Recipes using Broccoli - Broccoli au Gratin

In the series knowing a vegetable we will see another recipe using broccoli. Broccoli au gratin is a baked dish and "au gratin" in french means "Covered with bread crumbs and sometimes butter and grated cheese, and then browned in an oven". So here we have the recipe and cooking instructions for Broccoli au Gratin

Ingredients:

2 Cups - Broccoli florets
1 ½ cup - Mayonnaise.
1 cup - Cheddar cheese (Shredded).
1/2 cup - Parmesan cheese (Shredded).
4 nos - Green onions sliced.
2 tbsp - Dijon mustard.
¼ tsp - Ground red pepper.
3 tbsp - Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs.

Cooking Instructions:

- Steam the broccoli for 6 to 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain well.
- Place the florets in a baking dish.
- Mix together the mayonnaise, Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, onion, mustard and ground red pepper.
- Spoon over florets in the baking dish. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
- Bake at 350 F for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

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Suggested Reading :

Broccoli the vegetable
Cream of Broccoli - Soup
Broccoli Quiche

Hyderabadi Cuisine - Recipe for Haleem

Continuing the series knowing a cuisine with Hyderabadi cuisine, today we see Haleem a dish prepared with meat and served with rotis usually during a meal. Hyderabadi cuisine is known for its influence of the mughalai cuisine and this recipe is a signature dish (one of the highest searched recipes on the net). Going no further I bring to you the recipe for Haleem.

Ingredients :

200 gms - Wheat (whole)

300 gms - Boneless Mutton

20 gms - Green Chillies

2"piece - Ginger

6-8 flakes - Garlic

100 gms -Ghee

3 medium - Sliced onions

1/2 tsp -Turmeric Powder

2 tsp - Garam Masala

Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions :

- Clean wheat and soak in water for 2 hours.

- Grind ginger, garlic and chillies to a fine paste.

- Clean and slice mutton into small pieces.

- Marinate mutton pieces with half quantity of ground paste and salt for 1 hour.

- Pressure cook the soaked wheat and marinated meat till done.

- Once cooked mince and grind to a fine paste.

- Heat ghee in a pan and saute onions till brown.

- Add turmeric, garam masala, salt and remaining ground paste and keep stirring occasionally on a low flame till the mixture leaves the sides of the pan.

- Adjust seasoning and serve hot.

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Suggested Reading :

Hyderabadi Biryani

Mirchi ka Salan

Hyderabadi Cuisine

Breakfast Recipes - Appam (South Indian Breakfast)

Breakfast recipes is a series we started some time back and we saw recipes of pancakes, waffles, etc. Today we are to see another recipe for breakfast. This dish is called appam and is prepared in southern India. Usually served for breakfast this dish is similar to a pancake except that it is prepared using fermented rice batter. Healthy enough and tasty as well, bringing to you Appam

Ingredients :

1/2 Cup - Cooked rice
1/2 kg - Raw rice
1 No - Grated coconut
3 tsp - Sugar
1/2 tsp - Yeast
Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions :

- Soak raw rice for about 4 hours and drain.
- Blend with cooked rice and grated coconut in a blender.
- Mix sugar, yeast and salt in boiled water. Leave it for half hour.
- Add this mixture to the above ground mixture.
- Leave the mixture for fermentation, it is better it ferments for 8 hours.
- Spread this fermented mixture in a non-stick pan.
- Put a lid on the pan and cook it for 2 minutes.
- Appam is ready. Serve it with potato curry or coconut milk.

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Suggested Reading :

Breakfast recipe - Waffles
Breakfast recipe - Pancakes
Breakfast recipe - French toast

Knowing a Cuisine - Punjabi Cuisine

Knowing a cuisine, as you are aware by now is a series that concentrates on the various cuisines of the world. This series provides a gist of the cuisine under discussion and the popular dishes and recipes of the cuisine would be followed up through the posts that follow. So, under the series today we look at another cuisine, The punjabi cuisine.

