Pepper 'n Spice

Recipe courtesy :  Tomato Basil Bruschetta And I used red capsicum instead of tomato. I also included the big green chilies used in bajji.

Dry ragi noodles - 150 gms Noodles masala  - 1 tsp Water - 2 cups Spinach -  a bunch Button mushrooms - 7 or 8 Salt - 1 tsp Pepper - 1 tsp Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Boil the water with a pinch of salt. Spoon in the masala  and then immerse the noodles. Allow it to cook in boiling water for 10 mins. Meanwhile, clean the spinach leaves well in some water with a pinch of turmeric. Strain. Also, clean the mushrooms. Slice the mushrooms into small pieces. In a pan, heat the oil. Sprinkle the salt, Add in the mushrooms and stir around for about 5 mins. Add the spinach into the pan and allow it to wilt. The spinach will cook in its own water. Once the water dries up, add the pepper and stir. Strain the cooked noodles and toss it around in the pan with spinach and mushrooms. Take off from heat and serve warm.

Idli batter Mini idli  maker Spoon batter into the idli  maker. The steam will cook the idlis . Once cool, take out the idlis  with a spoon. Serve hot with chammanthi podi. Recipe from Mom

This is an excellent nutritious breakfast. You can choose any stuffing you want. I used mushroom and peas  https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2014/11/mushroom-peas-saute.html . Layer this in the puttu along with the coconut as made in  https://riyasspace.blogspot.com/2014/11/steamed-rice-cakes.html . Serve with banana! Inspired by hubby

Spaghetti - a fistful Water - 2 cups Broccoli florets - 1 cup Tomato - 1/2 of a small, diced Cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup Olive oil - 1 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Pepper - 1/2 tsp Boil the water with a pinch of salt. Add the spaghetti. This pasta will stick out and as the water boils, it will cook and sink into the pot. Meanwhile, sprinkle some water on the broccoli, add a pinch of salt and cook for 2 minutes in the microwave. Allow the spaghetti to cook for about 10 minutes. And then strain. Transfer the spaghetti into a baking dish or glass bowl. Drizzle oil. Add salt, pepper, tomato and broccoli and mix them around. Top it off with cheese. Bake in a preheated oven for 5 minutes or until the cheese melts and looks gooey. I am a big fan of Jamie Oliver. Here's his classic tomato spaghetti recipe  Spaghetti

Ragi flour - 1 tsp Atta (Chapathi flour) - 1 Tbsp Salt - a pinch Water - to sprinkle Beetroot grated - 1 tsp Potato grated - 1 tsp Methi leaves (dry) - 1/4 tsp Butter - 1/2 tsp In a bowl, add the flour. Sprinkle some water and mix together so that it forms a soft ball. Press the grated beetroot with a kitchen paper towel so that it absorbs the water. Mix it with the potato and methi . Make a small well in the chapathi dough and spoon in the vegetable mix. Continue to make a ball. If its too sticky or wet, roll it over some chapathi  flour. Knead the dough till the vegetables are all mixed in. With a chapathi  rolling pin, make a round flat bread. As you make it, dip it in flour so that it is not sticky. Heat a tawa and place the chapathi . Turn it over till it is cooked on both sides. Melt the butter on both sides just before taking it out of the pan.

Brown Bread - 5 slices Vegetable oil - 3 Tbsp Cashewnuts - 2 Tbsp Groundnuts - 3 Tbsp Mustard seeds - 1 tsp Urad dal - 1/2 tsp Bengal gram - 1 tsp Curry leaves -5 Ginger - 1 tsp, grated Chilli  - 1, thinly sliced Onion - 2 small, finely chopped Carrot - 1 small, finely grated Salt - 3/4 tsp To garnish: Coriander leaves - a  fistful Pomegranate pearls - 1 Tbsp Pick the soft inside part of the bread slices and crumble into small pieces. Do the same with the outer edges too. Keep aside. Warm the vegetable oil in a pan. Add cashewnuts  and sitr . Transfer the cashewnuts  to a bowl once it starts to brown. Add the groundnuts to the oil and stir for a few minutes. Transfer the groundnuts to a bowl too once cooked. When the cashews cool. break them into smaller pieces. To the heated oil, add mustard seeds. As soon as they start to sputter, add the dals . Stir and then add the curry leaves. Stir and then add ginger, chilli and salt. Stir for a few seconds and add th

