Masala Artichokes

I had once had this amazing marinated artichoke hearts as an antipasti in an Itallian resturant.This made me realise that its one of the most fantastic tasting vegetable with lots of rich essential vitamins and fibre , which we hardly use . It tasted somewhat like drumstick and much to my amazement a light smoky after taste. I had made use of artichokes in some dip recipes earlier,but thats it. So finally when I came across some beautiful frozen artichoke hearts &decieded to create my own Indianised version of it.... viola Masala Artichokes was born!
It tastes pretty good and will go along as a side dish for any Indian meal.



Masala *Artichokes

Ingredients

Artichoke hearts ( frozen) 1/2 cup
onions diced 1/2cup
Tomatoes diced 1/2 cup
salt to taste
Dry masala: tumeric,chilli powder ,garammasala powder & amchur powder
Corriander for garnish

Method
Thaw the artichokes.
heat some oil,fry the diced onions and tomatoes until the tomatoes are soft
add the dry masalas and mix well
next add the artichokes,add some water and cook until they are soft and done.
garnish with corriander and serve.


**

*artichoke = globe artichoke Notes: Artichokes are the unopened flowers and stems of a kind of thistle. You cook them, then peel off and eat the bases of the thick green petals (called leaves). At the center is the heart, the choicest portion of the artichoke, covered by the choke, a hairy pad that should be peeled off and discarded. Their peak season is early summer. Substitutes: Jerusalem artichokes (crisper; consider blanching or roasting first) OR salsify OR burdock OR hearts of palm

Wish You all a very Happy Pongal!

This is probably one of the most important festival that southindians celebrate.

Each family having their own set of traditions and methods. Ours was simple.

A delicious offering of Pongal to the god and a lots of wishes for everyone,we had a joyful pongal.

herez the glimpse of our offerings to the god.

Pongal  O Pongal!

our humble prasad.

Masoor Ki Dal

Its one of those wintery evenings here and as I wondering what to whip up for dinner,I decieded to make Masoor dal. This recipe is one of our favourite ones and we usually call it our comfort food. with a steamy hot bowl of white rice or even a piping hot of the stove Phulka or Roti would make it a complete wholesome meal. I use whole masoor for it and soak it in warm water for a couple of hours to speed up the process of cooking.easy to make dal is a perfect meal to satisfy any hungry soul,especially on a cold day!

Whole Masoor Dal

Ingredients
Whole Masoor (pink lentils) 1/2cup soaked
tomatoes 1cup diced
onions 1/2cup finely chopped
garlic 2-3 cloved minced
jeera seeds 1tsp
red chillies whole 2-3
green chillies finely chopped 1tsp
Ghee 2tbsp
lemon juice 1/2tsp
salt to taste
dry masalas: tumeric 1/2tsp,chilli powder 1tsp,dhaniya powder 1tsp,jeera powder 1tsp and garam masala 1tsp
corriander for garnish
butter for garnish (optional)

Method
Pressure the dal with enough water.
meanwhile,in a wok add the ghee,and add the jeera seeds,along with red chillies.
next add the garlic,onions and fry till they are slighly golden brown,now add the tomatoes and all the dry masalas.cook until the tomatoes are soft.
once the dal is cooked adjust the consitency with some water,add the salt for taste & pour the tomatoes mixture and allow it to boil until all the flavours come together.remove from flame&
now add the lemon juice,and garnish.

serve hot.

Since I am a huge sweet lover I would like to start this Blogging adventure by adding one of my favourite recipes,and quite easy too
Easy to make Pumpkin Halwa



Pumpkin Halwa


Ingredients:
Red Pumpkin Diced into cubes 2cups
Saffron 1/2tsp diluted in milk
sugar 2 cups
Ghee/Clarified butter 11/2 cups
Cashews & Raisins for garnish

Method:
In a heavy bottemed vessel,add the pumkin with 1/2 cup of water and allow it to cook covered.
once it reaches the mash consistency mash them with a potato masher ,add the sugar and the saffron.
keep mixing until the sugar dissolves with the pumkin,and keep in the flame until it forms a thick mixture,.now slowly keep adding the ghee to it ,so that it comes together like a halwa,and leaves the edges of the pan.
Reserve some of the ghee to toast the cashew and raisins for the garnish.
serve hot.