Moong Sprouts salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sprouted moong
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1  chopped cucumber
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
1/2 cup grated/chopped carrot
1/2 cup frozen corn (optional)
1/2 onion chopped fine


For the Salad Dressing:

1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice, adjust to taste


HOW TO MAKE:

1) Mix all the chopped vegetables in a bowl along with the Moong sprouts.

2) Add all the salad dressing ingredients to this and toss well.

3) Serve.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY
              RATING  POINTS         :    10/10**

**  For moong sprouts, soak the whole moong for 10 to 12 hours. After soaking, the moong will double in volume. Drain the water and loosely wrap the moong beans with a muslin/soft cotton cloth. Store the soaked beans in a warm dark place. For example, store the beans in a closed oven or cover with a heavy cloth. Within a day or two, the beans will have sprouted. You can store these moong sprouts for 4-5 days in a refrigerator & use.

Naan - The Indian Bread

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups All purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp instant yeast

2 tbsp ghee/olive oil

4-5 tbsp yogurt

1/2 cup lukewarm water

HOW TO MAKE:

1)   In a bowl, add the flour along with salt. Sift this flour to mix once. Add instant yeast and set aside. Add the ghee/olive oil & the yogurt to this. Mix thill you get crumb like txture to the flour.

2)   Start mixing in lukewarm water till everything comes together.Start with 1/4 cup of water to begin with. Once a loose dough ball starts to come together, transfer the dough to a floured surface, and continue kneading for 5-8 minutes till you get a soft, elastic dough.While kneading , if you feel that the dough is on the dry side, add a tablespoon of water, if you feel it sticky, add some flour to bring it together.

3)  Brush some oil on all sides of the bowl, and once kneaded, transfer the dough back to the bowl. Brush some oil on the top of the dough ball, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm, dry place for atleast 1-1.5 hours to rise. Your dough should resemble bread dough - with pores.

4) Once it rises, knead it for another 5 minutes. Divide the dough into equal sized 6 balls. Roll each one into a falt ball. The dough will be very very soft. Make use of flour & roll out carefully into shapes you desire - generally round.

5) The next step is the naan preperation step and this can be done in 2 ways:

          a) Heat a grill and place 2-3 naans on a baking tray. Place the baking tray in the grill/oven and grill them for a maximum of 3-4 minutes. If using the grill of a cooking range, place it on the gas mark 4 and grill it.

          b) Heat a skillet to very hot and place the naan on it. You will find bubbles emerging on the top surface of the naan, reduce flame and turn it on the other side. Do this till you fidn the naan cooked/light brownish. Remove from the skillet & repeat this for the other naans.

6) Take a tongs and on an open flame try to char the naans in 1-2 places to get that typical naan look & taste. Do not burn it in this stage. Brush immediately with butter and sprinkle dried fenugreek leaves or finely chopped coriander leaves on it. Serve naans with a gravy.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    8/10**

**  If you are using active yeast, dissolve sugar in luke warm milk, add 1 tablespoon active dry yeast and set aside till frothy. If you don’t see foam within 30 seconds of dissolving the yeast,discard the mix & restart.

Chicken Malai Tikka

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
2 boneless and skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp unsweetened yogurt
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp sour cream
1tbsp ginger and garlic paste
3 green cardamoms, seeds only
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
2 heaped tsp white pepper
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp cheddar cheese, finely grated

HOW TO MAKE:

1) Sprinkle lemon juice and salt over the chicken pieces, cover and set aside.

2) Mix the yogurt, half the butter, the cream, ginger and garlic, cardamoms, cumin, nutmeg, white pepper powder, the oil, and cheese and blend into a smooth paste. Pour over the chicken, making sure it is all well coated, and marinate the meat for atleast 2 hours, covered, in the refrigerator.

 3) Remove chicken from the refrigerator atleast 1 hour before grilling. Baste the chicken generously with the marinate & butter.Place it on a grill stand and turn over the chicken. Baste Chicken again with the marinate.Grill them in an oven for 30-40 minutes or till done.

