victuals

Coffee Shake (A strong coffee shake for coffee lovers)

2005-09-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 cup cold milk
1 cup strong black coffee
2 tsp chocolate syrup
1/2 tsp cinnammon powder
2 scoops of coffee icecream

Garnishing:

-Grated chocolate

Directions:

- 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of coffee , chocolate syrup and cinnamon powder in blender
- Blend thoroughly
- add 1 scoop of coffee icecream and blend it till it is consistently smooth
-Pour into 2 tall glasses and garnish with grated chocolate
- (optional) add one more scoop of coffee icecream

recipe by Priti Dasot

Lassi flavours!

2005-04-29T02:46:00.000-07:00

Sweet Mango Lassi

You will need:

2/3 cup fresh yogurt
1 1/2 cups pure cool water
Flesh of one large ripe mango, diced
1 large pinch ground cardamom
1 large pinch ground fennel
Sugar or honey to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender for about 2 minutes. Strain and enjoy.

Note - If using honey, add it after you pour the lassi into a glass, and stir briskly with a spoon.

*********

Ginger-Black Pepper Lassi

You will need:

2/3 cup fresh yogurt
1 1/2 cups pure cool water
1/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 curry leaf (optional)
Rock salt to taste

Blend all ingredients together in a blender for about 2 minutes. Strain and enjoy.

**********

Cilantro-Mint Lassi

You will need:

2/3 cup fresh yogurt
1 1/2 cups pure room temperature water
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 fresh mint leaves
1/2 tsp dry roasted cumin seeds
Large pinch fresh-ground black pepper
Rock salt to taste

Place all the ingredients in a blender and run on high for 2 minutes until well blended. Strain.

*********

Herbed Rice with potato julienne

2005-04-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

Hi all
here's a wonderful way to spice up the plain rice we have everyday. enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup Basmati rice

2 medium Potatoes, peeled

1/2 tb Fresh ginger

2 ts Green chillies, minced

1/4 cup Coconut

2 tb Parsley, fresh

3 tb Ghee

6 Whole cloves

1 1/2 Inch piece cinnamon stick

1 small Bay leaf

1 1/2 ts Whole cumin seeds

1/2 cup Frozen peas, defrosted

1 t Salt

3/4 ts Turmeric

1 t Lemon juice

2 1/4 cup Water

1 t Sugar

1 tb Ghee

5 Lemon wedges to garnish

Method:

Wash the potatoes & cut them evenly into julienne
strips.

Combine the ginger root, chillies, coconut, parsley in
a bowl. Add a little water or soy milk, mix well.
Drop in potato strips. Set aside.

Heat the ghee in a heavy pot, drop in the whole
cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf. Fry till the cumin seeds
turn brown. Add the marinated potatoes; stir fry
till they are light-brown.

Add the rice, salt, turmeric, lemon juice, water &
sugar. Stir & quickly bring to a full boil.

Reduce heat to very low & cover with a tight fitting
lid. Simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes. 5 minutes
before the finishing, add the peas.

Remove lid, turn off heat & add 1 tb ghee. Let rice
sit for 5 minutes. Fluff & garnish each portion with
lemon wedges.

Medu Vada

2005-03-29T00:51:00.000-08:00

Medu vada (in Tamil ) literally means soft vada. As my husband was pestering me to make some vada, i decided to make it on a recent festive occassion.

Here are the instructions:

Take some whole urad dal and let it soak in water for half an hour. Meanwhile, you can prepare some delicious coconut chutney (you can also try the vada with sambhar i.e Tamarind gravy / Tomato Sauce combination) to eat along with the vada. Take some whole black peppers, mix with the soaked urad dal and then grind the dal to a thick batter in a food processor.

Depending on your taste, you can even try adding some chopped onions and green chilles. Add curry leaves, coriander , asafoetida and, salt and mix thoroughly.

Take a deep frying pan and heat refined oil. Then wet your palms and take some batter and smoothen into circles of medium thickness. Add the vadas into the oil and fry till they turn crispy brown. Remove the vadas from the oil and serve hot.