Punjabi cuisine (from the Punjab region of Northern India) is mainly based upon Wheat, Masalas (spice), pure desi ghee (Clarified butter), with liberal amounts of butter and cream. Though wheat varieties form their staple food, Punjabis do cook rice on special occasions. During winter a delicacy, Kheer a very popular dessert is cooked using rice.

Punjabi cuisine specializes in variety and it can be non-vegetarian or completely vegetarian. It is widely popular however there is some ignorance in Western Cultures that Punjabi is cuisine is completely curry based. The level of spices can vary from minimal to very prevalent. One of the main features of Punjabi cuisine is its diverse range of dishes. Home cooked and restaurant Punjabi cuisine can vary significantly, with restaurant style using large amounts of clarified butter, known locally as desi ghee, with liberal amounts of butter and cream with home cooked concentrating on mainly upon wheat masalas (spice) flavorings. Though wheat varieties form their staple food, Punjabis do cook rice on special occasions. During winter a delicacy, Roh Di Kheer, is cooked using rice. Rice is cooked for a long time in sugar cane juice.
Within the state itself, there are different preferences. People in the area of Amritsar prefer stuffed parathas and milk products. In fact, the area is well known for quality of its milk products. There are certain dishes which are exclusive to Punjab, such as Mah Di Dal and Saron Da Saag (Sarson Ka Saag).

The food is tailor-made for the Punjabi lifestyle in which most of the rural folk burn up a lot of calories while working in the fields. The main masala in a Punjabi dish consists of onion, garlic and ginger. Tandoori food is a Punjabi speciality especially for non-veg dishes.

We will have follow through posts which will have the recipes of the popular dishes of the punjabi cuisine. Make sure subscribe to more such posts by Email

Suggested Reading :

Udupi Cuisine
Hyderbadi Cuisine
Chettinadu Cuisine

Udupi Cuisine - Bisi Bele Bath

In the series knowing a cuisine we saw Udupi cuisine and what is it about Udupi cuisine. I though I would start it with a great recipe!!

It is just for your information that my mother makes lovely bisi bele bath and now my beloved has picked up the tricks of the trade. I am these days being spoilt with good food. So the signature dish for your benefit as below.

Ingredients :

1 Cup - Rice
1/2 cup - Toor Dal
2 Nos - Boiled Potatoes
1/4 cup - Cooked Peas
3 Tsp - Ghee
10 Nos - Cashew
1/4 Cup - Grated Coconut
1 1/2 Tsp - Tamarind Paste
10 Nos - Small Onions

For Masala:

8 Nos - Dry Red Chillies
1 1/2 Tsp - Corriander Seeds (Dhania)
1/4 Tsp - Fenugreek Seeds
1/2 Tsp - Urad Dal
1 Tsp - Bengal gram
1 Tsp - Khus Khus
1 No - Bay Leaf (Patta)

Cooking Instructions :

- Fry the above masalas in a dry pan and powder them.
- Mix Rice and Dal and cook in cooker.
- Heat oil in a pan, fry onions till brown, add cut boiled potatoes and peas, can also add brinjal.
- Add tamarind powder and 1/2 cup water and salt and the ground masala powder. Let it boil.
- Now add cooked rice and dal and mix well. Remove from flame.
- Fry the coconutes till brown and powder them.
- Garnish with chopped coriander, fried cashews and powdered cocounts.

Enjoy the lovely bisi bele bath like I do. Don't miss more such posts that are due in the future, subscribe to more such posts by Email

Suggested Reading :

Udupi Cuisine
Hyderbadi Cuisine
Chettinadu Cuisine

How to make scrambled eggs in a Microwave?

In the series about eggs, we saw a post on making scrambled eggs. In this post I would like to write about making scrambled eggs but in a microwave oven than a conventional way of preparation. It is all similar to preparing scrambled eggs in a pan, this microwaved scrambled eggs.

