Food for 7 Stages of Life: Get together Menu Ideas

Showing posts with label Get together Menu Ideas. Show all posts

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Sweet Potato Methi Cutlet (Baked)

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Saturday, January 16, 2010

OMG... this cutlet tastes so divine. I was little skeptical when I picked up the sweet potatoes from the grocery store. But I knew what I had to do with this. I thought of blending the orangish and sweetish sweet potato and the bitterish and greenish methi leaves(fenugreek leaves/vendhaya keerai) with some flavorful Indian spices and bake it in the oven to make luscious cutlets. Sounds mouth watering isn't it?

How it tasted?

If you want to know how it tasted, the cutlets you see in the pic are the last 3 pieces that I saved it from my hubby to click pictures during daylight. They tasted super delicious and we literally licked the plate :) I would say it was a concoction of different taste: hotness from green chili, sweetness from sweet potatoes, bitterness from fenugreek leaves, tanginess from Amchur Powder, sweet and pungent taste from fennel seeds. It also smelt like parupu vadas due to the presence of fennel seeds. You can avoid using fennel seeds if you don't like to chew it in your cutlet. But I loved the flavor of baked fennel seeds. Trust me it had an awesome flavor. Also I guess baking and presence of sweet potatoes helped to reduce the bitterness of Methi leaves. The bitterness was only a background taste.
Events
This goes all the way to Siri's blog for the JFI-Fennel Seeds event. JFI is the brainchild event of Indira of Mahanandi and it stand for Jhiva for Ingredients. This cutlets are apt for this event as I have developed Jhiva for Fennel Seeds and Sweet Potatoes.

Ingredients Trivia

Recently I read a wonderful article on Fenugreek in DK's Chef in you blog. Check out her space to learn the basics, benefits and how to use the various forms of fenugreek in your everyday cooking.

For the uses and benefits of Sweet potatoes, check out this link.
Ingredients
Sweet Potato - 2
Methi/Fenugreek Leaves/Vendhaya Keerai - 3/4 cup
Onion - 1/4 (medium) finely chopped or Shallots - 6-7 chopped
Green Chili - 2 finely chopped
Amchur Powder/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp
Chat Powder - 1/2 tsp
Fennel Seeds/Saunf - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - handful
Bread Crumbs - 1/4 cup (add more if needed)
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped
Asafoetida/Hing - 1/8 tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil/Cooking Spray
Method
Boil Sweet Potatoes
In a pressure cooker, add salt and water to cover 1/3 the length of sweet potato and cook it for 3 whistles. 2 whistles should be good if you don't want it to be very tender. Once the steam releases open the lid, drain the water and allow it to cool. Then peel the skin off.
Baking

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Take a large baking try(I have used cookie try) and drizzle some oil or cooking spray. Spread it all over.

In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes and mash it with your hands or a potato masher.

Add finely chopped onions/shallots, methi leaves, green chili, salt and mix.

Add rest of the ingredients except bread crumbs and oil. Mix it well.

Divide it in equal parts and make small lemon size balls.

Take 1 ball at a time in your hand and spread it into a circle with your thumb. If you find this difficult, take a small plastic bag or ziploc, place the ball on it and slowly spread it in to a small circle without breaking it (3-3.5 cm). Then coat both the sides with bread crumbs and also along the circumference of the cutlet and place it on the tray.

Again spread it little bit and even the sides with your finger or a knife. I have used my beautiful fingers ;-).

Don't make it too thin or too thick, around 1 cm thickness should be good.

Sprinkle 1 or 2 tbsp of the remaining bread crumbs over it and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes.

Remove the tray and slowly flip the cutlets and bake it for another 5 minutes. Then broil it for 2 minutes and turn off the oven. Let it stay for a while.

Serve it with ketchup or with a dip of your choice.

[OPTIONAL] If you would like some smoky flavor and steak like presentation, place the baked cutlet on the chappati maker/grill and toast it for a minute or two. Ensure that you don't burn the cutlet.