Festivals (eatout) / Chhole

2005-03-14T00:31:00.000-08:00

eatout :

Festivals (hyderabad) ****
Dinner for two : Rs200-300

"Festivals" is a Vegetarian restaurant on Road No 10, Banjara Hills and its discovery was of that kind called serendipity. But once discovered, its a place worth recommendation.

Its a nice, cozy place to wrap up in and it doesn't have the clutter of "Chutneys". The interiors have a soothing, blended lighting style and one of the walls is done in an innovative way - masts and sails of ships against a white background. The service is prompt and the people very courteous. And the food is the best part of it all. The kebabs are brilliant and the "kathi roll" is a must pick. There are a million different variety of rotis on offer and the sarson-ka-saag, makkki-ki-roti combination would make an ideal dinner order. And all these, without burning a hole in your pocket.

-arundhoti banerjee

***********************

"Chhole"

Ingredients:

1 teacup kabuli channas
2 chopped onions
2 potatoes
2 tomatoes
2 tablespoons dhana-jira powder
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon amchur power
1 tablespoon garam masala
½ teaspoon soda bi-carb
½ teaspoon black pepper powder
3 tablespoons ghee
salt to taste
Slices of tomatoes and ginger, chopped coriander and a few whole green chillies for decoration.

Procedure:

Soak the channas for at least 6 hours
Add ½ teaspoon of soda bi-carb and cook in a pressure cooker
Cut the potatoes and tomatoes into big pieces
Heat the ghee in a vessel and fry the potatoes until soft
Remove the potatoes. In the same ghee add the onions and cook for a little time.
Add the dhana-jira and chilli powder and fry again.
Add the boiled channas and salt.
After 5 minutes, add the garam masala, amchur and black pepper powder and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes.
Decorate with coriander, chillies and slices of tomatoes and ginger.

- foodbuff

Chilled Mint Tea

2005-03-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

Lets usher in the summer with some refreshing chilled drink.

How about mint tea !! Now tea to most of us would be that "hot" beverage. But try this chilled version and let me know how your taste buds felt.

Its a very simple method.

Grab some bunches of mint sprigs.
Wash them thoroughly and add to a vessel of boiling water.
Add tea and keep the tea boiling till you catch the nice aroma of the mint leaves.
(Preferably, you can boil the potion, covered.)
Then remove from the flame and strain into another vessel and refrigerate it.

Before serving, add required quantities of sugar and perhaps some crushed ice. Decorate the glass with some springs of mint leaves and enjoy!

Very easy process, ain't it ?

-priya varadan som

Paneer tikka

2005-02-21T00:22:00.000-08:00


How to use up the extra Pizza seasonings in your house ?

If you are faced with the above problem, then it indicates two things:

1. By looking through your purse, you can see the ground/your feet (wonder
ing how the big hole came about)

2. By weighing yourself, you are bound to suffer a mini stroke
(if you are the cheese gorging kind)

Anyways, now to use up all that extra seasonings in your cupboard, you can either throw the whole lot into the dustbin or you can cook up something using them. If you have decided on the latter option, let me throw in my usual disclaimer. This is NOT going to help you if you find yourself in the 2nd listing (done above, right at the beginning).

Ok, lets get on to some action.

First empty all those seasonings in to a bowl, add some salt and add some garam masala.
Mix the dry ingredients well and keep aside.
Go and hunt for some paneer in your refrigerator. If you have a huge block then slice it into small chunks.
Then roll ur paneer blocks into the seasoning mixture. Sprinkle some chat masala on top of the blocks and grill them either in a microwave or on the stove for some time.
Make sure that the paneer is soft and tender and then remove from the cooking area. Drain off the water (must have oozed out from the paneer) and add some butter.


Serve/eat it hot. 

Hey, before you pop it into your mouth, do thank the Pizza outlet for making your life easier. You can also feel happy about yourself for not wasting any edible item.

Three cheers to recycling !!!