Why did I want to write this post? cause I have an oven and have used it very sparingly and most often than not it would be used to boil water and heat coffee or milk. One fine day I thought to myself how else can I make use of the oven and it was a realization that eggs can be tested (the one thing that would not require greater time and energy). So there I started this experimentation with eggs and to my disbelief the end product (scrambled eggs) were done perfect to the "T"

Now, I go right to this post... find below the ingredients and the instructions.

Ingredients : (the same ingredients as a regular preparation)

3 nos - Eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp - Butter
3 tbsp - Milk
1 tbsp - Cheddar Cheese

Cooking Instructions :

- Break the eggs into a bowl
- Add one tablespoon of milk, this will ensure the dish does not turn out tough or rubbery.
- Mix well until the color and texture are uniform throughout.
- Add salt and pepper to season
- Grease a microwave safe bowl with cooking spray or butter. If you do this, the egg batter will not stick to the bowl in the cooking process.
- Place in the microwave and cook for 30 seconds. Remove, as they will be partially formed.
- Use your fork and stir them gently, so that the uncooked blends in with the still loose egg. Set the eggs back in the microwave.
- Microwave the eggs for about 10 seconds more and check them. The moisture content depends a lot on how you want it. If wanting drier eggs place them in the oven for a few more seconds.
- Microwave for 10 second intervals until you get more solid egg than liquid. Be sure not to overcook or burn the eggs.

Enjoy scrambled eggs on toast. If you liked the recipe, make sure you subscribe to more such posts by Email

Suggested Reading :

Making scrambled eggs
Effective way to Hard Boil eggs
Egg Handling Handbook

Recipes using Avocado - Avocado Mousse

In the series Knowing a Fruit, we saw what avocados were and we also saw one or two recipes using avocado as a primary ingredient. Today we see another recipe using the fruit, avocado.
Avocado as one would know now is a very versatile fruit and can be used for varied applications in the dishes we prepare.

The avocado mousse is a perfect dish to make out of avocados, there isn't much that we have to do to prepare this. Find below the recipe for avocado mousse

Ingredients:

3 avocados.
½ cup of 35% cream.
¼ cup of sugar.
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes.

Preparation Instructions:

- Whip the cream and the sugar in a mixing bowl to soft peak stage.
- Cover and refrigerate the cream.
- Peel and pit the avocados, mash the avocados without lumps
- Blend the avocados and lime juice in a blender until smooth.
- Fold the avocado and lime mix into the cream we had stored in the refrigerator.
- Ensure that the cream is not over handled.
- Pour the mixture into serving glass or dish and keep them in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.

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Suggested reading :

What are avocados
Avacado Chutney
Avocado Dip

Hyderabadi Cuisine - Hyderabadi Biryani

In the series Knowing a cuisine, we saw what Hyderabadi cuisine was and one of its famous dish. Continuing the series of knowing a cuisine I am writing now a recipe which is world famous, "the Hyderabadi Biryani"
It is a rice preparation with a lot of spices and meat. A wonderful concoction of various ingedients full of flavour and taste

Ingredients:

• 1/2 kg Basmati Rice
• 1 kg Boneless meat
• 500 gm Curd
• 4-6 tsp Ginger-garlic paste.
• 4-6 Green chilli
• 2 Big onion
• 1/4 Cup limejuice
• 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
• A pinch of shazeera
• Finely chopped coriander leaves
• 8-10 Sticks mint leaves
• 2 Pinch saffron
• 1-2 Cinnamon
• 2-3 Cardamom
• Saffron color
• 1-2 Clove
• 2 Cup oil
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp Ghee

Cooking Instructions:

- Wash and chop the meat into square pieces.
- Marinate the mixture of meat and ginger garlic paste for an hour.
- In the meanwhile, chop the onions lengthwise and saute them in the oil on low heat till light brown.
- Cool these fried onions and crush them in a plate with your hand.
- Mix 3/4th of crushed fried onion, curd, red chilli powder, cinamon, green chilli paste, cardamon, shazeera, coriander leaves, clove, safron water, mint leaves and salt into the marinated meat.
- Leave the mixture for 1 hour.
- Wash the rice and cook it.
- Pour little water and add one tsp salt, shah zeera, cinamon, clove, cardamon, mint leaves, coriander leaves and green chilli.
- When rice becomes half cooked, remove it from the flame.
- Drain the water completely.
- Spread this cooked rice over marinated meat.
- Add saffron color, limejuice, ghee and the remaining crushed onions over rice layer.
- Tightly cover with a lid.
- Keep on a low flame.
- Remove from the heat exactly after half an hour.
- Hyderabadi Biryani is ready to serve.

