Carrot Curry

This is again a very easy, quick but tasty dish and is typically south Indian.
You would need
Carrots - 1 pound/ 1/2 kg
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup (I use the dry shredded coconut for convenience)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Asofoteida: a pinch
Red chillies - 1
Salt - as per taste (but as carrot is naturally sweet, you might want to use less salt)
Oil - 2 tsp
Curry leaves: 1/2 a stem (about 4-5 leaves)
Sugar: ¼ tsp – just a hint of sweetness
Peel and cut carrots into small cubes. (You might want to microwave it for 5 minutes after peeling as it gets soft and you can cut carrots much more easily this way)
Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Add asofoteida and urad dal. When it begins to turn brown, add curry leaves to it.
Now add the diced carrots and salt and leave it covered for 7 minutes in medium heat. The carrot is done when it is crispy to bite and yet is completely cooked. If kept for a longer while, carrot becomes soggy and soft and does not taste as good. In the end, add the grated coconuts. Stir and remove from fire.

Aval Upma/ Poha

This is one of my husband's favorites and I end up making it once a week, if not twice :) It is very easy to make and hardly takes any time to cook unlike rice and sambhar.
well, the recipe goes like this:

1 1/2 cups of thick aval/ Poha/ flattened rice
1 large potato peeled,cooked and diced into small pieces.
1 diced onion
1 diced tomato
coriander leaves to dress
1/2 tsp Cumin, coriander powder,jeera seeds
1 tsp masala
a pinch of asofoteida
2 tsp oil
2 tsp lemon
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup roasted groundnuts
salt to taste
1-2 green chillies

Wash Poha/ aval clean, drain and keep it aside for 10 minutes.
During this time, heat oil in a heavy saucepan and allow jeera to splutter. Add onions and allow it to fry till golden brown.(I generally use zero calorie cooking spray and less of oil for my cooking. So you could add more oil at this point or spray oil.)Add potatoes first and then tomatoes and all the ingredients except poha and wait for a few minutes for the ingredients to be absorbed before adding poha.
Mix very well, and just salt and lime according to your taste. Stir every now and then in low heat and once the flavours are absorbed and transfer it to a serving dish and garnish with coriander leaves.

Total time it takes should be about 25 minutes and serves about 2-3 people.

home made ice creams

I got this recipe from one of my friends here. She had made a delightful mango ice cream and it tasted so good that I decided to make some at home too. I made a different flavor though-
Well, the recipe goes like this…

Caffe mocha ice cream with nuts

Kraft’s Cool whip- light cream 8 ounce ( you could check it up at http://www.kraftfoods.com/coolwhip/)
Milk- 100 ml
Condensed milk: ¼ of a can
Hershey’s chocolate syrup: 2 spoons
Instant coffee powder:1/4 tsp spoon
Blend all these for 5 minutes in the lowest speed.
After this done, you could add as many or as less Nuts and Raisins. If you have chocolate bits or butterscotch pieces, they would taste better.:) Mix it well and refrigerate for 4-6 hrs without disturbing. Your home made delicious ice cream is ready for desserts!
Just go ahead and make your favorite flavors and enjoy!
I am planning to try out kesar badam next time.
It tastes just like Ben and Jerry's or any of your fav creamy delights sans all those hidden ingredients.