I liked the smoky effect on the cutlet, it was absolutely delicious.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Mushroom Masala

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Monday, December 14, 2009

Will you call this Heights of laziness!!! This recipe was intended for Priya's Think Spice - Think Coriander event, but I was too lazy that I couldn't post it before the deadline. Like every lazy soul I am throwing an excuse with this golden statement 'It is Better late than never'. This dish was prepared on a whim based on my choice of ingredients.
P.S: Bidding Adieu to my dearest friend. She has been very supportive from the day one I started this blog. But for her I wouldn't have posted these many recipes. I will miss you my friend. Watch this space for more info.
Ingredients from my pantry

Mushroom / Kaalan - 7

Onion / Vengayam - 1/2 medium finely chopped

Tomato / Thakkali - 1 pureed

Turmeric Powder / Manjal thul - 1/4 tsp

Ginger Garlic Paste / Enji pundu Vizhuthu - 1 tsp

Chili Powder / Milagai thul - 1 tsp

Cumin Powder / Jeeraga podi - 1/2 tsp

Dhania / Coriander Powder / Malli thul - 1/2 tsp (Coarsely ground at home, you can also use the regular ones)
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Kasuri Methi / Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tsp

Heavy/Light Cream - 1 tbsp + 1 tsp for garnish

Salt to taste

Oil (Olive Oil/Vegetable Oil) - 1/2 tbsp - 1 tbsp ( you can replace a portion of oil with some unsalted butter)

Cooking Instructions
How I made the Puree?
In a small pan, add some water (just to soak the tomatoes) and chopped tomatoes. Let it cook until it is skin and flesh separates out. Let it cool, put them in a blender and puree.

How I made the curry?
In a kadai, add oil (upto 1 1/2 tbsp, I used only 1/2 tbsp as we are trying to cut down fats in our food ;-))

Wash mushroom and soak it in water for couple of minutes. Add some salt, it helps to cleanse them.
Add 1/4 tsp cumin seeds/jeera when the oil is hot, you can see that cumin seeds enlarges and it kind of splutters.

Now add finely chopped onions and saute for 6 minutes on a medium flame or until it turns golden brown and shrinks. As you fry onion, add 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder.
Add finely ground ginger garlic paste and saute for next two minutes so that the raw smell of ginger/garlic disappears.
Add tomato puree. From now on the entire cooking should be done on a low flame.

After 3 minutes add 1 tsp of chili powder, salt, 1/2 tsp of cumin powder and 1 tsp coriander powder.
Mix it well and cook for next 3 minutes. Then add 1/4 cup of water and cook for 3 more minutes.
Then add chopped mushroom and cook for 10 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water if you want it in a gravy consistency.

Add 1/4 tsp of garam masala and cook for another 10 minutes. Add crushed kasuri methi, cream and stir. Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves and some cream.

Serve it hot with rotis, naan, phulkas or even with steamed rice or jeera rice.

Monday, December 7, 2009

2 in 1 Egg Curry & Winner Announcement for 'Cooking for Infants and Toddlers' Event

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Monday, December 07, 2009

As you take a glimpse of this recipe, please check out the winner details for Cooking for Infants and Toddlers event.

(Scroll down for the Egg Curry Recipe)

Cooking for Infants and Toddlers Winner Announcement

Sorry Makkale (People), I have been very lazy of late and due to some confusions there has been delay in announcing the Winner for 'Cooking for Infants and Toddlers' Event. It was little embarrassing and little confusing on what I have to do next. At last I made up my mind to pick up the winner with the second highest vote. Come on now let the drums roll... The Winner is Sandhya Hariharan. Congratulations Sandhya. Since you already knew Sandhya a little more now (Thanks to my previous post :) ), I have asked her to write a short note on her parenting experience. Thank you Sandhya for this wonderful writeup.

Between Thanks to all of you who wrote to me saying that you liked my roundup on infant and toddler recipes. I am happy to know that it is very useful to you in your day to day cooking for your little ones.

Sandhya's Pleasant memories:

This is the best phase of my life after getting married. After my generation in our family , our little one Vedant was the first great grand child to my grandparents. The first baby after 18 years. All the pampering and extra care went into his nurturing. We wanted everything to be special for him. So I started a blog on my little one named Vedhari. Captured and updated the blog with his activities since he was one day old until now. Every new word , Every new activity , Every new action is totally adorable and it brings a smile to my face.

Cooking for Vedant:

I never cook anything really special for him. In fact give him a less spicier version of our food. Initially it was a challenging task cooking for my boy Vedant. He would never eat that I made specially for him. He is normally drawn to our food. It could be a traditional palakad food or pizza or pasta or chapathi.