Bread - 2 slices Cheese spread Green capsicum Yellow capsicum Cucumber - 2 slices Peas - 2, cooked and mashed Broccoli - a few small florets, boiled Lettuce Pepper - a pinch With a butter knife, apply cheese spread on one side of both the bread slices. Place yellow and green capsicum, cucumber slices, mashed peas, broccoli and lettuce with a sprinkle of pepper, inside the slices. Toast the bread. Cube a small slice of tomato, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt on it. Serve this with the warm toast. Tip - The broccoli florets can be cleaned by keeping in water which has little salt and turmeric. Strain. It can be cooked either in boiling water or heating in a microwave for a minute.

Pasta - 2 cups Salt Pepper Water - 3 cups Remains of the cooked vegies  from the earlier pizza recipe Mozarella cheese - 2 slices My daughter loves food in different shapes. So I used Farfalle or the bow-tie pasta. Boil water with a pinch of salt. Add the pasta and cook in the boiling water for about 10 mins, or till it bloats up. Strain the pasta. Sprinkle some salt and peper . Mix in the cooked vegetables and cheese slices. Preheat the oven and bake the pasta for 5 mins.

Pizza base - 2 Tomato - 2 small Garlic - 4 cloves, peeled Onion - 2 small, peeled Yellow capsicum - 1 small Green capsicum - 1 small Bajji   chilli  (light green and big) - 1 Mozarella  cheese - 50gms Oregano - 2 tsp Salt - 3/4 tsp Pepper - 1/2 tsp Olive oil - 4 Tbsp Wash all the vegetables well. Place the tomatoes in a melamine bowl and microwave for 2 mins. The skin will become soft and wrinkly. Let it cool. Then peel off the skin and cut into cubes. If it has not become pulpy, you can mash it in a mixie . Heat a pan and spray some oil. Spoon in the mashed tomatoes, little salt and 1 tsp of oregano. Cook for a few minutes and transfer to a bowl. Cut a circle sround the stem of the capsicums and bajji   chilli  and take out the seeds. Wash them again. Cut the garlic into small pieces. Slice onion into rings. Similarly with the chilli  and capsicum. The capsicum rings will look like flowers. Heat the pan and spray some oil. Add the remaining salt. Add the capsicum a

My 3 year old hates vegies . So I sneak them in her food. Her favourite  pink dosa  has carrot, beetroot and peas. And sometimes broccoli too! Carrot - 1 tsp, peeled and grated Beetroot - 1 tsp, peeled and grated Peas - 2 Dosa batter - 2 Tbsp Butter - 1 tsp Sprinkle some water on the peas and place in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 5 seconds, or until soft. Mash it with your fingers and mix with the grated vegetables. Spoon in the dosa batter and blend to form a pink batter. Spread the batter on a greased and heated pan ( tawa ). Run the butter around the sides of the dosa . Turn over the dosa  and cook till it is crisp. My daughter loves it with coconut chutney powder (chammanthi podi).

This is a typical South Indian dish. It is a broth made with pulses, tamarind and vegetables. The pulses ingredient is pigeon pea, also called toor dal . Sambar is usually eaten with rice and with light South Indian dishes such as idli , a steamed dumpling, or dosa , a sort of large rolled pancake. It is often accompanied by coconut chutney. Sambar is not as complicated to make as it looks! Recipe at  http://www.south-indian-recipes.com/sambarrecipe.html  and inspired by Mom

