Bisibele bath

This is my husband's favorite dish. I believe my father-in-law used to make this during weekends as they were growing up and he says until today no one could make it like him. There are always some dishes that we can never make as well as our mother or father in this case, or grandparents. Brings nostalgia, isn't it. Well after trying many recipes, I finally asked my sister-in-law and she said this ones is close, but not quiet like their father. 
For me, this is a very healthy dish. It has dal and vegetables, all in one. The other best thing is that I just have to make this one dish, fry some papads and be all done, it can't get any easier than this during the weekends :-)

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of chopped potato (about 2)
2. 1 cup of chopped beans (about a bunch)
3. 1 cup of chopped carrots (about 2-3)
4. 1/2 cup of chopped bell peppers (1 or 1/2 bell pepper, any color)
5. 1 cup of chopped tomatoes (about 2)
6. 1 cup rice
7. 3/4 cup toor dal
8. 1/4 cup peanuts
9. 1 tspTurmeric
10. Small lemon size tamarind
11. 1 -2 tsp of red chilli powder


For poopu/tadka:

1. 1 tsp mustard seeds
2. 1 tsp cumin seeds
3. Hing/Asafoetida
4. Curry leaves
5. 3 tbsp of oil

For the masala paste:

1. 1 tsp urad dal
2. 2 tbsp channa dal
3. 3 tsp coriander seeds/dania
4. 1 tsp cumin
5. 2 cloves
6. 2-3 cardamon
7. 2 inch cinnamon pieces
8. 3-4 red chillies
9. 3-4 methi seeds
10. 1/4 dry coconut or about less than 1/2 cup pieces


 



Method:

Soak tamarind in hot water, while you are working on the others. Wash and cook the rice, dal and peanuts in pressure cooker with turmeric. The ratio of water will be 3 cups of water for each cup of rice/dal/peanut. For my above mentioned portion, I used 6 cups of water.  While the rice is cooking, prepare the bisibelle bath paste.  Roast the dals first with just a spoon of oil, then add the rest of the ingrediens one after the other. You can also fry them separately. Finally fry the coconut and once they are cool, grind them all into a paste with a little water.

Now in a pan, do tadka. Heat oil, fry mustard seeds and once they splatter add cumin, then hing, then curry leaves. Now first add bell peppers/capsicum. Ater frying them a litle bit, add the other vegetables, add salt and mix well. You can now add the tamarind water and the paste. Mix everything well, close the lid and cook well until the vegetables are cooked. Or you can also add them back to the rice/toor dal in the cooker and cook it for one more whistle. I cooked them all together in the cooker because you will be sure that everything cooked well. Once it is done, optionally you can add one or two spoons of ghee and mix well. I don't usually do that. Serve hot with papads.

Chilli Paneer

I know, after so many bloggers posting chilli panner, we really don't need one more of thse. But what to do, this has become my favorite dish lately, to the extend that my husband thinks I have gone crazy ;-) Since I make it in a jiffy, I make it very often. It is so easy to make and so filling and I can eat it guilt free when it is my low carb high protein diet day. I love the spicy and tangy taste that comes with the green chillis, tomatoes etc. This is not entirely my recipe, I must have tried several recipes from several blogs/sites. This is what I have finally settled in and I don't think I need any more experimenting.

Ingredients:

1.  One small red onion
2.  Half of red and green bell pepper/capsicum
3.  5-6 cloves of garlic
4.  7-8 green chillis (more or less according to your taste)
5.  1 inch piece of ginger
6.  Curry leaves
7. Green onion - 1 bunch
8.  2 tbsp of tomato paste (sometimes I make do with tomato ketchup)
9.  2-3 tbsp of maggi chilli garlic sauce
10. 2 tbsp of soy sauce
11. Sesame oil or Vegetable oil
12. 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
13.1 pack of fried paneer (I buy Nanak fried paneer)
14. Crushed red chilli flakes


Method:

Cut green chillies length wise into two pieces. Cut the onions into long pieces or more like small square. Cut the capsicum also into small pieces of square, just a little smaller than for tikka. Grate garlic and ginger or you can use ginger-garlic paster. I always grate them fresh. Chop cilantro. Chop green onions and keep the bottom and top seperately. That's all the chopping/grating. Now in a pan add oil and once it is hot add green chillies and curry leaves. Don't let the green chillies fry too much because we want them in whole form until the dish is complete. Then add red onions and the bottom portion of green onion, after frying it a little bit add ginger-garlic paste. Once the raw smell is gone, add capsicum. There is no need to cook capsicum all the way, because it will be good if it is crunchy. Now add the tomato paste, maggi sauce. Tomato paste gives the red color we are looking for. If you add tomatoes instead, there is a chance of the dish getting gravy. Add soy sauce and then some salt. Add the top portion of the chopped green onion. Since I use store bought frozen panner, I thaw it or put it in the microwave for 30 seconds to a minute and then finally add it to dish. Mix well, but make sure you don't break the panner. Let it sit with the other ingredients on low flat for a few more minutes. Finally add fresh chopped cilantro.  If you feel it needs a bit more spice, add crushed red chilli flakes. Thats it....

My little vacation

It is that time of the year for giving and sharing.
It is also that time of the year, when most of us get to take our vacation with family and friends. Here are some pictures of my vacation in California.

 It was a beautiful day with bright blue skies and water.

Beaches on the pacific ocean.

The roads were long and winding on the mountains with the ocean on one side. What a beautiful site!

 It is just water and mountains for as far as you can see.

The sun light was sparkling in the water like crystals.

The sunsets were even more beautiful before the darkness takes everything away from you.

It was the drive along this stretch that was really amazing to me.

Happy New Year

Hope you had a very Happy New Year!



Happy Diwali