Enjoy your biryani with dahi raitha or mich ka salan. For more such recipes and articles you can choose to subscribe to World Cuisines by Email

Suggested Reading :

Hyderabadi Cuisine
Chettinadu Cuisine
Mirch Ka Salan
Chicken Chettinadu

Recipes using Broccoli - Broccoli Quiche

In the series Knowing a Vegetable we saw about Broccoli and that was it. I realized that I had not provided you with any recipes using broccoli or did I? After double checking I have understood that I am not so irresponsible as I though I was. We saw about Broccoli Soup in the series Knowing a vegetable. Phew..... that was well put forth...

Now in continuation we would look into another beautiful (to look and to eat) dish "The Broccoli Quiche". Before I go further into the post I would want to let people know what a Quiche is (Sounds quishy) anyways, . A quiche is is a baked dish that is made primarily of eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. You can even term it an open pie which is not sweet. Alright so the recipe for Broccoli Quiche is as below

Ingredients:

225 gms - Broccoli florets.
225 gms - Shortcrust pastry.
100 gms - Gruyere grated.
3 nos - Eggs.
2 tbsp - Tomato ketchup.(Tomato concasse is good)
300 ml - Milk.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking Instructions:

- Line a 230mm flan dish with the shortcrust pastry.
- Cook the broccoli until slightly crisp and still very green.
- Evenly spread the tomato ketchup over the base of the pastry.
- Put the drained broccoli florets over the ketchup to form a broccoli layer.
- Beat together the milk, eggs, salt, pepper and half the grated cheese and pour into the flan case.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the quiche to form a thin layer.
- Cook on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes until the quiche is set and the cheese is golden brown.

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Suggested Reading :

Broccoli, A vegetable
Cream of Broccoli, soup

Chettinadu Cuisine - Chettinad Chicken

Following the hyderabadi cuisine's "Mirchi ka salan", I thought it is absolutely fine to go ahead and venture into other cuisines of the world and their popular dishes and recipes. So, in continuation in the series knowing a cuisine we would see today about a very popular chettinadu recipe.

Chettinad Chicken is a very popular recipe from the chettinadu region. Chettiars hail from this region and the food preapred by the chettiars are wonderfully flavoured and the taste is out of the world. The name suggests the origin of this recipe. Lets see the recipe for chicken chettinadu.



Ingredients:

1 - Chicken
1 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Cayenne pepper
3/4 Inch piece - Ginger
1 tsp - Ground coriander
6 - Curry leaves
2 - Onions
2 - Garlic pods
Black peppercorns
2 Ounces - Kurumulaku
2 tbsp - Vegetable Oil
3/4 Cup - peeled and chopped tomatoes
Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions:

- Chop the chicken into pieces.
- Fry chopped onions, ginger and garlic in the vegetable oil.
- Add remaining spices and fry for a few minutes.
- Add tomato pieces and salt. Fry for another 5 minutes.
- Add chicken pieces and mix well to coat them with the gravy.
- Put the lid and simmer the contents for about half an hour.
- The mixture would turn almost dry. Occasionally add a little water if required.
- Chettinad chicken is ready to serve.

