Bread upma is a really quick and easy dish which you serve it for breakfast or  evening snack. Soft bread soaks up all the juices of masala and tastes yummy. You can use pretty much all veggies available ( carrot, peas, capsicum).  Most of our weekday breakfast’s are cereal, bread, waffle , bagel the list goes on…… while most of the weekend breakfast/brunch are idly, dosa, upma kind of stuff….. last week I was at whole foods and I picked up loaf of freshly baked bread ( I love whole foods bread) I totally forgot that I had bread at home .  The best way to use it all was UPMA!!.

Ingredients

1/2 loaf white bread (6-8 slices)
Cut the bread pieces into small cubes and keep aside. You can remove the sides if you want to.

1 onion ( finely diced)
1 tomato ( finely chopped)
3-4 green chilles ( as per your taste)
1″ inch ginger finely grated (opt)
3-4 curry leaves
fistful of coriander leaves finely chopped for garnish
juice of 1/2 lemon/lime (optional)
salt to taste
1/2 tbsp oil to cook
Big pinch of turmeric

Seasoning
1/2 tsp channa dal
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/4th tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp cashew nuts

Procedure

Heat oil in a pan on medium heat add urad dal, channa dal, cahsewnuts and fry them until light brown add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter. Now add curry leaves, green chillies , grated ginger, onions and saute til the onions translucent. now add turmeric chopped tomatoes and salt cover the pan with lid and let the mixture cook for 4-5 minutes or till the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Now add the cubed bread pieces lightly sprinkle some water and gently mix add toghter (until all incorporated). Adjust the seasoning and turn off the heat. Add the lemon juice and mix lightly garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Note.

Do not use milk bread, potato bread it turns the dish sweet. White bread or light wheat bread works well for this dish.

I’m sooooo really shocked to see my picture ( Dal Makhani) in eenadu vasundhara’s online edition. There are couple of more pictures probably taken out from other blogs. Its such and unprofessional way for a well known news paper to do this. Eenadu paper should be ashamed of what they are doing. They should atleast mention the blogs they used.  I request all my fellow bloggers and readers to pass of this to every one .

Here is the link
http://www.eenadu.net/vasundhara.asp?qry=ruchulu.

I wish I can take some break from work but I never wish to take a break from blogging:), unfortunately its always gets reversed. Anyway the thing is my family and husband’s family is here visiting us for summer. I won’t be able to blog for sometime but I took some pictures of stuff they got me from India and pictures of few dishes ( mom & mils). I will try to post them sometime.

Till then Happy Cooking !!
~SP

Well I wanted to  post the recipe along with ugadi wishes but it kept on dragging with work, kid, guests and other stuff. If I keep postponing this will sit in drafts folder for ever.

I remember my mom making these very often , she use to make them really fast . Ravva ladoo always use to top the list after bobbattu &  pooram boorelu:) and SV’s favourite.  Expect me and my son every one loves this ladoo. My friends call these as “Healthy Ladoo’s”,  as very little ghee is used in making this dish.  Its a gulit free  and very tasty desert for sweet alcholics like SV, my friends and family .  Even dummies like me can make these ladoo’s in a jiff. They just melts in mouth ( SV’s compliment)
Nish came running to me and asked me what am I going to do with ravva mixture and I explained him. After listening to me he simply said oh!! so you are making white balls for daddy to eat and my turn was to say yes. He came back to me again and asked whether he can have one white ball to play as he could not find his ball.  Well boys are boys!!

Ingredients

1 cup fine ravva/sooji
1 cup fresh grated coconut
1- 1 1/2 cup sugar (according to taste)
1/4th -1/2 cup ghee
1/4th cup warm milk
1 tsp cardamom powder
2-3 tbsp cashews nuts (broken) 10-12 whole for decoration (split into halves)
2 tbsp Raisins

Procedure:

Melt 2 tbsp ghee in a heavy bottom saucepan or wok . Fry cashew nuts and raisins separately till golden brown and remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside. Add ravva/semolina to same pan (add little ghee if needed) fry gently on low flame till golden brown and fragrant. You can notice the change of color and aroma of ravva at this point when compared to raw ravva. Remove from heat and keep aside.
Return the same pan to heat melt 1 tbsp ghee, add grated coconut and fry gently on low heat till light golden brown and fragrant. Slowly stir in the fried ravva and mix, fry for another 2-3 mins. Stir in sugar and mix gently let all the mixture incorporate (Do not over fry,the sooji mixture will turn dry and it will start smelling like coconut oil). Keep the heat on medium-low . Stir in fried cashew nuts, raisins and cardamom powder (Add little ghee around 1-2 tbsp if you like). Mix well, remove from heat and let it cool a little.

