Nutritious Legume Chaat!!

I came up with this recipe because my two wonderful friends are into this event 'Susan & Sra'. Susan is the brainchild of the lovely event My Legume Love Affair. Sra is hosting it for the month of October. I simply could not resist myself from contributing :)

I combined a few legumes, veggies and spices to make a hot and sweet chaat which was a great combination with our evening tea.

Ingredients :
10 small puris (pani puris)
2-3 tbsp baby lima beans (frozen)
2-3 tbsp Speckled butter beans (frozen)
3-4 tbsp Blackeye peas (frozen)
3-4 tbsp Corn (frozen)
3 tbsp chopped Cucumber
3 tbsp chopped Tomato
3 tbsp chopped onions
Freshly chopped Cilantro
1 tbsp mint- cilantro chutney (home made or store bought)
1 tbsp date- tamarind chutney ( home made or store bought)
(if you don't have these chutneys you can simply use lemon juice and chaat masala)



Preparation:

Mix up all the three beans in a microwave bowl, sprinkle 2-3 tbsp water and heat it up for 25- 30 seconds in the microwave. If you feel that the beans are not soft enough to eat you can cook it for some more time depending on the microwave. Try to keep the shape of the beans.

Mix up all the other ingredients with the beans, fill it into the puris and serve with tea :). It makes a delicious and nutritious evening time snack.

Dussehra and Diwali Treats!

Wish You all an advance happy Diwali and belated Dussehra.

I know I am a little late for navratri recipes. I wanted to share this beautiful Goddess Durga's picture with all of you.

Laddu Parade

Rava Laddu /Semolina Laddu




Ingredients :

1 cup Rava (sooji)/ semolina (makes 5-6 laddus)
1/2 cup sugar (you can add more if desired)
1/4 cup Ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 cup cashew nuts
1/4 cup Raisins
3 tbsp milk



Preparation :

Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in 2tbsp of ghee until golden color and keep separately.
Roast the semolina in a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat until slight golden color.
To this add ghee and sugar. Fold them together. Also add the fried cashew nuts and raisins.
Combine the 3 tbsp milk, fold together and remove the mixture from the pan in to a plate.
If you feel the heat is bearable by your hands, make small balls (laddus) out of the mixture.
The traditional way for making rava laddus is different and is a little difficult.
It requires thick sugar syrup in which the Semolina is poured and then made into balls.

The following are some of my previous recipes which I would like to combine in this Diwali treat. Click on the name to go to the recipe.

Besan Laddu

Coconut Laddu

Dryfruit Laddu

Snacks

Murukku/Jantikalu

The following recipes are famous for Durga pooja in Kolkata, West Bengal. Without Sandesh and Malpua there is no Navratri festival in Kolkata.

Sandesh

Pineapple Malpua

Carrot Halwa / Gajar ka Halwa

Gunjiyas/ Kajjikayalu/ Somasi / coconut pie



This is my contribution to JFI- Festival treats hosted by Srivalli and Yummy Festival Feast - Diwali by Pallavi

My Kitchen Garden this 'Summer' was fun!!

I had loads of fun this summer which I thought of sharing with you pals. Parents were here from India, and Chicago is a great place to hang around. We went to lot of sightseeing before Diya was born.

I had created a beautiful kitchen garden in my patio with tomato, jalapeno and mint. All were a great success. I enjoyed a yield of almost more than 10lbs of tomatoes and 4 lbs of Jalapenos. Here are some pictures.

My Mom enjoying the first harvest of cherry tomatoes.








Apple Mint flowers






My Patio

This is little Diya's hands holding Rakhi when she was 12 days old and It was her first Raksha Bandhan celebration with her little brother Jai.