Grooming my little one:

We are all learning and I feel we are not experts or experienced at it. I involve my little one in most of the work I do. Be it tiding up the house or be it getting ready to go out for shopping. When it comes to tiding up, I used to give Vedant his bit of clothes and ask him put it in his shelf.. No matter how ever he dumps, I will appreciate because the little bit is also a task for him. Now he does his clothes many a times on his own. When it comes to having his dinner, my husband gives him his table mat and Vedant will lay it before keeping the plate :) Constantly keep talking to him like a little friend and encourage him to tell us what he wants. We would never hit him for any unacceptable behavior. Rather sit with him in his level and make him realise about his actions. Vedant realises his mistakes and gives a nice warm hug after cries coz he is guilty.

Well its constant learning time with him. We need to get funny many a times,so that they understand and are able to relate to us.

2 in 1 Egg Curry:

2 in 1 means you can serve this curry with Rice or Roti, it tastes equally good with both the North and South Indian dishes.

Ingredients from my Pantry

Large Eggs - 6 (I have used brown eggs, you can use white eggs too)

Onion - 1 Large (approx 1 cup finely chopped)

Tomato - 1 Large and 1/2 medium size (approx 1 cup finely chopped)

Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Bayleaf - 1

Red Chili - 2

Salt to taste

Turmeric Powder - 1 or 2 pinch

Cumin Powder - 1 tsp

Chili Powder - 2 tsp

Coriander Powder - 3 tsp (Coarsely ground)

Garam masala - 1/4 tsp

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Water - 1 1/2 cup

Coconut Milk (thick) - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves - few sprigs

Kasuri Methi - 1 tsp (Optional, but recommended)

Cooking Instructions

Boil eggs:

In a pressure cooker, add some water (around 2 cups), eggs and 1/4 tsp of salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles. Open the lid after the steam releases. Peel the egg shell and create small slits around the egg (4-5 slits). This helps the curry to penetrate into the eggs.

To make the sauce

In a sauce pan or a kadai, pour 1 1/2 tbsp of oil. When it is hot add 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds, 1 bayleaf. Let the cumin seeds splutter.
On a medium flame, add 1 cup of finely chopped onions. Saute for 10-12 minutes or until it shrinks and turns golden brown. You can add turmeric powder as you saute. Add 1 or 2 tbsp of water if the onion sticks to the pan. You can even add some salt to help the onion shed some moisture.

Add 1 cup(little less) of finely chopped tomatoes and saute for another 5-6 minutes until it turns mushy and blends nicely with the onion.
Now add the spices (cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder) and fry for 2 minutes.
Add 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste and saute for 3-4 minutes until the raw smell disappears.
Now add 1 1/2 cup of water and cook for 10 minutes on a low flame covered with lid.
Add 1/4 tsp of garam masala, 1 tbsp of coconut milk (I used the canned coconut milk) and cook for 5 more minutes on a low flame.
Create small slits on the egg and add it to the gravy. Cook for 5 minutes in medium low flame.
Garnish it with chopped coriander leaves, kasuri methi(optional) and serve with rice or rotis.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Pineapple Sadam / Annachi pazha Sadam

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Friday, November 20, 2009

I am so obsessed with Pineapple Rice that I came up with another recipe. You can find my previous version of Pineapple Rice here. This one is pretty much close to what I had in my cousin's wedding. Hope you relish it as I did :)

Ingredients from my Pantry
Basmati Rice - 1 cup (You can also use Sona Masori/Raw/Boiled Rice)
Pineapple chopped - 1 cup ( 1 x 1.5 cm) , you might need 3 round slices for 1 cup (peel the skin and remove the thorn like stuff)
Onion - 1 1/2 tbsp chopped or 1/4 of a small onion
Green Chili - 5
Ginger/Inji - 1/2 tsp chopped
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds/Kadugu - pinch
Cumin Seeds/Jeera/Jeeragam - pinch
Asafoetida/Hing/Perungayam - pinch
Turmeric Powder/Manjal Podi - 3 pinch
Curry Leaves/Karuveipilai/Karuveipaku - 4

Cooking Instructions
Cook Rice:
Boil the rice in a rice cooker/pressure cooker until it is 90% done (usually 2 or 3 whistles in a pressure cooker). You will need 1 - 1 1/4 cup of water to cook the rice.
or
You can also add 8-10 cup of water, add rice and boil it until it is 90% cooked. Drain the water using a strainer/sieve/conventional method.
Pineapple mix:

In a pan, add oil. When it hot, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add cumin seeds, hing, curry leaves, green chili, turmeric powder and saute for few seconds.