-priya varadan som

Curd"ed" Potato

2005-02-11T04:01:00.000-08:00

Here's a dish that is made of two simple main ingredients, potatoes and curd, but cooked the right way with the masala, it tastes like heaven. Try this sometime.

For Curd"ed" Potato, you need

Ingredients:

5 medium. potatoes boiled and peeled.
1 cup curd or yogurt beaten
1 tsp. red chilli powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. dhania powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1/4 tsp. garam masala
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. each ginger, garlic grated
2 green chillies slit
1 tsp. each cumin, mustard seeds
1/4 tsp. wheat flour
1 tbsp. oil

Method:

Cut the potatoes into big pieces. Mash them and keep aside.
Mix all the dry masala in 1/4 cup water.
Heat oil. Add the seeds (cumin and mustard). When they splutter, add ginger-garlic, chilli.
Add the masala mixture and fry for 2 minutes.
Add beaten curd and fry for 5 minutes or till the curd loses its whiteness. Stir continuously after adding curd.
Add the remaining water and all the potato and flour.
Stir well. Boil and simmer for 10 minutes or till gravy thickens.
Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve hot with rice.

malai kofta

2005-01-08T04:52:00.000-08:00


To me, recipes become difficult if they involve cooking more than one

item. For preparing Malai kofta (MK), the kofta has to be made separately

before immersing it in the gravy. The need to cook two different items to prepare

this exotic dish, had always kept me away from trying my hand at it.



However, due to several reasons, I decided to cook MK last week.



I used the following:



For the Kofta :



	Boiled and mashed potatoes

	Onions

	Fried bread crumbs

	Grated Paneer

	Salt

	Corn flour, little amount

	Garam Masala

	Chilli powder

	Chopped coriander leaves



I mixed all the above ingredients,except the corn flour, for the kofta and

rolled the mixture into small balls. I tossed all the balls on a bed of corn flour,

to provide a nice coating of the powder. Then I fried the coated balls in

oil (ghee gives a nice smell to the dish).



For the Gravy:



	Chopped Tomatoes

	Choppped onions

	Ginger garlic paste

	Butter

	Salt

	Chilli powder

	Turmeric

	Oil



I made a thick gravy of the tomatoes and onions by cooking them in oil

in a kadai. (for a thicker gravy, a paste of the tomatoes and onions can

be used). Then I added the ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, chilli powder,

garam masala and cooked till the raw smell was eliminated. Finally, I

added butter and then immersed the koftas into the gravy. Simmered the dish

for 2-3 minutes, removed from the flame and served hot with rotis.



Happy cooking..

- priya varadan som

Choco Biscuits

2004-12-09T04:25:00.000-08:00


I love the aroma that fills the room when something is baked. Though i love baked stuff for health + taste reasons, I am not an adept at this art. Purely for adventurous reasons, I tried my hand at biscuit making. You can take some tips from here but let me throw a disclaimer at this juncture, "don't ask me if it doesn't taste like the bakery biscuits" .



Now that I have played safe, let me start with the narration.



Ingredients



Maida - 2 cups

Salt - little amounts

Sugar (preferably powdered) - 1 & 1/2 cups

Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp

Milk - atleast 1 & 1/2 cups

Butter - 1 cup



Now for the preparation,



1) Mix maida, salt, sugar and cocoa powder in a dry bowl.

2) Soften the butter and add it to the milk.

3) Add the liquid to the dry mixture gradually and make a soft dough.

4) Pat and roll the dough (to 1 - 1/2 inch thickness)on  a flat surface.

5) Cut into desirable shapes using a knife (try an inverted steel glass for making round shapes)

6) Place the flattened "would- be" biscuits on a buttered oven plate/tray. Ensure that the biscuits are placed atleast 5 cm apart from each other. (on baking, these would swell)

7) Preheat the oven and then bake the biscuits for atleast 10 - 11 minutes.



Biscuits are ready. Take my advice, first try a piece on yourself before serving to others (call it precaution or true gandhianism !!!)

