Gobi Manchurian / Cauliflower Manchurian

DH is a big fan of this dish, Chinese means manchurian for him. No matter what, he sticks with the dish, he would be the first to order while I am still figuring out . The only thing that keeps changing about this dish is the dry & gravy part. So when I am making this at home, I make sure what he wants. This time I changed a little bit, just added ½ tsp cornflour to ½ cup water and added to final stage and reduced it. The result – dish was neither dry nor gravy type,but something in between and had a beautiful glaze. DH was happy and mom very proud . A good start for New Yr.

If you want ,egg can be added to the batter. If you want gravy add a tsp of cornflour to 1 cup water. Add this to the sauce and cook till becomes thick. Then add the fried cauliflower and serve.

Ingredients:-

For the batter :

All purpose flour – 1/2 cup
Corn flour – 1/4 cup
Garlic paste or minced – 2 tsp
Soy Sauce – 1/2 to 1 tsp
Salt – to taste ( both the batter and sauce has Soy sauce)
Water- as needed

Sauce:

Cauliflower – 1 medium sized cut into medium sized florets
Garlic chopped – 5 tbsp
Green chilies chopped – according to taste
Onion Chopped- ½
Capsicum cut into cubes- 1/2
Soya Sauce – 1 tbsp
Green Chilli Sauce – 1 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup – 3 tbsp
Salt – add only if needed
Oil – as needed
Coriander leaves – for garnishing
Spring onion chopped- a small bunch

Method :-


Batter:

Prepare batter with all the ingredients adding water. Batter should be thick enough to coat the cauliflower florets. Heat oil in a big wok, dip each floret in the batter and gently put it into the oil. Fry it in 4- 5 batches .Fry it until golden brown in color. Drain into a tissue paper and keep them aside and allow it to cool.

Sauce:

Heat little oil in a pan, add chopped onion,green chillies,garlic and saute them for a while. Add capsicum and saute. Now add soya sauce,chilly sauce and tomato ketchup. Mix them well, check for salt. Mix ½ tsp cornflour to ½ cup water and simmer it. Once it’s cooked well add the fried cauliflower florets. Mix them together until all the florets are well coated with the sauce. Add spring onion and coriander leaves and toss it well for few minutes. Serve immediately.

I served it with Egg Fried Rice

I am sending this Served With Love hosted by Arundhuti

Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup

Sweet corn Soup


Kids and vegetables !! The result of this combination is a tough time for the parents and kids. Like all parents we also have a tough time feeding our son. The moment he sees the plate in our hand with food ,endless demands pops up ( tv, dvd, iphone,snow ,ice cream, pepsi etc etc) . 98% of the time my mother will be the victim of this event , yeah I meant she happily takes up the task and in return she will have to do all that he asks for. Along with the junk food I have seen him happily relishing on soups. So I made this soup for New Year keeping him in mind, since it’s sweet kids would love to have it and again it has all the veggies.

Ingredients:

Water- 3 cups
Carrot chopped - 1 medium
French Beans chopped – 5-6
Cauliflower chopped – 4-5 florets
Cornstrach- 2 Tbs
Water- ½ cup to mix cornstarch
Cream Corn- ½ cup
Corn Kernel- 3 Tbs
Salt- to taste
Pepper- ¼ tsp (optional)
Spring Onion - 4 chopped
Sugar- 1/2 tsp


In a stock pot add water and bring it to a boil, add carrots and cook it . When it starts boiling add beans and cauliflower, boil for 2-3 mns. Then add creamstyle corn and corn kernels, keep mixing till it starts boiling. To this add sugar, salt, pepper. Mix cornstarch in ½ cup water and add this to the soup. Let it come to a boil , switch off and add the spring onion. Serve it hot.

I served it with Vegetable Rolls.

Vegetable Rolls

Always wanted to make these from scratch. This pairs well with Sweet Corn Soup or can be served with tea or coffee. Kids will love these crispy rolls.

Ingredients:

Filling:

French Beans- 2-3 cut into juliennes
Carrots- ½ medium cut into juliennes
Cabbage – 1 small piece cut into juliennes
Capsicum- ½ cut into juliennes
Soy Sauce- 1 Tbsp
Green Chilli Sauce- 1 Tbsp
Salt- to taste
Garlic- 2 cloves
Oil- 2 Tsp

Batter

All purpose flour- 1 cup
Water- to make batter
Salt- to taste

Oil- for frying

Prepration:

To make the batter mix flour, water , salt and mix them well until everything is blended without lumps.
Heat a small frying pan onto medium heat; pour ½ a ladle of batter to form circles .
Just cook the pancake on one side and take them out. Place them in a plate rubbed with oil.