To make balls:

In a wide plate pour the milk , when the mixture is warm enough to handle, wet your plam with milk , take a handful of the ravva mixture and squeeze between your fingers and palm to form small balls.

Notes and Tips

Its little tricky to get the right shape, add extra ghee at the end will help to shape the balls. You can either sprinkle little milk on the mixture and form balls, or prepare sugar syrup and stir in ravva mix, follow the remaining steps. Always use fresh coconut.

Hope over to taste goblet and saffron hut for more ravva ladoo’s

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Ugadi.

“Virodhi Nama Samvatsaram Subhakankshalu”

Mint-the word itself is very refreshing. As a kid I always use to dislike mint, but slowly I developed tasted for it and now I enjoy it using in many different ways. Mint pulao is a very easy dish where nothing can go wrong. On a busy day I always go for one pot meals . Rice dishes are really easy to make, just throw all the ingredients in one pot mix, stir and let the rice cooker do the job and I get time to relax.  I love the  aroma when it cooks .

Procedure

2 cups basmati rice
2 bay leaves
3 no’s cardamom
3 no’s cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
3 medium onions sliced
¼ cup green peas (fresh/frozen)
1/4th cup soy chunks (soak for 15 mins in water/ optional)
Juice of 1/2 lemon/lime
2 tbsp cashew nuts
2-3 tbsp ghee/butter
Salt to taste
4 cups water

To grind:
1 big bunch of mint & 3-4 green chillies  (separate the stems from leaves,  wash and clean ) Grind mint leaves and green chilles into a semi coarse paste and keep it aside ( add little water if needed  around 1 tbsp)

Procedure

In a heavy bottom sauce pan add ghee fry cashews until light golden brown , now add bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and fry light, add ginger garlic paste, sliced onions and fry until the raw smell disappears. Now add garam masala and fry for a minute. Now stir in mint paste and sauté for 4-5 minutes, add rice , green peas and soy chunks. Mix well; turn the heat to low and sauté the mixture for 2-3 minutes.  Now shift the rice mixture into rice cooker, add water lemon juice, salt and mix well. Turn on the rice cooker and wait for the beep!!

Alternative you can use pressure cooker/pressure pan instead of rice cooker and cook for 3 whistles on high. Wait till the pressure releases, open the lid and light mix the rice using a fork. Do not over mix.

Serve with raita or any gravy side dish.

To make raita

1 cup plain yogurt (homemade or store bought)
1 medium tomato (finely chopped)
1/4th cup finely chopped cucumber (peel and chop.  it’s around ½ cucumber, I use the remaining in salad )
1 small onion finely chopped
2-3 green chillies
1 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Water to thin yogurt (around 1/4th cup)

Beat yogurt with little water add salt, pepper and chopped vegetables mix well, adjust the taste and garnish with coriander leaves and serve, if you are not using immediately I would recommend to put it back in the fridge until needed.

Notes and Tips

You can add coconut milk (1 cup), cubed potatoes, carrots, pretty much whatever is available and you like.

Cabbage Pesarapappu Pappu Koora

Summer has already started in India and temperatures are hitting triple digits in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad. You get to make lots of pickles and papad’s around this time and you also get to enjoy all those juicy mangoes, melons and all other seasonal fruits. When you go to farmers market ( AKA Raitu Baazar) early in the morning , you get really good farm fresh veggies right from the fields. But the variety is limited during summer. Besides root vegetables, cabbage, tindora, eggplant and few varieties of gourds and leafy vegetables are available all year around.