-priya varadan som

Linseed Laddoos

2004-12-01T02:13:00.000-08:00

Just like any normal person, I love eating laddoos especially the motichur ones. To me eating a laddoo has always been a special occassion, for I get to eat them only during cousins' weddings and other festivities. Given the frequency at which I consume laddoos, I get this feeling that making them is an arduous process and only a skilled hand can accomplish the task.



Recently, on a particular sunday afternoon, I wanted to eat laddoos (don't ask me what on earth I was doing at that hour instead of enjoying a nice siesta). I rummaged my kitchen to look for potential ingredients to go into the laddoos. These are what I had:

some lumps of jaggery
linseeds (white til)
water


To make the linseed laddoos using jaggery, I needed to first make some jaggery syrup. So I poured two glasses of water into a vessel and added the jaggery lumps (quantity to be added depends entirely on your sweet tooth; I added one cup of jaggery). The syrup making process was the most time consuming. In case you venture out to do this, you can perhaps finish off some other chores while the liquid is getting all syrupy and aromatic.



I started the work on the til seeds in the meantime. In a dry kadai, I roasted the til seeds (3/4th cup of seeds) and spread them on a plate.



As the consistency of the syrup was most critical, I had to keep a check on it at regular intervals. When the liquid started boiling, I took out some of the syrup and poured on a cooler surface. It immediatley started to solidy indicating that the syrup was done. I poured the syrup on to the roasted til seeds in the plate and mixed well.



I immediately started rolling the solid mass (fast) into small balls. Voila, the linseed laddoos were ready to be devoured. Not a bad way to spend a sunday afternoon !! (thought that passed my mind after eating a laddoo).



- priya varadan som

Prawn Malai Curry

2004-11-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here's a great recipe from Bengal- prawns simmered in coconut milk. Its wonderful with hot steamed rice and chapatis too.

Here's what you need:

Prawn / Shrimp: 1 lbs
Cup Coconut Milk: 1 cup
Medium Size Onion: 1 nos
Ginger Paste: 1 tbsp
Slitted Green Chili: 4 nos
Red Chili Powder: 1 tsp
Bay Leaf: 2 nos
Sugar: 2 tsp
Turmeric powder: 1/2tsp
Whole Cardamom: 2 nos
Cinnamon: 1/2 "
Whole Cloves: 4 nos
Cooking Oil: 50 gms
Salt to taste.

Start off by washing the prawns thoroughly and removing the veins.
Rub some turmeric powder and add salt and turmeric on the prawns and marinate.
Chop the onions. Crush cardamom, cinnamon and cloves into a fine powder.
Heat oil and fry onions till they are golden brown.
Add the garlic and ginger paste, bay leaf, red chilli powder and stir fry for about 5 - 7 minutes.
Add the prawns and fry along with the spices for a few minutes.
Add coconut milk, sugar, salt and the ground spices (cardamom, cinnamon and cloves).
Cover the vessel and simmer in medium heat for about 10 minutes.
Add green chillies. Close the cover for another 10 minutes.

And you are done! Enjoy your meal.

-reshmi mitra

"Raw Mango" Juice

2004-11-23T05:40:00.000-08:00

Well incase you are thinking that this is not the right season for juice recipes, let me just state that liquids are recommended as dietary intake irrespective of time or seasonal constraints (by liquids, I meant the non-alcoholic kinds !).

What comes to your mind when you think of raw mangoes ? Green and Sour fruit (unlike its ripened juicy counterpart). Fine, lets do some value addition to this poor fruit.

After a Requirements analysis, this is what we need to provide the requisite value addition:

* One ripe raw mango (?! sounds more like an oxymoron. Ok, a green slightly juicy one will do )
* Chopped ginger, filling 1/4th of the cup
* Sugar and salt, catering to the consumer's taste
* Water, catering to the consumer's need for thickness (After all, Consumer is God, right?)
* A Juicer / Mixer Grinder /Blender
* Glasses (we have to take care of the minutest detail during the requirements gathering.)

Lets skip the Design Phase (only for a dire emergency like this : quenching of thirst ) and move directly into execution.

Peel and cut the mango into slices.
Add the ginger and mango slices in the blender.
Add the sugar, salt and water.
Blend in the blender and refrigerate.