Enjoy the full bodied gravy with rice or dosas. For more such recipes and articles delivered to your email inbox, subscribe to World Cuisines by Email

Suggested Reading :

Chettinadu Cuisine
Hyderabadi Cuisine

Knowing a Cuisine - Udupi or Udipi Cuisine

Whats in a name? whether you want to call it udupi or udipi it does not really matter. The region Udipi in Karnataka state of India is a traditionally rich region with a lot of variety when it comes to the food served there.
We are looking at this post to understand the cuisine of the Udupi region. This is another post in the series "Knowing a cuisine"

A very traditional and religious this region in Karnataka, literally shuns non vegetarian food.
Udupi cuisine is a world renowned cuisine of the southern India. Udupi cuisine comprises dishes made primarily from grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits. The variety and range of dishes is wide, and a hallmark of the cuisine involves the use of locally available ingredients.
The very famous masala dosa has its origins in Udupi and a whole school of South Indian vegetarian cuisine takes its name from this town. This is ‘pure’ vegetarian food and ofcourse adhering to strict vedic tradition the use of onions and garlic is discouraged.

Pumpkins and gourds are the main ingredients, while sambar is prepared with ground coconut and coconut oil as its base. Rasam, a spicy pepper water, is an essential part of the menu and so are jackfruit, colocasia leaves, raw green bananas, mango pickle, red chillies and salt. Adyes (dumplings), ajadinas (dry curries), and chutneys, including one made of the skin of the ridge gourd, are specialities.

There can be a lot more that can be told about the cuisine of the udupi region. There are a lot of signature dishes fromt this region like, bisi bela bath which is a mixture of rice, lentils and vegetables which once prepared has so much flavour and taste which blows people away. Another signature dish that originated from this udupi region is Upma prepared using sooji, wow is not the word for this dish usually served as breakfast.

Well, let us not get into all the dishes from this region already, we will look at a lot more dishes from the udupi cuisine in the posts to come. Till then you might want to subscribe to more posts to come by Email

Suggested Reading:

Hyderabadi Cuisine
Chettinadu Cuisine

How to make scrambled eggs?

All the time I am in awe of the bright golden color and the smooth texture and have always wanted to be sure with a fool proof way of preparing scrambled eggs. In this post I am trying to get as close as perfect in preparing scrabled eggs, let me know if the recipe would be enough to make the prefect scrambled eggs

Ingredients :

3 nos - Eggs
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp - Butter
3 tbsp - Milk
1 tbsp - Cheddar Cheese

Cooking Instructions :

- Break the eggs into a bowl
- Add one tablespoon of milk, this will ensure the dish does not turn out tough or rubbery.
- Mix well until the color and texture are uniform throughout.
- Add salt and pepper to season
- Heat butter in a frying pan, make sure the butter coats the entire pan.
- Pour the eggs on the pan after ensuring the heat of the pan is right.
- Whisk the eggs and leave for a minute before you toss the eggs from the sides to the centre
- The moisture content in the scrambled eggs solely depends on how you want it, the more moist remove sooner after just ensuring the eggs are cooked
- If you want more drier scrambled eggs leave the eggs in the pan for a little more time.
- Serve it on toasted break, garnished with chopped parsley.

There you have it a perfect way to prepare scrambled eggs, subscribe to more such posts by Email

Suggested Reading :

Effective eay to hardboil eggs
Peeling a hardboiled egg
Egg handling handbook

Breakfast Recipes - Waffles

In the series Breakfast Recipes we will look at another wonderful break fast dish is the waffle. It is very easy to prepare too, just need to make sure that there are the necessary tools to prepare waffles like the waffle maker, see pic below.


We will see how to prepare wonderful waffles.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup - Flour
2 tsp - Baking powder
1/2 tsp - Salt
1 tbsp - Sugar
3 nos - Eggs
7 tbsp - Vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup - Milk

Cooking Instructions:

- Sift flour add baking powder,salt, and sugar
- In another bowl mix liquid ingredients and combine them with the dry ingredients.
- Mix just enough to blend and make sure it is not having any lumps
- Pour it on the waffle maker, wait till you smell waffles (Some waffle maker comes with auto cut off)
- Remove from girdle and serve with honey or cranberry sauce or as you prefer

Lovely ain't it, we will see more such recipes in the posts to come. Meanwhile subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading:

French Toasts
Pancakes

Hyderabadi Cuisine - Mirch ka Salan

If you are aware of the developments on this blog then you would have come across initiation of a new series knowing a cuisine. This series is mainly to talk about various cuisines of the world along with it popular dishes and recipes listed under that series

We saw about Hyderabadi Cuisine and now I would follow it up with one of its very popular dishes "Mirchi ka Salan". In simpler language its a concasse of various ingredients, a gravy.