For the filling heat a pan and pour oil. Add chopped garlic, carrots, French beans, cabbage and sauté till they are half cooked. Add Soy sauce, Chilli sauce, salt. Mix well and reserve it.

To make the rolls:

Mix a little flour with water, since we are not using egg this will hold the roll together.

Take a sheet and brush this flour mix on all sides . Place a small amount of filling .Fold both sides to enclose the filling in and then roll it completely to seal the filling in, as shown in the picture . Finally brush a little more at the end and this will hold the filling in place.

Heat a frying pan filled halfway with oil. Fry these rolls in the oil until golden and crisp.

Serve hot with ketchup.

PORTUGUESE TOMATO RICE

There are many ways to dress up Rice dishes and I am always in search for new recipes. I stumbled upon this recipe and it looked easy to make. Flavorful , fragrant and easy to make.

I served this with chicken tikka.

Ingredients
• Olive oil- 2 Tbsp
• Finely chopped onion- 1 1/2 cups
• Minced garlic- 2 teaspoons
• Salt1- 1/2 teaspoons
• Crushed red pepper flakes- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon
• Bay leaf- 1
• Chopped tomato- 1 1/2 cups
• Cups water- 2 1/4
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves- 2 tablespoons
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves- 2 tablespoons
• Long-grain white rice- 1 1/2 cups

Directions

In a 4-quart medium saucepan heat the oil over high heat until hot. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the water, parsley and cilantro and bring to a boil. Add the rice and stir well. When the liquid returns to a boil, stir again, then cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice undisturbed for 20 minutes, or until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
Let rice stand for 5 minutes undisturbed before fluffing with a fork. Serve immediately.



I am sending this to AWED-Portuguese guest hosted by Priya

Cantaloupe Cooler

Cantaloupe, very crisp,musky and sweet flavoured fruit.Cantaloupe is normally eaten as a fresh fruit, as a salad, or as a dessert with ice cream or custard.This is a very refreshing drink and is best during summer to cool down the heat.Adding an orange will just give it a citrus flavour not too much to dominate the cantaloupe.

Ingredients

Cantaloupe- 4 wedges, cubed
Orange-1-2
Sugar- according to your taste
Water- 1-2 cups (depending on the thickness)

Mix all the ingredients in a blender and serve cold.

Brie wrapped with Crescent

This is a very simple appetizer. If you like cheese, trust me this will hit the spot. If you haven't tasted Brie cheese ,pls try with a small piece. The cheese is really rich and has slight smoky flavour.The rind is edible and there's no need to remove it. It can be served or paired with any fruits.You can even cut the brie in half,layer it with craberries and then bake it.

INGREDIENTS
Crescent dinner rolls - 1 can
Brie cheese - 1
Egg, beaten - 1 ( optional)

DIRECTIONS
Heat oven to 350°F.
If using crescent rolls: Unroll dough; separate crosswise into 2 sections. Pat dough and firmly press perforations to seal, forming 2 squares
Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet. Place cheese on center of dough. With small cookie, cut 1 shape from each corner of remaining square; set cutouts aside.
Place remaining square on top of cheese round. Press dough evenly around cheese; fold bottom edges over top edges. Gently stretch dough evenly around cheese; press to seal completely. Brush with beaten egg. Top with cutouts; brush with additional beaten egg.
Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with fruits and crackers.

Glow Serum

7'o clock in my house is juicing time for the past two months now. Hubby has started this new hobby and he develops new recipes. We all enjoy this and i thought of sharing this simple recipe with you. For kids this can be strained. Since fruit juice is good and this one includes everything that's good for the skin, i came up with this name.

Ingredients:

Orange peeled - 4
Cataloupe- 1 wedge cut into cubes
Carrots- 4-5 ( we use baby carrots)
Water- 1-2 glasses ( depending on the thickness)
Sugar - according to your taste


Mix all the ingredients in a mixer. For kids it can be strained. For adults i believe this will be fine and it provides good amount of fiber.