Add a sprig of mint leaves and chat masala and serve in glasses.
(Wondering about the additional culinary needs at this stage ? Now who can claim to have become an expert at requirements analysis. We all make msitakes !!)

Cheers to our imperfections !!

Priya Varadan Som

exotic recipes: Chilli Dodo

2004-11-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

Today we present an exotic recipe lost to civilization since the 17th century unearthed during the latest Alien versus Predator battle!

We will be using an assortment of spices and condiments which will be available easily at your local food store.
However, it's doubtful if you can get hold of the main ingredient of the recipe...and that, if you haven't guessed it yet, is a Dodo.

A flightless forest-dwelling bird of Mauritius, extinct since the late 17th century, it has a unique taste especially when cooked in a coconut gravy. And Dodo eggs are a "rare" delicacy too.

But before we go on further with the preparation, we have to ensure that you do not compromise on the central ingredient. The recipe being very precious, we have to be certain that it falls into the hands of the person who is genuinely interested. So please do mail us at vibeindia@yahoo.com "after" you have the Dodo with you and we will mail you a personal copy of the recipe!

Suman Datta

Dhokla

2004-11-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Dhokla, this famous North Indian starter has its origins in Gujarat. Though there are several varieties of this starter available in Gujarat, we will be making the one which is the most popular and has spread in entire Northern India. It comes in different shades of yellow and is available in sweet and salty tastes with beautiful garnishing. The taste is so heavenly that we shouldn’t wait for more and quickly make and eat some of them.
Ingredients:

* 1) ½ kg curd
* 2) 250 gms semolina(sooji/rawa)
* 3) 2 green chillies
* 4) 1.5 cm of ginger
* 5) 1 tablespoon of salt
* 6) 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
* 7) A pinch of baking soda
* 8) 1 sachet of ENO
* 9) Chopped coriander leaves
* 10) ½ tablespoon mustard seeds
* 11) 1 ½ cup of water
* 12) A pinch of turmeric

Preparation:
Mix curd, semolina and ½ cup water well and keep it for 30 min(if the curd is not sour keep it for 3-4 hrs).
Method:

* 1) Make a paste of green chillies and ginger and mix it to the above mixture.
* 2) Add salt, turmeric, baking soda and ENO and mix it well.
* 3) As soon as the mixture become fluffy, add it to a pan(add only that much amount which fills half of the pan depth-wise)
* 4) Put the pan in a cooker with ½ glass of water and steam it for around 10 min.
* 5) Remove the pan and cut into small pieces (for sweet taste add some sugar water on them)
* 6) Heat a small pan and add oil to it.
* 7) When oil becomes hot add mustard seeds and spread the oil onto the dhoklas
* 8) Spread the chopped coriander and serve the dhoklas with chutney or sauce

Mona Tanwani

hyderabad eatouts: Add Pizzazz to your taste.

2004-11-23T05:37:00.000-08:00

The dictionary says "an open pie made typically of flattened bread dough spread with a savory mixture usually including tomatoes and cheese and often other toppings and baked", but "Pizza" definitely has come a long way. The exotic toppings, innovative shapes (imagine square pizzas!) and a whole new range of crusts ... pizza freaks do have a lot to pick from!
This week we go on a pizza trip around Hyderabad.
Pizza Hut : ****

Think "Pizza Hut" and what springs to mind is an extremely amiable bunch of people who know best what service is all about! The personal touch that they lend towards their customers is really commendable. The place located in Road No 12,Banjara Hills has a lovely ambience and add to it the food they serve, it couldn't get better.
They have a variety of options to choose from - the pan pizza,the typical Italian delights, the Indian flavours and the Stuffed crust (this being their USP!).
Amongst the accompaniments ,the savory garlic bread with cheese, the appetizing potato wedges, the toothsome tropical chicken salad and the heavenly ebony & ivory are worth a try. In all, this place lives upto the "ten pizza commandments" they preach!
Pizza Corner : ***

