Category Archives: Assorted Recipes

Cheese Cake

Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cream cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit. They may be baked or unbaked.

This rich dessert will not go missed among the list of favorite dessert of many. My friends and family are a great fan of this creamy dessert and so are my all relatives to whomsoever i had served this. Try it for yourself and i am sure it will become a favorite in your home too :-)

Ingredients

  • Biscuits – 250 g, crumbled
  • Butter – 100 g, melted
  • Cream cheese – 200 g
  • Sweetened Condensed Milk – 397 g
  • Cream – 170 g
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla powder
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon gelatine powder -10 g, dissolved in 60 ml of hot water.
Method
  • Combine biscuit and butter. Press mixture into a bottom loose cake tin. Place in fridge for 10 minutes.
  • Using a food processor, beat cream cheese,Sweetened Condensed Milk ,Cream , vanilla powder and lemon juice until smooth.
  • Stir the melted gelatin into the cream cheese mixture and spoon over the biscuit then place in fridge for 2-3 hours until completely set.

Hyderabadi Haleem

Haleem is a popular Pakistani / Hyderabadi dish and is very famous in UAE too. It’s more popular during Ramadan. Haleem is a very rich food made of wheat, meat (usually beef or mutton, but sometimes chicken or minced meat), lentils and spices.


Ingredients:
Boneless Mutton – 2 kg
Chilli Powder – 1tsp
Haldi Powder – 1tsp
Bay Leaf – 1
Dal Channa – 250g
Whole Wheat – 200g
Barley – 50g
Oil as required (3-4 tsp)
salt to taste

For Garnish:
Onion
Lime Slices
Green Chilies
Fresh Coriander / Mint Leaves
Sliced Ginger

Method:

1. Soak all three grains overnight.
2. Fry the meat in oil.
3. Add all the spices and 4 to 5 glasses of water.
4. Cover and leave on low flame to tenderize until the meat is extremely soft.
5. Meanwhile, put the grains and dal in a pot with 1 tsp salt,1/2 tsp chilli powder and 1/4 tsp haldi powder.
6. Add water and cook on low flame till very soft.
7. When both are soft, mix the meat and grains together and leave on a very low flame.
8. Keep mashing and mixing.
9. It starts to boil and becomes bubbly fry a little onion in oil and add to it.
10. Remove from heat and serve with garam masala, fresh coriander leaves, fried onion and lemon.

Oats with Chicken Soup

An Arabic cuisine made with oats, chicken and moong dalA very delicious, healthy & a filling soup for Iftar or any other occasion. It s a all time favorite for my dad as its a super soothing food for his aged stomach.  A very quick to make recipe with min ingredients. You could replace the chicken with veggies too.  Very ideal soup for Diabetics or heart patients without a compromise on the taste. Try it yourself.

A very delicious, healthy & a filling soup for Iftar or any other occasion. And a very ideal soup for Diabetics or heart patients without a compromise on the taste.

Ingredients:

  • Olive oil for sauting
  • boneless skinless chicken breast finely chopped – 2 tbsp
  • lil Ground cumin
  • lil Ground black pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1/3 cup yellow lentil.
  • 5 Tablespoons oats.
  • 4 cups water.
  • Fresh parsley or Coriander, chopped(for garnish).

Method:

  • Heat oil in pan ,add the chicken cook until lightly browned and almost cooked,season with salt,cumin and pepper.
  • Add lentil,oats and water ,bring to boil, simmer, covered about 20-25 minutes.
  • Squeeze some lemon juice while serving for an enhanced taste.

You may boil 2-3 pieces of chicken along with bones in enough water and add to the soup along with the stock for a super duper taste!!