Find below the ingredients and cooking instructions for mirch ka salan

Ingredients :

500 gms - Green chillies
1 no - Large onion
1 no - Large tomato
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
1 tsp - Ground corriander
2 tbsp - Roasted cumin seeds
2 tbsp - Roasted peanut seeds
2 tbsp - Coconut grated
2 no - Garlic flakes
1 no - Ginger
1/2 Cup - Tamarind juice
3 Cups - Oil
Salt to taste

Cooking Instructions :

- Grind the roasted peanut and cumin seeds to make a powder.
- Chop onions and tomatoes finely.
- Grind garlic and ginger to make a paste.
- Heat the oil and fry chilies and keep it aside.
- Fry chopped onions and tomatoes.
- Add ginger garlic paste and fried chillies, saute for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle tamarind juice and salt
- Add this mixture to fried green chillies.
- Serve it with rotis and biryani.

We will see more such recipes and posts on various cuisines in the days and months to come.Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading:

Chettinadu Cuisine
Hyderabadi Cuisine

Knowing a Cuisine - Hyderabadi Cuisine

As you are aware there was this new series on Knowing a Cuisine and that series was started with the Chettinad Cuisine. Another famous cuisine, the Hyderabadi Cuisine would feature as a second post on the series knowing a cuisine. Originating from a region in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India, the hyderabadi cuisine is ranking very high on the list of cuisines that trigger the taste buds.

The highlight of the Andhra Pradesh cuisine is the Hyderabadi food. It is famous for its rich and aromatic nature. It's taste is very distinguishable having a liberal use of exotic spices and ghee. The Hyderabadi food uses fresh fruit instead of dried fruits. It is also famous for its non-vegetarian preparation and Lamb is the most widely used meat here.Biryani, one of India's most popular foods, is a flavored rice with meat or vegetables. It is an important part of Hyderabadi cuisine.

Hyderabadi cuisine is inspired by the Mughlai cuisine. This style of cooking is here since the Asaf Jahi period. Thus, the Hyderabadi cuisine is a perfect amalgamation of the typical Mughlai flavors with a blend of rich spices.

What makes the Hyderabadi Cuisine special is the use of special ingredients, carefully chosen and cooked to the right degree. The addition of a certain Herb, Spice, Condiment, or an Amalgam of these add an unique taste and texture to the dish. The herbs and spices used and the method of preparation gives the dish its name. "Murgh do pyaza" gets its name from the onions that are added twice to the dish in two variations.

The Masalas or the rich blend of herbs, spices and condiments give the dishes a base, or what is popularly known as "Gravy". Some of these blends are a well-kept secret that pass only down the family line or from the Ustad(Teacher) to his Shagird(Pupil). The head cooks or the "Khansas" were an asset to the house hold, and were treated with due respect.

The word "Nawabi" is as synonymous with the Hyderabadi cuisine as "Shahi" is with Luknowi. These terms conjure delicacies that are rich in taste and texture with mouth-watering aromas. The "Kebabs" in Hyderabad need a special mention, the "ShammiKebab" is one such popular dish. The Kebabs are originally from Greece!!

Now, we know the cuisine and what need to follow this post is the popular dishes and recipes, which will sure follow. Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading:

Chettinadu Cuisine

Recipes using Avocado - Avocado Dip

After the previous post on making avocado chutney in the series knowing a fruit, I thought it was time for another recipe using avocado. This time it a simple but tasty accompaniment which goes well with your parties that you host be it cocktail party or a simple vegetarian get together.

Ingredients:

1 no - Ripe avocado.
1 clove - Garlic, peeled and chopped.
1 no - Green chili, chopped.
3 tbsp - Freshly chopped coriander leaves.
1 tbsp - Lemon juice.
Salt to taste
¼ tsp - Ground cumin.

