One Day At A Time!

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi Readers :) Festivals are the busiest times for everyone, especially working women and busy Moms. Hope today's Microwave recipe of Coconut Burfi saves you some time. Ingredients: Shredded Coconut (fresh or frozen) - 2 cups Sugar - 3 tbsp Milk - 1/4 cup Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Coconut Oil - 2 tsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod (seeds only) Cashews/Kaju - 1 tsp (small pieces) How to cook Coconut Burfi in a Microwave: Fry cashews in 1/2 tsp ghee/clarified butter until they turn slightly brown. You can use any other nuts of your choice or skip nuts entirely.  Vegans can use coconut oil instead of ghee and coconut milk can be used as an alternative for dairy milk. Grease a flat plate or tray with ghee or coconut oil. Crush the cardamom seeds to a fine powder in a mortar pestle. Wipe a microwave safe big bowl dry. Add remaining ghee and grease the bowl well. Add coconut and mix well with a spoon. Microwave for 2 minutes. Stir and micro...

Regular readers might have read my previous posts and its no secret that I like Italian food. Most Italian restaurants serve fresh baked bread as an appetizer. Our favorite are these garlic and parsley flavored Cheddar Cheese Biscuits popularly known as Cheddar Bay Biscuits . I find these easy as compared to the yeast breads. Ingredients: All Purpose Flour/Maida - 1 cup Cheddar Cheese (Sharp) - 3/4 cup Unsalted Butter - 5 tbsp Milk - about 1/2 cup Olive Oil - 1 tbsp Baking Powder - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder - 1 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Dry Parsley - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt How to bake Cheddar Bay Biscuits: Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.   Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and lightly grease it with butter. In a small mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, fresh ground black pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt and sugar. Mix well. In a big microwave safe b...

Jackfruit or Phanas (as said in Konkani), both raw and ripe, is commonly used in Konkani coconut curries, steamed idlis etc. Even jackfruit seeds are relished. These sweet Jackfruit fritters, called as Phonsa Mulik  are similar to French Beignets or doughnuts, but are perfect for vegans and vegetarians. Ingredients: Jackfruit/Phanas - 8 pieces Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - about 1/2 cup Semolina/Rava - 3 tbsp Jaggery/Gud/Gul - 2 tbsp Green Cardamom/Elaichi - 1 pod (seeds only) Oil How to prepare Konkani Phonsa Moolik/Mulka: Crush cardamom seeds in a mortar pestle to a fine powder. Fresh jackfruit is the best any day. But I used a 565 gm tin of canned jackfruit, which had about 8 pieces. Drain all the liquid. Place the jackfruit pieces in a strainer for 15 - 20 minutes, so that most moisture is lost. Grind grated coconut to a coarse dry paste. I used frozen shredded coconut and a mini food processor. Water was not needed. Add very little water, if req...

Batate Song and Batate Wagh are the most popular Konkani potato delicacies.  Both traditional curries are extremely spicy. But I use mild Byadagi variety of red chillies for a medium spiced Saung. For Konkani food lovers, here is a Mangalore style Batata Saung. Ingredients : Boiled Potatoes/Batate - 2 big Onion - 1 medium Grated Coconut (fresh or frozen) - about 1 cup Dry Red Chilies (Byadagi variety) - 5 Coriander Seeds/Dhane - 1 tbsp Tamarind/Chinch/Chincham - 1 tsp Oil - 2 tbsp Salt How to cook Konkani Batate Saung: Heat about 1 tsp oil in a pan. Add coriander seeds and dry red chilies. Sauté at low heat until coriander seeds slightly darken and turn aromatic. Red chilies will turn crisp too. Grind roasted coriander seeds, red chilies, tamarind and coconut to a fine or slightly coarse paste. Finely chop onion. Peel the boiled potatoes. Dice potatoes into bite size pieces or just crumble them with your hands. I used a white onion and Russet potatoes. He...

A great variety of lentils and beans are used in Indian food, especially vegetarian, for its protein content. Every regional cuisine of India has a traditional bean recipe - Matki (Moth Bean) Usal from Maharashtra, Punjabi Chole (Chickpeas)  and so on.  Muga Ambat , a traditional Konkani Mung Bean Coconut curry is quite common in my Mom's kitchen. Similarly, Rajma is an integral part of North Indian cooking. Ingredients: Dry Rajma/Red Kidney Beans - 1 cup Onion - 1 medium Canned Tomato Paste - 3 tbsp Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few sprigs Bay Leaf/Tejpatta/Tamal patra - 1 Cinnamon/Dalchini - an inch piece Cloves/Lavang/Long - 4 Star Anise - 1 Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander/Dhania Powder - 1/2 tsp Spanish Paprika - 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper or Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp Aamchur/Dry Mango Powder - 1/2 tsp Chole Masala - 1/4 tsp Yogurt/Curd/Dahi - 1/4 cup (optional) Salt Oil How to cook North Indian Rajma Masal...

Oven roasted red potatoes seasoned with Indian spices and herbs. Every time I cook potatoes, I try different seasonings. Until now, rosemary and garlic  were our favorite spices. These desi style chatpate Aloo have become our new favorite. Ingredients: Red Potatoes - about 500 gms Oil - 2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder - 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper/Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp Chat Masala - 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin/Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp Kasuri Methi/Dry Fenugreek Leaves - 1 tsp Garlic Powder - 1 tsp Kala Namak/Indian Rock Salt How to roast potatoes in an oven: Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. In a big mixing bowl, add oil, fresh ground black pepper, cayenne pepper, chat masala, cumin, garlic, salt and kasuri methi.  Crush the kasuri methi leaves between your palms before adding to the bowl. If Kala Namak is not available, use regular salt. Mix all the ingredients well. You can add more oil if you like. Wash/scrub ...

Whenever I bake a cake, I prefer a low calorie fruit cake. Today's Eggless Banana Bread is made of whole wheat flour and sour cream. Whole grain provides more fiber and sour cream has lesser calories as compared to butter. And the cake is equally moist and delicious. Ingredients: Bananas - 3 big Whole Wheat Flour/Atta - 2 cups Light Brown Sugar - 1 cup Almonds/Badam - 1/4 cup Sour Cream - 1/2 cup Milk - 1/2 cup Olive Oil - 1/4 cup Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp Baking Soda - 3/4 tsp Baking Powder - 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon/Dalchini Powder - 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg/Jaiphal Powder - 1/8 tsp Salt - 1/4 tsp How to bake Whole Wheat Banana Bread: In a small bowl, add the dry ingredients - whole wheat flour, roughly chopped almonds, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well. Use any other nuts of your choice. Add some raisins/dry grapes too if you like. Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan with oil or cooking spray. In a big mixin...