Spicy Methi Rice

I have spent a lot of my time in the last few days trying to fix my feed so that all of you get fresh updates when I post something new. I am glad it has been fixed. Well I did have to delete my post on Feb 14th - Ginger Cookies, re posted below. I got so tired yesterday from the overdose of technology....am glad am back to doing what I know best ....cooking.

 Well  first am going to re post Ginger Cookies - which was posted on Valentine's day but had to delete it due to tech issues. Then .... It is Spicy Methi Rice also called -Menthe Soppina Anna in Kannada....a local  favorite.  It has always been my favorite as a child and as a grown up....am sure you will love it as much as I do :)

Ingredients

Methi leaves: one bunch, washed, remove from stem and chopped
Green Bell peppers: 1 cup - washed and cubed
Oil: 2-3 tbsp
mustard: 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Juice of a lime
Rice: 1 cup cooked ( make sure it is not overcooked)
Carrots and Peas : 1 cup (optional)

Masala Bhat powder...click to find :) - 2-4 tbsp

Heat 2 -3 tbsp of oil in a saucepan....add mustard...let it splatter. Now add cut bell peppers followed by cut (raw) methi...roast, add salt and leave it on medium flame till the methi is cooked. You could also used cooked methi, but you still need to roast and cook the bell peppers.  Add the cooked rice along with salt, lime juice and masala bhat powder ...2 for mild spice and 4 to kick it up another notch. Mix till the rice incorporates all the methi and the masala...if the rice is hot...wait till it cools before u mix..you don't what a mushy spicy porridge.

Enjoy with raita or plain home-made yogurt.

Ginger Cookies

Reposting due to tech issues.

A little spice to spice up your Valentine's day. You have to bake them to know what I am talking about, if you like a little spice with your sweet........this is it......look no further!  Hope you all have a great Valentine's day!!

Ingredients

All-purpose flour: 2 1/4 cups
Baking soda : 1 tsp
Ground cinnamon : 2 tsp
Ground cloves: 1and 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg: 1/2 tsp
Grated ginger : 1tsp (fresh)
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Brown sugar, lightly packed : 1 cup
Vegetable oil: 1/4 cup
Unsulfured molasses: 1/3 cup
1 extra-large egg, at room temperature
Chopped crystallized ginger (6 ounces): 1 and 1/4 cup
Granulated sugar, for rolling the cookies - optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and then combine the mixture with your hands. In the bowl beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add the egg, and beat for 2 minute. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the bowl and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and mix until combined. You can use an electric mixer.

Scoop the dough with 2 spoons . With your hands, roll each cookie into a 1 3/4-inch ball and then flatten them lightly with your fingers. Press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the pan. This is optional, I did a mix of both some has sugar topping and others don't. Bake for exactly 13 minutes. The cookies will be crackled on the top and soft inside. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for 1 to 2 minutes.

Candied crystalised ginger in every bite !!

Adapted from from Barefoot Contessa

This is my recipe for "Bookmarked Recipes" hosted by Mharo Rajasthan.

Test 2

Please bear with me, since the feed on my blog is not working. i am trying to fix the problem. thanks for your patience.

The magic of the zest

 I would often sneak an orange and try and eat it in hiding..,  just to tease my pet dog,  believe it or not she loved oranges. The aroma of oranges is so distinct that one cannot hide it....Bosky would always find me and she would bark till I obliged her. The smell of oranges always brings back memories of my childhood. We would also use the peel of the orange -  my mother would make fruit and nut cake using candied orange peel which was home made or dry it to use as a face pack or exfoliator.

Orange Peel  Exfoliator

After you peel an orange, clean the peel and remove any peel with spots. Sun dry it for a few weeks. I left mine in a sunny spot and it lived there for weeks. After it has dried well grind it using a dry grinder and sift it. You can store this dry powder in an airtight container. Add a bit of honey and rosewater to this peel powder and use it...fresh smooth skin :)

Make sure you do an allergy test before you use it, even thou it is completely natural...you never know.

 Candied Orange Peel

3-4 medium size naval oranges
Sugar - 1 cup
water - 1 cup

Remove the zest of 2 oranges using a zester. Peel the other 2 oranges and after you clean it cut it into fine square pieces. Take a saucepan , add  some water and the peels and bring to boil, strain the peel and discard the water - repeat it. This will ensure that the candied peel is not bitter.

In a medium-sized sauce pan, bring the water to a  boil. Add the sugar to the pan and stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, stir in the orange peel, bring the mixture back to a light boil and cook the peel  until it looks slightly translucent.

 Take the orange peel out of the sauce pan by using a small mesh strainer or a large spoon, taking care to not take much of the sugar solution. Store in a dry airtight container - refrigerate. Or you could transfer the candied peels onto the paper towels and let the towel soak any excess sugar solution away from the peel. Take small groups of peel and drop them into the plate of sugar - store in a clean container and refrigerate. You can use this for your favorite recipes and it is a great topping for ice-creams and desserts.

I was really excited over the weekend to try out something new. I wanted to bake something with candied orange peel ...so basler leckerli was just right - chewy cookies - a traditional sweet from Switzerland. I tried an online recipe ...and :( :( to make the long story short let me say I need a new genuine recipe. So to all my friends out there if you have a tried and tested recipe of basler leckerli...plz...plz.... pass it on before all the candied peel is eaten.

Tortilla Soup

It has been an year since the blog came about. Loved every moment of it.......making new friends, learning and sharing. A big thanks to all my friends ..!! :)

The temperatures are plugging, snow is on its way......18-24 inches expected with wind gusts 30-45 mph....... looks like Midwest is going to be in a hibernate mode for the next couple of days with the blizzard on its way. I do hope it is not as bad as they predict. Looking out from my window I see the calm before the storm with an occasional gust of wind. It almost feel like am writing a scene for a fiction,  this is real :( :(  !!  Will keep you posted with some clicks. 

I cannot think of posting anything else but some nice warm soup on a cold day like this ....with no promise of sunshine for the next two days...some soup to warm us up !!

Carrots : 1/4 chopped

Celery : 1/4 cup chopped

Tomato: 1/4 cup chopped

Red and yellow bell pepper : 1/4 cup chopped

Yellow Squash : 1/4 cup chopped

Cabbage: 1/4 cup chopped

Onion: 1 medium chopped

Butter: 1 tbsp

Garlic Clove : 2

In a dutch oven melt butter saute the onions and add the vegetables...add 2-3 cups of water, salt and bring to a boil. Add 2 tbsp of southwest spice blend  . Pour all the ingredients into a blender along with a handful of tortilla chips and blend, if you like your soup chunky ....don't over blend. Take care while blending hot liquids in the blender.  Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and some tortilla chips.