 4) The other way to grill/bake can be to soak 4 - 6 wooden skewers in cold water for 15 minutes to prevent them burning. Skewer the chicken and barbecue, or grill under a preheated grill, for 10 minutes on each side until light brown and cooked through, or simply bake in a preheated 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4 oven for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Halfway through cooking, baste with the remaining butter (melted).
Serve hot or cold on the skewers.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  Do not overgrill the chicken tikkas. The best tikkas are the ones which are juicy. This can be obtained by turning them & basting them with oil/butter every 10 minutes while they get grilled.

Meal menu planning & money saving tips

Planning things in advance & making all efforts to stick to my plans has always been me. I totally love this activity as it makes me more confident with my work & time. Food & Money is no exception and since food management is my assignment under my roof, I extend my planning technique towards meal planning & food budgets.

Actually its been a year since I landed in Oman and took over the reins of Home management. I started badly and was quite sloppy with budget spending on various stuff. I ended up with heavy bills as I had an unplanned startegy.

Gradually I learnt the way out of experience about deciding on what actually is required & in what quantities and how to purchase healthy stuff within a planned & a reasonable budget. I studied the various brands available and what can suit us best. I took some time to streamline this whole planned food & budgeting task. Now I am glad to state that my groceries are purchased well within the budget allocated to it with little wastage but including all needed for a perfect & whole meal and that is the reason I decided to share this with you all.

 HOW I DID IT?

        Organising meal plans & grocery lists helps me to keep track at the stores and I get what I need as opposed to a bunch of stuff I don’t. I make a weekly menu and shop from my list every fortnight.I do the occasional impulse buy, but I try to plan ahead. With interests & appetites that seem to grow faster than our food budget, I’ve had to develop a few strategies that save me not only money, but time as well. And who doesn’t need more of both?!

So here a few great tips to make the food budget stretch and get a bang for your buck.

 1. Plan – I know its not always easy, but heading to the store with a weekly plan saves time and money. By limiting my trips to the store, I’m preventing that extra spending that seems to always push me over budget. When I plan perfectly, I know that I dont have to visit the store more than 2-3 times a month.

2. Healthy but relatively low cost diet  - The cheapest and best sources of nutrients in the grocery store are undoubtedly the veggies, eggs & other low fat diary products and they’re certainly not just limited for breakfast. They certainly are very affordable and there are so many things you can do with them.They are usually high-energy-yielding food products and a rich source of protiens.They supply all essential amino acids for humans,and provide several vitamins and minerals essential for body building.

3. Veggie days – Meat and produce are the two big budget busters. A simple alternative is to serve more vegetarian dishes for atleast 3 days a week. Going meatless for a couple of days in a week is surely the healthiest way to stretch your buck.The best way is to save the weekend for special & favourite foods that can include meat/fish & grilled foods. Cabbage, leafy veggies, cucumbers(zucchini),carrots are rich in nutrients & fibre, so I love investing on them.

Example: Fix a seperate menu for weekdays & weekends. Save most of your salads for the weekdays recipe as they are easy to make & this helps you maintain a light & healthy diet.

4. Justice to the Leftovers - Leftovers are a pain as they take up space in your refrigerator and dont really appeal to you the next day.Find ways to take leftovers and repurpose them into a new dish that nobody but you will know is really leftover. I love using up everything in the fridge whenever possible. Becoming more devious in the kitchen in order to utilise them is fantastic. This also reduces wastage and proves that you can do enough justice for what you spend/earn.

One good example can be to convert a leftover gravy into a spicy sauce that can be used in your pastas or for other gravies.
        

5.  Advanced Menu ideas - Listing down on a piece of paper/making mental notes on what to cook in the next few days and what recipes can be tried at your leisure is one of the super ways to list down all the ingredients that you can purchase in your monthly grocery list. This will help you grab them from your shelf whenever you intend to make something instead of rushing to the store and buying them in a hurry or without planning.
Also it helps you to avoid missing out on some stuff which forms an essential part of your meal.

Example :  You can buy a couple of condensed milk/dreamwhip packs & save them on your pantry so that you can tackle your unplanned urges for something you wish. This startegy works best for dry/canned items only.

6. Deliciuos meals at a low prices - You may be wondering how you can lay a grand table everyday when you spend low. Purchasing low priced ingredients which can be brought together for a great dish(but keep it healthy) is one of the best ways.