Add chopped onions and saute for 2 minutes on a medium flame.
Add pineapple, 1 tbsp of water and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame. Crush the pineapple slightly as you cook.
P.S: Reduce green chili's if it is prepared for kids or if you want the dish to be mildly spiced.
Mixing it with Rice:

Add atleast 2 cup of boiled rice and mix it with the sauce (Just like how you make lemon rice or puliyogare)
Let it stay for a while and then serve. This allows the rice to absorb the flavor of pineapple.

I thought this recipe would be perfect for these events:

Divya Vikram's 'Show me your lunchbox' as this was cooked for our weekday lunch meal.
Sharmi's 'CFK-Veggies and Fruits' event hosted by Lakshmi Venkatesh as it contains fruits and I believe that kids will love it..
Sunitha's 'Think Spice: Think Turmeric' event hosted by Sudeeshna as this dish gets its color from the turmeric we add.
Srilekha's 'EFM Theme-Variety Rice Series' event as this falls in the Variety Rice category.
Sanghi's 'FIL-Fruits' event.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Kadai Chicken

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Wednesday, November 18, 2009

'I Radhika Vasanth promise to share as many side dish recipes through my blog "Food for 7 Stages of Life" effective 11/18/2009'. Wondering why this being said now? I have been receiving complains from my friends that I don't post side dish/gravies in my blog. So in an effort took keep up my word, I prepared this for our friends who visited us. They declared it as the recipe of the day and requested to publish it in my blog. To satisfy all your taste buds here is one of the most popular restaurant recipe 'Kadai Chicken'.

Ingredients from my Pantry

Oil - 2 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Star Aniseed - 1
Red Chili - 2

Onion - 1 cup finely chopped (1 large onion, use 3-5 shallots for flavor)

Tomato -1 cup finely chopped (1 large tomato)
Turmeric Powder - 1/2 tsp

Chicken - 1/2 kg

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Chili Powder/Milagai Podi - 1/2 tsp (mild) to 1 1/2 tsp(extra spice)
Coriander Powder/Malli Podi - 1/2 tsp

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp (Optional)

Coriander Leaves/Cilantro - Handful
Garam Masala (to grind):
Cumin seeds/Jeera/Jeeragam - 1/4 tsp
Black Cumin Seeds/Karu Jeeragam/Black Jeera - 1/4 tsp
Cloves/Kirambu/Lavangam - 2
Bay Leaves/ - 1
Cinnamon/Pattai - 1 (2 cm)
Green Cardamon/Pachai Elakai - 1 (use seeds only)
Black Cardamon/Karupu Elakai - 1 (small)
Fennel Seeds/Saunf/Sombu - pinch
Pepper/Milagu - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Seeds/Malli vedhai - 1/4 tsp
Chili Powder/Milagai Podi - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder/Malli Podi - 1/2 tsp

Cooking Instructions
Garam Masala:
Dry roast the above ingredients until the spices start leaving its aroma. Let it cool and grind it in a mixie/blender.When is 80% done add chili powder and coriander powder and grind it to a fine powder.
Curry:
In a Kadai, pour 2 tbsp of oil. When it is hot add cumin seeds and let it splutter. Immediately add finely chopped onions and saute until it is golden brown. Add some salt to speed up the process.
This will take 5-8 minutes.
Add tomatoes and cover it with the lid until it becomes mushy and the onions and tomatoes blend to form a nice sauce. This will again take 5-8 minutes on a low flame. Keep an eye when it cooks, add a tablespoon of water if you think it is sticking to the kadai.
Now add chicken and fry until it color changes or fry for for 6-7 minutes on a low flame.
Add Ginger Garlic paste and saute for another 4-5 minutes or until it raw smell disappears.
Add the ground Garam masala powder (that we made in the first step), chili powder, coriander powder, salt (as required) and stir. Let the masala cook and blend with chicken. It will take another 5-6 minutes for the raw masala smell to disappear Then add 5-8 tbsp of water (chicken leaves out lot of water which helps the chicken to cook well,so adjust the water accordingly ) and cover it with the lid and cook for 20-25 minutes on a low flame. Stir in between to ensure that it doesn't stick to the kadai.
Add coriander leaves, some lemon juice (optional) and stir. Serve it with rice or rotis or even dosas.
I forgot to mention: add a tbsp of cream (optional) and coriander leaves/cilantro to garnish.

