Masala Spring Onion Paratha

When the dosa batter box is empty, the dish I turn to is Poori / Chapathi. With thousands[yes, 1000's] of varieties of roti/paratha/chapathi to choose from,my folks never feel that a dish is a repeated. A single or multiple ingredient(s) added to the basic dough makes a lot of difference and changes the taste of the end product. So am I not right when I mentioned we have 1000's varieties to choose from!

 A few days back, when I was cleaning the contents of the freezer,I found some frozen spring onion.While in China, I used to make Bing - Chinese Spring onion stuffed parathas often.This time I put the frozen spring onion greens to use in the paratha. To give a twist to the meal , I added a spice mix and the result - Empty bread box and happy tummies :)

So this is my first recipe for this month's Blogging Marathon,Week # 3, with the theme, Indian flat breads - Blended breads...

I used :

Whole wheat flour - 2 cups
Spring onion greens,chopped- 1/4 cup
Pav bhaji masala - 1 teaspoon
Ajwain seeds- 1 teaspoon
Fresh thick yogurt-2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

1. Take all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Add water little by little and knead to a smooth dough.Let it rest for 10 minutes.
3. Pinch out small balls of the dough and roll into parathas.
4. Heat a griddle and cook each side till brown spots appear.
5. Remove from heat and serve hot with a side dish of your choice.....

Note :

• You can try using sambar powder / chaat masala / chili powder or any other spic mix instead of pav bhaji masala.
• Similarly use mint / coriander leaves / fenugreek leaves/ drumstick leaves instead of spring onion greens.

Masala Spring Onion Parathas
with
Baby corn peas masala

Take a look at the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Bon Appetit...

Pasta Vegetable Soup

Once again a pasta dish! Lil Angel is head over heels in love with pastas and I find it easier to get her to eat if there is pasta in the dish that she normally refuses. Of late,she detests soups except her favorite drumstick soup, so I am finding ways and means to get her to take in vegetables and this soup serves two purposes. It has veggies and is filling!

Recently I  experimented and found out that pasta can be cooked in the pressure cooker. I have been following this method ever since. Pasta dishes get done in a jiffy!

I used:

Whole wheat pasta-1/2 cup
Mixed vegetables- 1/2 cup [I used potato,peas,beans and carrots,onion,a few slices of garlic]
Corn flour-1 teaspoon
Oregano-1/2 teaspoon
Red chili flakes- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

1. Pressure cook the pasta with 1 1/2 cups water. In another separator vessel,put in the chopped veggies and add a little water.Pressure cook for 2 hisses.
2. Once the pressure releases, drain the water from the pasta and rinse under cold water. Keep aside.
3. Heat the vegetable along with the water used to cook it.
4. Add the pasta, salt,oregano and some water to get the desired consistency.
5. Dissolve the corn flour in a little water and add to the pan.
6. Stir well and let it simmer for a few minutes.
7. Remove from heat and serve garnished with chili flakes.

Note :

• You can add any flavourings/ herbs / spices to suit your taste.
• You can also saute the onion and garlic in a little butter before adding the vegetables.
• If you want a lighter soup, omit the corn flour.

This goes to Pavani's event- 5 ingredient fix, which she is hosting this month in Srivalli's Kid's Delight event.She has given salt/sugar, chili powder/pepper powder, oil/butter as freebies and this dish which uses very few ingredients seems apt for her event.

Take a look at the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Bon Appetit...

Basil Seed Lemonade

Basil seeds is one of the ingredients that I wanted to experiment with. One fine day a friend of mine got a small pack of these seeds and then I did a little bit of search to settle on the recipe to try out. As always, a I wanted my first experiment to be a beverage and found several of these used in lemonades. So made this at home and enjoyed it on a hot evening a few weeks back....

Basil seeds are also called Subja seeds, sabja seeds, Takmaria seeds,thukamaria seeds etc and is one of the important ingredient of the famous Falooda.

Basil seeds are black in color, resembling black sesame seeds, only a little smaller.When soaked in water they 'bloom' and attain a jelly like structure and has a light crunch to it.They have no flavor of their own.

These seeds are said to aid weight loss, overcome skin infections and relieve stress. It is also a body coolant and hence added to a variety of beverages and consumed in summer.

Here is a pic of the basil seeds....

For the basil seed lemonade,

I used:

Lemon -1
Honey to taste
Basil seeds-1/4 teaspoon
Ice cubes
Water

1. Take the basil seeds in a sieve [with a cloth,close netted one] and rinse under water to remove impurities.
2. Soak the seeds in 1/4 cup of water and set aside for 15 minutes, till they bloom
3. Prepare lemon juice as you would normally do using lemon, water and honey.
4. Drain the basil seeds and add to lemon juice.
5. Serve over some ice cubes....

Lil Angel loved eating the basil seeds!!!

This cooling lemonade goes to  Pavani's event- 5 ingredient fix, which she is hosting this month in Srivalli's Kid's Delight event.

Take a look at the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#28

Bon Appetit...