Example : Using Wheat Pasta/Noodles, Semolina  are a great way to make a warm & comforting meal for your family, using low fat cheese/milk/cream will double your intake of nutrients & are worth the buys,  herbs & leaves with some veggies can make a great salad, frozen corn/peas etc can save up in your fridge for many days, whole wheat breads formed into healthy sandwiches/used in desserts are comfort foods as well as money savers, consuming fresh fruit juices instead of spending on readymade juices - many options are available & you simply can’t beat them as they are tasty & filling also.

These are some great ideas! whenever you need to stretch a buck. Cooking easy and affordable meals with variety and new ideas will never bore you with your meals & you can come out with scrumptious dishes. You are always getting a bang for your buck as well as stretching things as you see can fit.

Try adopting them and you will surely realise that there is no looking back.

Potato Buns

INGREDIENTS:     (Makes 12-14 buns)

For the buns:-

2 Cups All purpose flour
1 tsp ajwain (carrom seeds) - Optional
1.5 tsp kasuri methi, fine crushed between palms (dry fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp olive oil (substitute with melted unsalted butter)
1 tbsp instant yeast
1/2 cup luke warm water (or as required for kneading the dough)
Melted unsalted butter for brushing
Flour for dusting

For the filling :- (Makes 1.5  cups)

2 medium boiled potatoes, slightly mashed (but with little chunks)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas (optional)
1 fat garlic clove, grated
1 big Onion sliced
1/4 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves (finely chopped)
2 dry red chillis
1/2 tsp garam masala 
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon chat masala
Salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

HOW TO MAKE:

1)   In a bowl, add the flour along with crushed kasuri methi. Sift this flour mix once. Add ajwain (carrom seeds) to the sifted flour,instant yeast and set aside.

2)   Start mixing in lukewarm water till everything comes together.Start with 1/4 cup of water to begin with. Once a loose dough ball starts to come together, transfer the dough to a floured surface, and continue kneading for 5-8 minutes till you get a soft, elastic dough.While kneading , if you feel that the dough is on the dry side, add a tablespoon of water, if you feel it sticky, add some flour to bring it together.


3)  Brush some oil on all sides of the bowl, and once kneaded, transfer the dough back to the bowl.Brush some oil on the top of the dough ball, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm, dry place for 1-1.5 hours to rise.


HOW TO MAKE POTATO FILLING:

1)   Heat oil in a pan. Add the dry red chilli, curry leaves & cumin seeds. Add the sliced onion, add the garlic along with chopped green chillies. Saute for 10 seconds, add all the vegetables along with salt to taste, mix well &  reduce heat to medium and let cook for 10 minutes, till the peas are getting soft.

2)  Add the cumin powder, garam masala,salt and lemon juice.Mix well and set aside to cool.

HOW TO STUFF THE BUNS & SHAPE THEM:

1)   Once the dough has risen, punch it down and knead again for 3-4 minutes on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal balls.
2)  Roll out each ball using a rolling-pin into a 2″ circle. Spoon about 1.5 tbsp of Potato filling into the centre of each dough circle and pinch all sides to make a stuffed dough ball. 
3)  Spread the pinched ball all over with oil and line on the baking sheet, pinched side down.
4)  Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment. Line the balls at least 3 ” away from each other so that they do not touch each other when they rise.
5)  You may use more than 1 baking sheet (if required) to line the dough balls. Cover the baking sheet with a wet cloth let these buns rise in a warm place for 15 more minutes.

HOW TO BAKE:

1)   While the stuffed balls are rising, preheat oven to 180 C.
2)   Bake the risen balls for 13-15 minutes or till they are light brown in color and you smell the aroma of baked dough & kasuri methi.
3)  Once light brown, brush melted butter on the balls and bake for another 3-4 minutes till the tops turn golden brown. Pull out the baking sheet and using a pair of tongs, transfer the baked buns to the cooling rack.
4)   Serve the buns hot.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    7/10**

**  If you are using active yeast, dissolve sugar in luke warm milk, add 1 tablespoon active dry yeast and set aside till frothy. If you don’t see foam within 30 seconds of dissolving the yeast,discard the mix & restart.