This is one of my favourite weekend breakfast dish since it is tasty, healthy and easy to make. Upumav and payar thoran is an excellent combination. In the Keralite cuisine, its usually had with banana. Instead of broken wheat, semolina ( rava ) can also be used. Ingredients : Broken wheat - 1 cup Water - 1 cup Salt - 1/s tsp Oil Raisins Cashewnut Mustard seeds Curry leaves Green chilli - 1 Ginger chopped - 1/2 tsp Onion - 1/2 Carrot - 1/2 Wash the broken wheat. Add salt and water and cook it. Take out from flame once the water is almost completely soaked in. Heat oil in a pan. Add raisins. Take them out as it bloats. Break cashews into small pieces and add into the pan. Take it out when it becomes lightly browned. Crack mustard seeds in the oil. Slice the onion and slit the chilli . Add onion, curry leaves, chopped ginger, chilli . Stir well. Add grated carrot and stir. Add the cooked broken wheat into the pan. Switch off the flame. Add the rai

Puttu , as it is commonly called in Malayalam, is a Keralite delicacy. It is made in a special utensil called puttu kutti. Since puttu is made by steaming rice powder, its totally free from oil and hence very healthy. Its usually eaten with banana, papadam and sugar. The other popular accompaniments to Puttu are black gram curry, chicken curry. Ingredients : Rice powder (red or white) - 2 cup Salt - a pinch Water - 1/4 cup Grated coconut - 3/4 cup Sprinkle salt in the rice powder and mix. Wet the rice powder and mix till the powder forms tiny balls. Spoon it into a puttu maker (puttu kutti) layering it with coconut. Add water in a pressure cooker and close the lid. Place the puttu maker on the cooker, so that the steam cooks it. Cook till steam comes out from the holes in the top of the puttu maker (15 mins). Remove the puttu maker . Push its bottom side to force the puttu out onto a plate. It will fall out in nice chunks of red/white layered with cocon

This is an excellent side dish for bread or chapathi (Indian bread). Most of the work goes into the marination, which is similar for most meat recipes. Also, I let the gravy dry up a little, so that the spices sticks to the beef. This makes it even more tasty. Ingredients : Beef - 1/2 kg Onion - 2 small Garlic - 1 clove Ginger - 1 inch Garam masala - 2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Grated coconut - 1 Tbsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Tomato - 2 small Water - 2 cups Oil - 2 Tbsp Cut the beef into small cubes. Wash it well. Slice 1 onion, ginger and garlic into small pieces. Mix these with the beef along with the spices. Keep aside to marinate for an hour. Pressure cook the marinated beef with water, until the beef is cooked and soft. Chop the remaining onion into small slices. In a pan, saute the onion in oil. Add salt. Add the cooked beef. Add the tomatoes cut into small pieces. Add the grated coconut. Stir once

This dish can be made in less than half an hour. I did not have much time today to make dinner, and so this dish was quick, easy and tasty! Cauliflower - 1 small Broccoli - 1 small Onion - 1 small Salt -1/2 tsp Garam masala - a pinch Water - 1 Tbsp Olive oil - 2 Tbsp Powdered pepper - a pinch Cut cauliflower and broccoli into small florets. Wash them. Slice onion into small pieces. In a pan, add oil. Once its warm, add onion and salt. Saute until the onion is transparent. Add the florets and water. Add garam masala. Stir once in a while. Cook until the florets are crunchy and cooked. Moms tip : Add a pinch of powdered pepper to make it even more tasty.

Sauteing is cooking food in a small amount of oil at high heat for a short period of time. Its a quick way to cook vegetables and meat. Mushroom - 100 gms Peas - 100 gms Zucchini - A half Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Cumin - 1 tsp Garam masala - 1 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Wash the vegetables and peel the zucchini. Dice the mushrooms and zucchini . In a pan, heat the oil. Add cumin. Then salt and coriander powder . Add the vegetables and stir. Add the garam masala. Saute till mushrooms and zucchini are tender and juicy. And until the peas are cooked and crisp.