Though they try their hands at all kinds of innovations with garlic flavoured crusts and square shaped pizzas, that can't hold your imagination for long for in the end its the taste in your mouth that matters, and "that's" exactly where they lose a point.
The pizza is easily forgettable and so is the ambience. But they do score a point with the "Italian herb bread"...its the best in the world!
Dominos : ***

Lets not talk of ambience ... guess they never really wanted to provide it! But, they definitely do the best in the "home delivery" section.
Though there is very little variety to choose from, you can't really complain about the taste and quality. In all,"Dominos" is an old and established brand and they thrive on that!
One piece of advice to dominos:" In the frantic food business you got to run to stay in the same place!"
... your take guys!

Arundhoti Banerjee

"Jinx"ed batter "Charm"ed bonda

2004-11-23T05:35:00.000-08:00

a film by Priya Varadan Som

[The opening scene-]

finds you in a fix, with a packet of Dosa mix / Idli mix, purchased from the super market, and despite a hard fight to get some decent dosas/idlis prepared,

1) The dosa batter just sticks to your dosa tava with an infinite affinity.
2) Even the water/oil does not come to your help in pulling your favorite dosa from the tava.

[Cut to-]

you intently pondering on the fate of the batter:"maar diya jaye ya chhor diya jaaye" kind, thinking whether to dump the batter and look to your recipe book for making some snappy item (bomb!)
But finally like the real Bollywood hero kind, you give a hard look at the batter (and finding your hard earned money in fluid form) decide to use it in some other way(the classic "punar janam" act!)

[So we hire some "extras" for the climactic fight scene!]

Extras:

* Refined oil - enough for doing some deep frying
* 2 Chopped green chilles
* 2 Chopped onions
* Curry leaves
* Coriander (Optional)
* Salt - to taste

and of course the "jinxed" Dosa batter!

[Cut to climax:]

With all the divine powers vested in you (remember you are a Bollywood hero!) you

1. Mix all the ingredients, except the oil, in a bowl.
2. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan.
3. Add the mixture prepared in step 1, as small balls in to the pan.
4. Fry till golden brown.

all at once and pop them hot with some chutney/sauce straight into your mouth with rajnikant's dexterity!
Its time to pack up!

Tangy Poha

2004-11-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

This column is dedicated to appease thy hunger. Most of the times, we go back from office with a growling stomach and fatigued body. Though grabbing some food from outside seems to be a tempting option, spending just 5 minutes to make our own snack looks like a better one. Well, if you fall into this category, read on.My recipe will just take 5 - 7 minutes of your evening time.

Ingredients: (Serving for 1 person)

* Poha : 1 tea cup full
* Tamarind water/Buttermilk: enough to soak the poha (for people who don't prefer sour taste, just use water instead)
* Salt: to taste
* Chopped onions
* Oil : preferably refined oil (Health reasons :-) )
* Mustard seeds : a pinch
* Asafoetida : a pinch
* Red chilles(dry) : 2

Preparation:
1. Soak the poha in tamarind water/buttermilk/water for 2 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, put a kadai on the stove and heat oil.
3. Add the mustard seeds in the oil. After it splutters, add asafoetida, red chillies and onions.
4. Once the onions are golden brown, drain the liquid from the poha and add the poha to the kadai.
5. Add salt, mix and keep it covered till the poha gets cooked.

Enjoy it hot with some pickle!

P.S: Two things before I say bye
1. I haven't given the recipe any fancy name. It is just Poha made with a south indian flavor. Down south, it will be called Poha ('aval' as it called in TN)-ka-upma, but then for those of you who are allergic to the sound of "Upma", please yourself by naming it something else.

2. And for the calorie conscious guys, i am sorry, i don't know how much calorie (or kilo calorie) this will amount to. Most of it is carbhohydrates. But then, i recently read some site on Health consciousness about carbhohydrates. It said that carbohydrate rich food brings out more calmness, reduces stress etc. etc... All this had something to do with the Tryptophan amino acid that these foods produce.

I will stop here. Enjoy making and eating your poha.

Priya Varadan Som