Chicken Tikka Masala

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken Kebab Marinate:

Skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces: 8

Yogurt: 1 Cup
Ginger-Garlic Paste :1 tablespoon

Garam Masala Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Cumin powder: ½ teaspoon

Turmeric Powder : 1/2 teaspoon

Coriander Powder : 1/4 teaspoon
Ground Black Pepper: ½ teaspoon
Salt: 1 Tablespoon
Lime Juice: 1 Tablespoon
Red food Color : a pinch
Tandoori Powder : 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

For the Gravy:

Ghee (Clarified Butter): 2 Tablespoon
Onions finely chopped (almost pureed): ½ Cup
Garlic minced: 4 Cloves
Ginger finely chopped (almost pureed): 1 Inch
Cumin Powder: ½ Table spoon
Coriander powder:1/4 teaspoon
Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt: 1½ teaspoon
Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon
Tomato puree: 1 Cup
Red Chilli Powder: 2 teaspoon
Heavy whipping cream: ½ cup
Kasoori Methi (Dry Fenugreek leaves) : 1 tablespoon

HOW TO MAKE:

For the Chicken Kebab:

1)   Mix all ingredients except chicken. Add chicken and put it in a refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Remove chicken from marinate.

2)   Remove chicken from the refrigerator atleast 1 hour before grilling. Baste the chicken generously with the marinate & butter.Place it on a grill stand and turn over the chicken. Baste Chicken again with the marinate.Grill them in an oven for 30-40 minutes or till done.

For the Gravy :

1)   Heat Ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Sautee onions till clear. Add Garlic and ginger. Continue sautéing.

2)  Add all the spice powders. Sautee another two minutes. Add tomato puree. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes.

3)  Stir in cream and Kasuri Methi. Simmer on medium heat till you have a nice consistency of a thick gravy.

4) Add the Chicken Tikka pieces into this gravy and keep on low flame for 5 minutes and serve hot.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   MEDIUM
              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  Do not overgrill the chicken tikkas. The best tikkas are the ones which are juicy. This can be obtained by turning them & basting them with oil/butter every 10 minutes while they get grilled.

Doodh Peda (Milk Fudge)

INGREDIENTS:
Milk Powder: 1 cup
Condensed milk: 1 can  (300 ml)
Butter: 3-4 tbsps
Cardamom: 4 (peel and crush the seeds in a mortal and pestle)
Nuts: Almonds OR Pistachios OR Cashew nuts OR Raisins (for garnishing)
Pistachios - 1 tbsps
Cashewnuts - 2 tbsps


HOW TO MAKE:

1)   Dry grind the pistachios & cashewnuts till they resemble a powder.

2)   Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed vessel. Add the milk powder & condensed milk and cook on low flame till mixed well.

3)   Add the pistachio-cashwenut powder, crushed cardomom and cook till the mixture is dry and starts leaving the sides of the vessel. It should resemble a thick paste.

4) Turn off heat and allow to cool till you can handle the mixture with your hand.

5)  Lightly grease your fingers and palm, shape the milk powder mixture into small balls and flatten them slightly.

6)  You can decorate the doodh pedas with any nuts of your choice.

7)  Store the pedas in an air tight container and place in the fridge. Remove the pedas from the fridge an hour before serving.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  While making the milk fudge, you should continously keep stirring to avoid them browning at the bottom of the vessel.

** For a pure milk fudge, you need not add the powdered nuts. It can be made only with the milk powder & condensed milk & butter.

** If you want it sweeter, you can add 2-3 tablespoons of sugar while cooking.

Cumin Rice (Zeera Rice)

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Basmati rice
2 heaped tsp Jeera (cumin seeds)
2 tbsp Cashewnuts
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
3 green chillies slit lengthwise
1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander leaves
2 Bay leafs
1 Onions, sliced /chopped
2 tbsp Ghee
Salt To Taste

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Cook rice till done. The rice grains should be seperated from each other and should not be very soft. Keep it aside.

2)  Heat ghee in a heavy saucepan, add cashewnuts. Fry until brown. Take them out and keep aside.


3)  In the remaining ghee,add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to crackle. Add the curry leaves & onions ,bayleafs and fry for a while.

4)  Add the cashewnuts, the green chillies,salt & the coriander leaves to this and mix this mixture with the cooked rice kept aside . Cover with a lid , place it on the stove on low flame till the rice is done (a bit soft)


5)  Serve jeera rice hot with any spicy curry or raita.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  You can also add some grated carrot if desired.