Preparing Method :

- Slice the avocado into two lengthway and remove the stone.

- Scoop out the flesh and put into a food processor with all other ingredients except the cumin. Blend well.

- Move the dip into to its serving dish and sprinkle the cumin over top.

- Serve with freshly cut vegetables usually carrots, radish, turnips, beetroot, etc.,

Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading :

Knowing a fruit - Avocado
Avocado Chutney

Recipes using Broccoli - Cream of Broccoli Soup

After the previous post under the series knowing a vegetable on Broccoli, I thought I would go ahead and provide a recipe using broccoli. Every time someone says broccoli, I have all my senses in attention. It is very important for you to know that I am in love with broccoli and if someone says cream of broccoli I just am unable to do anything before a sip on that.

Find below the recipe for cream of broccoli, it is made using bechamel sauce as a base. Bechamel is a white sauce prepared using flour and butter. I will write about making bechamel in the posts to come.

Ingredients:

2 heads - Broccoli
200gma - Butter
3 cloves - Garlic, chopped
1 tbsp - Chervil (fresh/dried chopped)
1 tsp - Salt
1 tsp - White pepper
3 cups - Whole milk
1 no - Egg yolk, beaten
1/4 cup - Flour
1 cup - Cream
1/3 cup - Gruyere cheese
1/3 cup - Parmesan cheese

Cooking Method:

- Cut broccoli into bite-size pieces. Discard the hard stems, but keep the tender stem parts and leaves.

- Steam the cut broccoli for about 5-8 minutes, until just bright green in color. Do not over- cook.

- In a 10-inch enameled (non-metal) skillet, heat 6 oz of butter until melted. Add chopped garlic and wait until butter is hot enough to cook with. Add steamed broccoli, then chervil to the skillet. Lightly salt the broccoli.

- Cover, and cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, for another 5-10 minutes or until the broccoli turns a darker green color and becomes very soft.

- Mash the broccoli right in the skillet, using a potato masher or a strong wooden spoon. Mash until there are no pieces remaining that are too big to fit in a soup spoon.

- While broccoli is cooking, add beaten egg yolk to 2 cups of milk. Put 3 Tbsp butter into a 2-3 quart saucepan. Use enamel or glass for best soup flavor. Metal pans will make this soup bitter.

- Melt butter and add flour. When the flour bubbles and starts to cook, add the egg/milk mixture into the saucepan. Add the cardamom and mace if using, and white pepper. Stir sauce constantly with wooden spoon until thick. Lower the cooking heat.

- Add the mashed broccoli mixture to the sauce. Stir until well-mixed. Slowly stir in the remaining milk and the cream. As soon as the soup becomes hot enough, add the grated cheeses.

- Turn the heat down lower and simmer for about 5 more minutes, stirring to allow the cheeses to melt and mix.

Does it not read yummy in every line of this post. Make sure you prepare and share with family.Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading:

Knowing a Fruit - Avocado
Knowing a Vegetable - Broccoli
Avocado Chutney

Breakfast Recipes - French Toast

French toast, as the name states a recipe from France from the people of France. A whole meal by itself containing grains(Bread), sugar for energy, eggs for protein and milk.

It's a quick recipe which takes much less time in comparison to other breakfast recipes, ofcourse there are ones which take much more lesser time than the french toast. Personally I feel this is a very tasty and wholesome breakfast

Let's see below the recipe for French Toasts

Ingredients:

1 Loaf - French bread cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
6 nos - Eggs
2/3 cup - Sugar
1 tsp - Cinnamon
3 cups - Milk
4 tbsp - Brown sugar
4 tbsp - Dried cranberries

Cooking Method:

- Lay French Bread slices in 9" x 13" pan sprayed with cooking oil.

- Mix eggs, sugar, and cinnamon; add milk and pour over bread.

- Sprinkle brown sugar and dried cranberries on top. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

- Bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes. Garnish with twist of orange and grape cluster.