 

 

Shrimp Pasta

Need a feel of an gourmet Italian restaurant???..Try this out :-)

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 or 2 white onion
  • 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 kg pasta
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  • Shredded mozarella cheese (as required)

Directions

  1. In a medium skillet over medium heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook shrimp, garlic and white onion for 5 minutes, or until shrimp is pink. Remove shrimp with slotted spoon and set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
  3. While pasta is cooking, cook tomatoes with remaining 1 tablespoon oil, oregano and basil over medium heat along with tomato sauce until tender, 10 minutes.
  4. Line a baking dish with pasta, topped with tomato shrimp mixture and generously top it with shredded mozarella cheese. Bake for around 10-15 mts till cheese has completely melted. Serve hot.

Colorful Salad

A healthy & a filling colorful salad for kids and adults alike…Anytime tasty dish…

Ingredients

  • Iceberg Lettuce
  • White Onion
  • Red Capsicum
  • Yellow Capsicum
  • Cucumber
  • Tomato
  • Thousand Island / Ranch / Mustard Dressing
  • Salt n Pepper to taste

Method

Cut the above veggies in small bits and throw in all in a bowl. Mix in the required dressing, salt n pepper. Mix thoroughly. Serve it immediately or refrigerated. Veggies are totally upto your choice. You could add some pieces of grilled chicken or seafood or sausages for variations.

See what my buddies are upto in their marathoners’ kitchens….Jayashree, Bhagi, Champa, ,Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, ,Harini, Kamalika,Meena, ,Minu, Padma, ,Pavani, PJ,Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, ,Shanavi, ,Smitha, Sowmya, Srivalli, Suma, Usha, and Veena

Paratha stuffed with Radish

I learnt this dish from a friend. It has great taste, very filling and a best way to stuff kids with some fresh radish. We all know the health benefits of radish but would hardly eat this due to it’s itchy n sharp taste. But believe me, this dish is just yummy without any sharp taste of radish. Unless you tell them, it’s stuffed with radish, no one can identify it.  So go ahead for your kids lunch box and of course for us too ;-)

Ingredients

  • Radish – 3 medium sized
  • Onion – 2
  • Green Chilli – 2
  • Ginger – 1 inch piece
  • Chilli powder – 1 tsp
  • Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
  • Coriander Leaves
  • Wheat atta
  • Salt to taste

Method

Grate the radish using a grater and squeeze the liquid out of it. Discard the liquid and to the dry grated radish, add chopped onions and rest of the ingredients. Mix it well and keep this mixture aside.

Meanwhile prepare the chappati dough using wheat atta, water, oil and salt. Roll a thin sheet of chappati dough. Place the above mixture over it and cover with another rolled chappati dough. Press the sides of 2 rolled doughs gently and seal it. Roll it using a roller pin and flatten it into medium sized parathas.  Heat a tawa till hot, place the rolled parathas and apply little oil on the sides. Cook till the parathas are completely cooked on both sides. Enjoy it with onion raita or pickle.

See what my buddies are upto in their marathoners’ kitchens….Jayashree, Bhagi, Champa, ,Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, ,Harini, Kamalika,Meena, ,Minu, Padma, ,Pavani, PJ,Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, ,Shanavi, ,Smitha, Sowmya, Srivalli, Suma, Usha, and Veena

Jilebi – A melt in the mouth…

The blogging marathon has successfully come to an end… kudos to Valli and all my fellow bloggers for making this fun and enjoyable.  I started the first post in the marathon in a “sweetish” way and would also like to end it with a sweet. And this time the choice is typical Indian sweet, Jilebi…it’s the favorite melt in the mouth sweet for many and is a must in most of the occasions/functions in India. With practice, you can excel in making perfect jilebis at home n luckily i got it perfect the first time itself ;-)

Ingredients:

  • Maida – 1 cup
  • Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
  • Rice flour – 1 1/2 tsp
  • Lemon yellow colour – little
  • Oil – to deep fry
  • Fresh curds – 1/2 cup
  • Water – 1/2 cup

For sugar syrup

  • Sugar – 1 1/2 cup
  • Water – 3/4 cup
  • Saffron – little (optional)
  • Rose essence – few drops

Method:

  • Sieve maida, rice flour and baking powder together 2 to 3 times.
  • Add whipped curds, little water and prepare a batter of bajji dough consistency.
  • Mix lemon yellow or orange food colour and keep aside for 10 minutes.
  • Prepare sugar syrup in another pan till the syrup becomes sticky.
  • Mix saffron, rose essence and also little colour to the syrup.
  • Heat oil in a flat based kadai.
  • When it becomes moderately hot, reduce the flame.
  • Take little dough in jangiri cloth (or make a cone shape with small hole in centre using polythene cover). Close it properly and make chain like rings in oil ( clock-wise direction) to form the shape of a jangiri. Turn over gently when it is cooked.
  • The dough will submerge in oil while pouring and then come up. Finish the round fast before it floats up on the oil.
  • Turn over gently and fry till crisp on both sides in reduced flames. Take care that the colour does not change and at the same time, it should be crisp.
  • Take it out from oil, drain excess oil and put in hot sugar syrup. Allow it to soak for one minute turning once in between. Remove from syrup and arrange on a flat plate.

Check out what my buddies are upto in blogging marathon…Srivalli, Priya Suresh, Jay, Monika,

Handy Hints in the Kitchen

Some Handy Hints in the Kitchen will be very helpful to you. You may be for the first time in the kitchen making or baking something and you will definitely need some handy hints so that you complete your cooking absolutely perfectly and your dish is a one which can be cherished.

  • You can use stale bread by drying them in the sun and then grinding them and using them as breadcrumbs.
  • If you are frying mushroom then you can add a little bit of lemon juice to the butter in which you are cooking so that they do not break.
  • If you want to cut the boiled eggs without breaking the yoke then dip your knife in ice cold water and then you may cut.
  • When frying onions you can add a little bit of milk so that it does not get burnt and the rich color is maintained.

Handy Hints around the home

Some Handy Hints around the home can be very helpful for you and your family members. Be it cleaning, cutting or even a bad fall which your child just had can be dealt with ease if you have these handy hints in mind. These tips will be very beneficial for you at times as you manage your home single handedly.

  • If you want your house to be clean and have a cat at home then mix some baby powder with the cat litter so that it can smell nice.
  • If you want to get rid of ink stains then you can put alcohol on them.
  • If you have smelly shoes in your house that you have to deal with then you can put some baking soda in a sock and put them in the shoes when not worn.
  • If you have leather products at home then you can rub it with a peel of lemon.
  • If you have extra greasy utensils which you have to clean then you can use a little bit of vinegar when washing your dishes.

Handy Hints for cleaning

Cleaning can be a very tedious task at times. But some Handy Hints for cleaning would be very beneficial for you as you sit down to clean your whole house as well as your clothes and shoes during the weekend. Some handy hints for cleaning are as follows:

  • If you want to keep ants out of the house then you can sprinkle cinnamon or ground pepper to obstruct their way.
  • You can place a box of baking soda in the toilet so that it can absorb the odor of the bathroom.
  • If you want to avoid the candles from melting and sticking to your candle holder then you can place a bit of water and then place the candle.
  • Chimneys are hard to keep clean toss in one handful of salt on the fire to prevent it.
  • You can place a bowl of white vinegar for some time if you want to get rid of bad food odor like spoiled food or fish.

Handy Hints and Tips

Some Handy Hints and Tips are always welcome because they help you out in any tight spot. If you have some handy hints at your hand for almost anything and everything you will not face a problem. Some handy hints and tips are as follows:

  • If there is a plan of a new addition to your family members then give the older sibling to play with a doll so that he/she is used to the idea.
  • If you want to check whether an egg is fresh or not place it in a bowl of water if it sinks then you know it is okay and if its floating then it has gone bad.
  • You can use an ironing board as a dining table for the children when you have too many people at home for dinner.
  • If your salt and pepper pots are congested then keep them along with a few grains of unprepared rice.