Wine is wonderful in adding depth to a meat or fish dish. It can be used for marination; as a cooking liquid and as a flavouring in a finished dish. Cook only with a wine you would drink. Alcohol in the wine evaporates while cooking, and only the flavour remains. White wine suggestion for this recipe : Sauvignon blanc . Chicken breasts - 1/2 kg Spring onions - 1 bunch Tomato - 4 small Rosemary (dry leaves) - 1/2 Tbsp Bay leaf - 2 or 3 Olive oil - 1 Tbsp White wine - 4 Tbps Salt Slice chicken into cubes. Chop spring onions into lengths of 1.5 inch . Heat oil in a pan and add spring onions. Add sliced tomatoes and chicken pieces. Add white wine and stir well. Sprinkle dry rosemary and bay leaves. Add salt to taste. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium flame, until the meat is tender.

The word hamburger comes from "hamburger steak" which originated in the German city of Hamburg. It refers to a cooked patty of ground beef. Take a look at how the French detective, Inspector Clouseau in Pink Panther works on perfecting his American accent http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUCDhvbQFmU Burger meat (frozen ) - 1 Bread - 1 slice Onion - 1 Tomato - 1 Jalapeno (pickled) Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp Curd - 1 Tbsp Olive oil - 1 Tbsp Butter - 1/2 Tbsp Marinate the meat with the powders and curd. Keep in fridge for 10 minutes. Slice onion into rings and saute it in a pan until tender. Butter the bread and warm it till the sides are lightly crisp. I prefer multi-grain or brown bread. Spray oil in a pan and cook the marinated burger meat on both sides. Serve with tomatoes and jalapenos for a spicy touch.

This is a pleasant home made dish for a cold day. I was living in Sweden, where the temperatures dip to -6 degrees in the winter. Inspite of the heating system, you still feel a little chill inside the buildings. And so I decided to make this simple soup which does most of the cooking on its own. Its quite a warm relish! Ingredients : Potato - 1 medium Carrot - 3 medium Leek - 1 Celery - 3 stalks Celery leaves - a handful Parsnip - 1 Onion - 1 small Garlic - 1 clove Vegetable stock - 1 cube Water - 1 litre Butter - 1 Tbsp heaped Salt & Pepper - to taste Clean the vegetables and peel potato, carrot and parsnip. Cut them into cubes. Remove the root and green leaves of the leek. Cut the light greenish part into thin circular slices. Slice the celery stalks into small strips. Chop onion, garlic clove into small slices. Warm water in a vessel. Add the vegetable stock cube, potato, carrot, parsnip, leek and garlic. Close vessel and keep at medium flame

Taco is a traditional mexican  dish made of corn. You can add any kind of filling and it tastes yummy! Here's a vegetarian taco recipe For the filling, you will need Beans - 6, chopped finely Carrot - 2 small, peeled and grated Cabbage - 150gms, chopped finely Onion - 2, chopped thinly Peas - 2 Tbsp Potato - 2 small, grated Jalapenos - 1 Tbsp, sliced Olive oil - 1 tsp Salt- 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Mozarella Cheese - 6 thin slices Tacos - 6 Place the beans, carrot, cabbage, potato and peas in a microwave safe bowl. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, chilli  powder into the vegetables and mix together. Also sprinkle some water. Microwave for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables become soft and cooked. You can also cook the vegetables by steaming. Add in the jalapenos. Jalapenos in brine are  available to buy in stores. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Warm the tacos for about 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Then fill them with the combined vegetables and top off

Homemade chocolate tastes great, especially if you have little one's. The cocoa you use depends on whether you like it sweet or bitter. For a sugary flavour , use Cadbury hot chocolate powder and for that tangy, dark chocolate taste, use Hersheys unsweetened cocoa. This is my cousin, Priya's recipe. She is a great cook and I am always inspired by her. You will need Milk powder - 1 cup Caster sugar - 1 cup Melted butter - 1 cup Cocoa - 5 Tbsp Chocolate moulds Sieve the milk powder, cocoa and sugar. Stir it around in the bowl so that they are nicely blended. You can melt the butter over a low flame or in the microwave. But if you are not in a hurry, its best to soften the butter by keeping it out of the fridge for a couple of hours before you start. Add the butter to the powder mix and stir around. It will become a soft dough. Spoon it into your moulds and smoothen. Leave the moulds  at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours and then refrigerate overnight. Wrap in your ch