- Serve with sausages.

The next few posts would be on knowing a fruit and the preparations with that fruit.
Subscribe to more such posts by email

Suggested Reading :

American Pancakes
An update to pancakes

Knowing a Cuisine - Chettinadu Cuisine

There seems to be no end to the list of things that I want to write about and the posts keep on coming, don't you think. If you think in the same lines as I do then we are on the right track. I was told by a few pro bloggers and my idol Darren Rowse(not personally though) that it's better to write more posts to attract traffic and to attract the spiders. hew.... spiders???

If you are not understanding what I am talking about, I will quickly explain to you as to what I am getting to. I was talking about blogging and one of the ways to be a better blogger.... writing more posts. Do you know blogging can be very lucrative? check my posts on Are you ready to blog and what is a blog. If you are still in the dark let me tell you that I am writing another blog on Earning money blogging.

Anyways, getting back to track apart from my other two series Knowing a Fruit and Knowing a vegetable I am wanting to start another series "Knowing a Cuisine". I would like to start this series with one of my favourite cuisines "The Chettinadu Cuisine" and I would follow these with popular dishes and recipes of a particular cuisine I am writing about. So what is chettinadu/chettinad cuisine?

Chettinad cuisine is the cuisine of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu state in South India. Chettinad is one of the driest regions of south India. The Chettiar community, who are a majority in this region are a very successful trading community. Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in India.Chettinad cuisine is famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food. The dishes are hot and pungent with fresh ground masalas, and topped with a boiled egg that is usually considered essential part of a meal. They also use a variety of sun dried meats and salted vegetables, reflecting the dry environment of the region. The meat is restricted to fish, prawn, lobster, crab, chicken and mutton. Chettiars do not eat beef and pork.Most of the dishes are eaten with rice and rice based accompaniments such as dosais, appams, idiyappams, adais and idlis. The Chettinad people through their mercantile contacts with Burma, learnt to prepare a type of rice pudding made with sticky red rice.

Chettinad cuisine offers a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes include idiyappam, paniyaram, vellai paniyaram, karuppatti paniyaram, paal paniyaram, kuzhi paniyaram, kozhakattai, masala paniyaram, adikoozh, kandharappam, seeyam, masala seeyam, kavuni arisi & athirasamSpices usedIn Chettinad food, the most important spices are marathi mokku (dried flower pods), anasipoo (star aniseed) and kalpasi (dried bark). In addition, tamarind, whole red chillies and saunf (Fennel seeds) are also used along with cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorn, cumin seeds and fenugreek.

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Suggested Reading:
Culture of eating in India
How to make South Indian Filter Coffee?

Culture of eating in India

This is a post to understand the culture of eating out in India. Widen your knowledge.... Many Indian restaurants are not very formal. First of its kind article. I would provide more such articles and label them under general articles
Yes even those considered a best eatery or restaurant (Indian restaurant are usually very similar). The etiquette for Indian (or any ethnic South Asian) restaurants might be little different from other restaurants. Below I have provided some basic rules. These anyways is fast changing and this is just a guidance what to expect when you are in India.

1. No Beef or Pork ; Many Indians are either Hindus or Muslims. To Hindus cows are sacred, so no beef and to muslims pigs are disgusting animals to consume, so no pork. There are a few restaurants in India which are pure vegetarian (They dont even serve eggs).

2. Eating with hands ; Many types of foods especially the Indian breads are consumed by hands. It is ok to consume food with hands provided your hands are clean and the food is not messy.

3. Eating from others' plates ; Indians have this concept of people not encouraging the sharing of plates or cutleries coming in contact with their food. You cannot consume food from other plates because of the saliva or the indirect contact of your mouth into someones food.

4. Wining and Dining ; Indians do not have wine and dine culture and so even the government restricts eateries serving liquor without permission. Be aware not all restaurants serve liquor in India.

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Suggested Reading:
How to make South Indian Filter Coffee?
Vegan Food Pyramid
Food Pyramid - As recommended by USDA