Please note that the chicken in U.S cooks super fast. I know in India it usually takes some time to cook. So adjust the timing accordingly and add more water if necessary.

This recipe is being sent to Sunitha's Think Spice: Think Turmeric event guest hosted by Sudeeshna

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mixed Fruit Raitha

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Thursday, October 15, 2009

Mixed fruit raitha is one dish you will always find in my get together menu. It is relished by everyone irrespective of ages, especially kiddos love it. Kids are usually finicky about eating spicy food, so I normally serve roti/paratha with this raitha. Trust me in no time their plate will be empty. This makes their Mommy's happy and relieved. This is one good reason why I prepare this whenever we have guests at home. Let us now see how to make this easy-peasy mixed fruit raitha.

Ingredients from my pantry

Onion (chopped) - 3 tbsp
Tomatoes (chopped) - 3 tbsp
Green Chillies (cut in to halves) - 2 nos
Apple(peeled,chored, chopped) - 1/2
Grapes (cut in to halves) - 12 nos
Pomegranate - 1/4
Thick Curd or Yogurt - 3/4 - 1 cup (as desired)
Water - 1 tbsp
Few sprigs of Cilantro/Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions

Add the above ingredients in a bowl and mix it well. Ensure that you don't crush the fruits. Garnish it with cilantro leaves.

Serving Suggestions

Can add 5 tsp of Mango juice (Maaza/Slice).

Add more water if you like it watery.

You can use any vegetables or fruits in any combination. I have also made raitha with carrot(shredded),pineapple, raw mango, cucumber, jalepenos etc.

Serve it with Biriyani, Pulao, Rotis, Parathas

Raitha tastes extremely good when we use apple. Ensure that you peel off the skin.

Remove green chilies before serving it to kids.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Rice Noodles Payasam / Kheer

Posted by RV @ Food for 7 Stages on Friday, August 14, 2009

We usually make kheer/payasam with vermicelli that is made out of semolina. This noodles or vermicelli is made from rice and it comes from Thailand. I bought this from one of the Indian stores to prepare lemon sevai but ended up using in payasam. It tastes like heaven in payasam as it is very soft, blends nicely with milk or condensed milk and it isn't chewy as the normal Indian vermicelli

Ingredients

Condensed Milk - 1 small can

Milk (Organic 2%)- 2 cup

Water - 2 cup

Sugar - 3 tbsp

Rice Vermicelli - 50 gm

Raisins - 20 / 2 tbsp

Cashews - 10

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cardamon powder - 1/2 tsp

Vellarikkai Seeds (cucumber seeds) - 1 tsp [optional]

In a kadai, heat ghee, roast raisins, cashews, vellarikkai (cucumber) seeds. Remove when the raisins puff up. Keep them aside.

In a sauce pan, add Condensed milk, water. Stir it well. Now add milk and bring it to boil. At this stage add sugar and let it dissolve. Add Rice vermicelli and let it cook for 15-20 min on a medium low flame. The rice vermicelli becomes soft when it is cooked well. Add cardamon powder, stir and remove it from flame. Garnish it with raisins and cashews. You can serve it hot or cold, either way it tastes great. This is always in my get together menu as it is different from usual kheer/payasam and it is a super hit among my friends.

Garnish:

You can garnish it with nuts or fruits you could think of. I sometimes add dried cranberry too.

Can I use milk instead of condensed milk?

Yes. Then replace condensed milk+water with 8 cup of milk. Do not add water if you are using milk.

I would like to send this to Fall in Love (FIL) - Milk event hosted by Sanghi's food delights

I would like to send this entry to FIC-Zodiac sign event hosted by Sunshine Mom & Ashwini