** Fry the seasoning ingrdients on low flame to avoid them overcooking/burning as it changes the taste of the dish.

Coconut Chutney

INGREDIENTS:

Shredded Coconut –  1 cup
Channa Daal (white color) or roasted chana dal– 1/2 cup
Ginger – 2″ piece
Garlic - 3 flakes
Green Chillies – to taste (slit)
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves – small bunch
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Oil – 1 tbsp
Asafoetida – pinch
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Cillies – 1-2
Urad Daal – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste

HOW TO MAKE:

1)  Transfer the chana dal, garlic + ginger pieces, salt &  into the dry mill of a mixer. Dry grind these into a fine powder.

2)  Transfer this powder into a blender and add the shredded coconut along with the green chillies & cilantro (coriander leaves). Check for salt also.

3) Blend to desired consistency by adding Water. Dont make it watery. Pour into a serving bowl.

4)  In a small skillet, on medium heat, heat the Oil.Once hot, add in Mustard Seeds and allow them to splutter.

5)  Add in Asafoetida and Dry Red Chillies. Cook for 5 seconds. Add in Urad Daal and cook till they change to a light golden color. After that add in Curry Leaves, mix and turn off the stove.

6)  Pour the seasoning over the chutney.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  The amount of coriander leaves to be added can be as per your choice. The more coriander leaves you add, the greener the chutney.

**  For a reddish colored Coconut chutney, you can dry grind a few dry red chillis in step 1 and skip the green chillis in step 2.

Rava Idlis

INGREDIENTS:

 Sooji (Cream of Wheat/Semolina) – 2 cups
Oil – 2 Tbsp
Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
Asofoetida (Hing) – pinch
Channa Daal – 1 tsp
Urad Daal – 1 tsp
Dry Whole Red Chili – 1
Broken Cashew Pieces – 1 Tbsp
Yogurt – 1 cup, well beaten
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Green Chili – 1 (to taste), finely chopped
Cilantro – 5 sprigs, finely chopped
Ginger – 1 tsp, finely grated
Salt – 1 tsp (to taste)
Water – 1 1/2 cup
Soda - 1/4 tsp


HOW TO MAKE:

 1)  Heat Oil in medium pan on medium heat.Add Mustard Seeds and allow them to pop. Add Asofoetida, Dry Red Chili, Channa Daal ( Bengal gram lentils), Urad Daal ( black gram lentils) and mix.


2)  When Channa and Urad Daals become light brown, add in Sooji and mix well. Keep roasting Sooji until a nice fragrant smell comes or you see the Sooji turning light brown. Do Not Burn the Sooji.


3)  Transfer Sooji to a medium bowl and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.


4) In a teaspoon of oil, lightly fry the cashwenuts till light golden. Remove from fire and mix them with the semolina.

5)  In another small bowl, mix Yogurt, Curry Leaves, Green Chilies, Cilantro, Ginger and Salt. Mix well. Pour Yogurt mixture into the cooled Sooji and mix. Add Water a little at a time and keep mixing until there are no lumps visible and such that the sooji is fully soaked. The amount of yogurt and water can be varied depending on the consistency. The batter should not be very thick as it can make the idlis hard.


6) This mixture should be allowed to rest for atleast 1 hour. I kept this mixture overnight. I covered the bowl and kept it in a warm place.My result was very soft rava idlis. So I recommend the same to you all also.

7) Next morning I lightly oiled Idli trays with spray cooking oil or regular oil. Prepare Idli steamer by pre-heating water to a boil.

8)  Check the batter consistency of the idli mix and then add the soda. Mix well & immediately pour mixture into the Idli Trays and put the Idli Stand into the steamer.


9)  Place a tight lid on the steamer and steam Idlis for exactly 10-12 minutes on medium heat.


10) Remove Idlis from the trays by scooping them out with a spoon. Serve hot with chutney or sambar. Makes approx. 20 idlis.

RATING NOTES:

              DIFFICULTY LEVEL    :   EASY

              RATING  POINTS         :    9/10**

**  You can also add some grated carrot in the idli batter in the morning just before mixing the baking soda.

** Roasting the semolina along with the seasonings can be made optional. You can add the seasonings to the plain semolina and then mix the yougurt etc as in step 5.

** If you do not have an idli steamer, you can also use a Rice Cooker (your Idli Stand Should fit into it without the weight.