Handy Hints about Money

Handling finances can be a tough job. Hence it often happens that you face problems and you are stuck with decisions regarding money. Some Handy Hints about Money can help you when you may be at a loss taking monetary decisions. You will be hugely benefited when you have some essential tips regarding finances.

  • Always make a budget before you start handling finance. Budgeting is important.
  • Saving is as important as budgeting. You need to save at least 20% of your income so that it can come in handy in times of emergency.
  • Invest wisely and read the offer documents before you take a further step in the investment.
  • Consult your financial advisor before you invest any big amount of money.
  • Try and maintain a record of your expenses so that you can keep a tab on how much you are spending.

Handy Hints to Healthy Eating

If you are eating healthy then you can stay fit also. But to eat healthy you have to know some basic recipes and tips which will help you in following a healthy diet regimen. Some Handy Hints to Healthy Eating are as follows:

  • Keep your breakfast heavy and include all the nutritious food items when you are eating.
  • If you are eating calories in large quantities during your breakfast then instead of doing that you can break it up throughout the day.
  • Drink lots of water and include green leafy vegetables in your diet.
  • Lots of fruits and salads are also good for your health.
  • Exercise along with your healthy diet to keep yourself fit and in shape.
  • Try and avoid having junk food and fried food because they are bad for your health.

courtesy : http://sitagita.com/home-and-lifestyle

Pineapple & Its Benefits

Pineapple – This juicy tasty fruit is most favorite for many of us. Let’s know look at the health benefits of this super fruit.

Pineapple is the second most popular tropical fruit, next to bananas. Some people find pineapples as a very luxurious and even exotic fruit. Eating this delicious fruit on regular basis provides immense health benefits one could ever think of. Here are a few given below:

  • Loaded with Vitamins and Minerals: The obvious benefits of pineapple are all the vitamins and minerals the fruit is loaded with. Its nutrients include calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. In addition it is low in fat and cholesterol.
  • Strengthens weak bones: One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people.
  • Good for Gums: Your gums are very important to keep healthy. The gums hold the teeth in place and your teeth would be in bad condition if you have unhealthy gums. By eating pineapple, you are strengthening your gums to make it through the hard years later.
  • Prevents Macular Degeneration: Pineapples contain a lot of beta-carotene that is good for the eyes and for your vision. Studies show that eating three or more helpings of pineapple a day may lower your chance of getting age-related macular degeneration, the main cause of vision loss in older folks.
  • Helps Arthritis: Bromelain is also considered an effective anti-inflammatory. Regular ingestion of at least one half cup of fresh pineapple daily is purported to relieve painful joints common to osteoarthritis. It produces mild pain relief. In Germany, bromelain is approved as a post-injury medication because it is thought to reduce inflammation and swelling.
  • Coughs and Colds: While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.
  • Digestion: The bromelain found in pineapples aids in digestion. Eating one slice of pineapple after each meal will reduce gas, bloating, nausea, constipation and the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. Fresh pineapple juice also aids in removing intestinal worms.
  • Sinusitis and Bronchitis: Bromelain has been shown helpful for upper respiratory tract infections such as Sinusitis and Bronchitis. Bromelain helps to reducing nasal inflammation and break up the mucus in the nasal, sinus and respiratory area.
  • Blood Clots: Pineapples can help reduce the risk of blood clots due to the bromelain present in the fruit and thereby preventsing heart problems.

As pineapple stops ripening when picked, choose carefully and don’t select one that looks immature. Pineapples can be stored at room temperature, however they spoil easily and should be watched carefully. To keep it longer than a day or two, wrap in a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If you’ve cut your pineapple, store unused pieces in the refrigerator in an airtight container and use as soon as possible. They can be frozen, however this will change the flavor so be careful.

When you eat pineapples, you have a better chance at having a healthier life. Doctors have been preaching the eating of fruits for centuries. There is always good things that come from fruits. Be aware of all the benefits of the fruit you eat so you know what you are lacking for the day. Our bodies need a certain amount of nutrients and vitamins a day. By eating fruit, we have a happy, healthier life.