Masala Vermicelli

MASALA VERMICELLI

A morning breakfast or an afternoon snack, Masala or vegetable vermicelli is a good option to rely on. A quick ten minutes recipe I usually relish after my work hours. Sometimes my day  goes too hectic and I feel like munching something spicy after work. Being a diet conscious I usually avoid kachori and samosas.

Vermicelli is generally used in kheer or desserts. But I usually make it full of vegetables like a pulao.

Here are the notes of recipe

What we need

Roasted vermicelli  200gms ( if you don’t get roasted one, you can roast it on medium heat in a pan with a tsf of oil). These days whole wheat vermicelli is available. It’s healthier than regular refined flour product.

Ajwain  1/4tsf

Chopped one onion

Ginger garlic paste 1tsf

Finely chopped vegetables: anything you like as capsicum, carrot, peas, beans etc

Chopped green chilli

Turmeric powder 1/4tsf

Cumin powder 1/4tsf

Salt

1 tsf vegetable oil

Lemon juice

Chopped coriander to garnish

In a non stick pan, heat the oil on medium heat, add ajwain. Once it gets golden brown, add onions, garlic ginger paste. Once the onion gets tender. Add all the spices, add vegetables. Sauté for a minute. Add vermicelli. Add 100ml of water. Be careful, don’t add excess water, it will make it soggy. Add lemon juice. Cover the pan for five minutes. Now switch off the gas and let the vermicelli absorb the juices.

Serve hot. Garnish with chopped coriander. To make it more chatpata: chat masala can be added.

Presence

And there you stand

In the middle of baffling crowd

Unkempt yet divine

A halo, bright behind

Distinguishing through the waddled side

Pronounced and delighted

Reaching towards your hand

Extended as a shield

Against the torment of time

I see nothing

But the rise

A sunny side

at its prime.

Gajar ka halwa

GAZAR KA HALWA

Winters are about to say good bye, in a way that those colourful fresh vegetables won’t be  available in the market soon.  I went to my regular grocery this fine Sunday morning and got tempted by red carrots across the counter. I thought of yummy Gajar ka Halwa. Although it’s a very common Indian dish and my generous colleagues usually offer me a portion of their Halwa, that I dint think of cooking it this winters.

But the charm of my recipe is that it’s a quick 15minutes recipe. Especially for the people like us who don’t have the time to go through proper traditional recipe where the carrot is cooked in milk for hours.

The innovation in my recipe is that I used condensed milk instead of whole milk and mava ( khoya).  I have actually replaced khoya in my kitchen with condensed milk (milkmaid, mithai maid) because the market these days is flooded with adulterated khoya.

Here is the recipe

You need

Carrots  250gms (should be red, enriched with Vitamin E,A)

Milk 10ml (yes just ten ml.)

Condensed milk (50gms)

Cardamom powder a pinch

Shredded almonds, coconut and dry fruits.

Blanch  the carrots in hot water. (YESSS! I blanch them first. It saves the milk quantity, hance calories. And the blanched carrot is easy to shred as well) Grate them.

In a pan take milk. Add carrots, cardamom powder and condensed milk.  Heat till the milk reduces.

Garnish with dry fruits.

Trust me:

The recipe is quick and easy

Calorie count is reduced. Since we are using sweetened condensed milk, no extra sugar is needed.

Adulterated khoya (mava) is avoided.

It tastes almost same, except that u miss the flavour of Desi Ghee. Which can be added. 

Beauty Undefined

Panic state of mind,
The pacing heart
Dilated pupils
Gushing blood
Heated ears
Is what exactly defines
the view of your beauty.

I stand still
Watching as if stiff
Waiting for the moment to stay
As in to imbibe in surrounding
Your beauty is what
makes me wonder.

I wonder
Should I move further
Or hop backwards
The patience blush
The palm sweat
The feet shrivel
Before I could settle
You just passed by.

Besan Chilla

Besan Chilla or Gram Flour Pan cake

Mornings are always beautiful if we get a full, healthy breakfast. The breakfast forms the integral part of our diet. The dietitian says that you can skip your lunch but a heavy breakfast to begin a day is must. I have seen my colleagues who don’t indulge in habit of having breakfast, cribbing and lazing out at work. I always say: Eat healthy, Stay fit.

A common recipe used in north Indian houses for breakfast is besan chilla  or we can say besan pan cake, as the recipe is quite similar. But the richness of protein derived from gram flour beats the refined flour used in pan cakes. They are the healthiest way to start a day.

Here is the recipe:

Besan (gram flour) 200gm

Onion 1 diced finely

Ginger garlic paste 1tsf

Coriander finely chopped

Cumin

Asafoetida

Green chilli

Fruit salt (baking soda)

Salt

Vegetable oil to cook.

In a bowl sieve the flour, mix all the ingredients. (You can use roasted cumin, but I like unroasted cumin here). Add 100ml of water. The consistency of batter should be flowy i.e. neither too thick nor too thin similar to pan cakes or dosa. The batter should be vigorously mixed as to avoid lumps and better turn out.

Put a non stick pan on medium heat, put one tsf of oil and spread the batter in round shape. Wait for two minutes. Flip to other side and cook again till golden brown. Instead of oil, butter can be used.

Serve with green chutney and ketchup.