables will also release some)
• Close the pressure cooker with its lid and pressure cook for three to four whistles. 
• Let the steam subside on its own, open the lid

• Stir gently. Place back the vessel on flame.
• Slit and add green chillies followed by chopped coriander leaves.
• Cover and cook on low flame for five to seven minutes. 
• Turn out the flame and serve hot.

                                    

         In our home we love to have it with steamed rice along with some  Tala hua ghosht (Mutton fry) for a satisfying meal. You should try it too. 

         If you are looking for more such simple and nutritious vegetable curries then do check out Dondakayal curry (Ivy gourd curry), Onion capsicum masala, Drumsticks besan curry, Eggplant & potato curry and Beans and potato curry from My Mom's Kitchen.

Share the picture of the dish when you give it a try on our Facebook page.

Don't forget to leave a comment below.

Happy Cooking!!!

Noodles salad

                  When it comes to salads, the more the variety the more you enjoy it. Today's post is something like that. Shallow fried noodles are paired with veggies to give a bowl of appetizing noodles salad.

                  While I have shallow fried the noodles you can deep fry it as well if you wish to, to make it more crispy like the one you get in american chopsuey. You can add vegetables of your choice I, for myself have included coloured peppers, spring onions, carrots and cabbage. Also, to make it more filling and to give the extra crunch I have also included peanuts here. Well, basically the more the merrier ☺

                    Like my previous post Sweet n sour carrot salad this salad recipe also has a sweet n sour dressing. Here comes the detailed recipe :-

Ingredients:

1. Hakka Noodles - 1/2 packet
2. Cabbage - 1 cup
3. Carrot - 1 large
4. Red bell pepper - 1 no
5. Green bell pepper - 1 no
6. Spring onions - few
7. Peanuts - 2 tbsp
8. Oil - for frying

for dressing:

1. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
2. Vinegar - 1 tbsp
3. Honey - 1 tbsp
4. Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
5. Salt - to taste 
6. Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

• Soak the noodles in hot water for around 10 minutes. Remove and dry completely, then shallow fry in a pan.
• To the same oil (add more if needed) shallow fry the veggies. Add these to the noodles.
• Dry roast the peanuts, crush or halve them and add to the noodles bowl.
• In another bowl take together all the ingredients listed under 'for dressing'. Mix well.
• Add the prepared dressing to the bowl of noodles. Toss well.
• Serve

                                     You may also like to try Egg pepper noodles, Egg spring rolls, Thai green mango salad, Fresh green salad and Tomato spaghetti from My Mom's Kitchen.

Happy Cooking!!!