Pulses/Lentils are the best alternative. They are consumed to a great extent in summer. Lentils and veggies combination are very popular in southern part of India. Different varieties include pappu, pulusu, pachadi, podi and pappu korra. Often lentils are mixed with cabbage, tindora, beans, cluster beans and leafy vegetables.  Its been more than 2 week, my fridge is almost empty with left with small piece of cabbage , cauliflower and some carrots. I need something for dinner and also for next day’s lunch, I couldn’t think of anything other this dish, fried some perugu merapakaya’s( got from India) and  served pickle, rasam and yogurt.

Ingredients:
2 cups/ One cabbage 1 medium
1/2 cup Pesara pappu or Mung dal

For Popu/Seasoning
1-2 tsp cooking oil (veg/peanut)
1/2 tsp urad dal
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 Whole red chilli (broken into pieces)
Pinch of hing
Few curry leaves
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a small pan add urad dal and red chilli, add cumin seeds once the dal starts turning in brown. Allow the cumin seeds to crackle. Add hing curry leaves , remove from heat and keep aside.

Procedure:-

Soak pesarappu for 15-20 mins. Chop, clean and rinse cabbage , keep aside. In a deep heavy bottom saucepan  rinse soaked dal and add to the sauce pan with 1/4th-1/2 cup water and chopped cabbage, cover the lid , close the steam vent and turn on the stove to medium low, keep stirring occasionally, do  not over mix. This will make the dal to break it will turn into pappu instead of dry pappu koora. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until cabbage and dal are cooked, sprinkle some water if the dal is sticking to the bottom of the pan. I like my cabbage little crunchy, I turn off the heat little early. Now add the salt and stir in the fried seasoning. Mix gently until everything is incorporated.

At my place pappu koora is usually served with pulusu(stew), avakaya/pachadi (pickle) and vadiyalu (papadams) along with yogurt.

Notes and tips:

Cabbage contatins natural juices adding salt at starting will not only delay the dal from cooking also is it will the cabbage mushy and will start smelling.  You can pressure cook dal and cabbage separately for 1-2 whistles. I prefer doing it on stove top for dry version.

Finally!!!! I’m back with everyone’s favorite street food.

Famous street food everyone crave for, I still remember those  sundays jam packed beach road with crazy crowds and lined up chaat wala’s with their mobile carts with all those delicious hot and steaming pav’s, bhaji, chaats and all different kinds of Bajji’s. Pav/Pavv/Pao Bhaji is a fabulous dish prepared with wholesome vegetables and spices  traditionally serve with pav (bread).  There are lots of different ways to prepare bhaji. Here is my version.

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes ( peeled and diced)
2 carrots ( peeled and diced)
1/2 cup fresh/frozen peas)
1 cup grated cauliflower
1 capsicum (green pepper) finely chopped
1 large onion finely chopped ( reserve some onions for garnish)
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1-2 tbsp pav bhaji masala ( Everest or MTR)
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp unsalted butter for garnish
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Lemon wedges/ juice of 1 lemon

Pav buns ( readily available in Indian stores or use dinner rolls)

Procedure

Pressure cook potatoes, carrots and peas. Cook and mash. Heat oil in a deep skillet add onions, ginger garlic paste and saute’ until the onions turn soft and translucent. Add grated cauliflower , capsicum and  cook until soft. Now add pav bhaji masala saute for a minute, add chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy, stir in mashed veggies add salt, little water ( around 1/4th cup). mix well. cover the lid and cook on medium low flame for 8-10 mins. Adjust the taste( add masala or salt if needed) and consistency .  Stir in  chopped coriander leaves and butter (reserve some for garnish for serving) turn off the heat.

Heat tava grease it with  butter or ghee (clarified butter),  slice/slit  half horizontally  . Place the buns open and face down on the pan, and cook till golden and crisp. Flip and repeat on other side.

Serve Pav and Bhaji with lemon wedges and raw onions. Enjoy anytime any day!!.

Hey All,

Thank you very much for dropping by and leaving sweets notes. I’m still here as usual cooking , cleaning and clicking ( not as much as I was doing before). Things were really busy last year and then blame it on my laziness or discharged camera or other stuff I just kept postponing to do my favorite things. Finally I’m back to blogging and will be updating my blog regularly.

Have a wonderful day & Happy cooking!!

~SP

I’m all settled and preparing to resume blogging with a good post. Thank you all for your support and encouragement in my absence.

I will try to update my blog regularly, see you soon with all delicious dishes.

~SP