Oats Upma:

Ingredients:
1 cup Plain Oats ( Used Quaker whole grain )
1 cup veggies(carrot, onions, capsicum, beans..)
2 cups water
3 green chilies
1 tbs oil
1 tsp chana dal
4-5 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp ginger( finely chopped)
1 tbs cashews (optional)
1 tbs cilantro(optional)
Salt
Directions:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once it splatter, add chana, cashews. Fry for a
minute and add onions, green chilies, curry leaves. 
2. Once onions start getting soft, add veggies(carrots, capsicum, beans...).
3. Fry veggies till they get soft. Then add water and salt. Close the lid and bring it to boil.
4. Now add cilantro and oats, mix well and close the lid. 
5. Within 2 minutes oats upma should be ready.

Oats Dosa:

Oats is discovered as the only cereal with numerous health benefits for our lifestyle. But its boring to eat oats with milk which again has fat. I prefer a bit spicy breakfast. So thought of making healthy Indian tiffins. This is one of the creation from that thought. We usually have to plan the previous night to prepare dosas, but here its instant. Sounds good, right!;)

Ingredients:
1 cup plain oats (Used Quaker whole grain)
3/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup sooji
2 green chilies
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup cilantro
salt
oil for dosa
onions & ginger (chopped very small)

Directions:

1. Add water to the mixture of oaks, rice flour and sooji, stir well and soak for about 10-15 min.

2. Add green chilies, cumin, pepper, ginger, cilantro, salt to oats mixture and grind all these ingredients into dosa batter consistency. 

3. Heat dosa pan. Take a ladle full of batter and spread to make dosa. Sprinkle some oil on the edges of dosa.

4. Sprinkle chopped onion and ginger on dosa. Once you feel its getting brown at the bottom, you can fold it and serve it. You need not turn it to other side. 

5. You can serve it just as pesarattu with ginger chutney or coconut chutney. 

Chow-Chow

Sounds like Chinese, isn't it! But I got this recipe from my sister-in-law who lives in Delhi. Of course made some changes to make it more healthy. This is the quick snack or sometimes breakfast I prepare very often. Nothing to shop for this recipe. Its all with ingredients from our refrigerator.  

Ingredients:
4 - Bread slices
2 eggs
2 green chilies
1 cup- veggies (carrot, capsicum, onions)
1tsp- oil
salt


Directions:
1. Take off brown edge of the bread slices and cut them into 1/2" cubes.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add veggies one by one- carrots, capsicum and onions. (You can sprinkle little salt on veggies to cook them fast). Then add green chilies. 
3. Once all the veggies are cooked soft, now add salt. 
4. Lower the heat, add egg, mix well with veggies and immediately add bread cubes. 
5. Now increase heat to medium and keep mixing bread cubes with egg. Within 2 minutes you see a dry mixture of bread chunks with egg coating. 
6. If you like, you can garnish with cilantro. 
7. For an extra richness, you can add cashews too. 

Black Forest Cake

Black forest cake is my favorite and its a perfect combination of flavors that melts in your mouth. I've made this cake for my husband's birthday and it was perfect, rich and super simple. 

Ingredients:
Cake:
Chocolate cake mix - 450 gm ( I've used Betty Crocker )
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I've replaced with 1/4 cup melted butter and 1/4 cup vegetable oil)
1 tsp butter
1 tsp flour
Filling:
1 pint Heavy Whipping cream - 470 ml
1 can pitted sour cherries - 420 gm (drain and reserve the syrup)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 dark chocolate bar
10-12 strawberries/cherries for decoration

Directions:

For Cake Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the cake pans well with butter and dust it thoroughly with flour (To dust with flour, I dropped a good amount of flour in each pan and shook the flour around until everything was well coated and then shook the excess off).

2. Bake the chocolate cake as directed on the pack by mixing eggs, oil and water together and gently add to the cake mix. (You can prepare chocolate cake from scratch if you have time and patience)

3. Bake it until the cake is done or until a toothpick comes out clean when dipped in middle of the cake. 

4. Take out from oven and let it cool for 10-15 min. Then remove the cake from the pan and cool it completely on cooling rack. 

For Syrup and filling:

5. Refrigerate the bowl and whisk blades, which you'll be using to whip the cream. 

6. Meanwhile take the drained cherry syrup, add 2 tsp of sugar and mix it to dissolve.  

7. Chop the cherries into very small chunks.

8. Take out the chocolate bar from fridge (if kept inside) and keep out for 3 min. Then try to shave it with knife or peeler without touching with hands. 

9. Now take out the bowl and whisk blades from refrigerator. Add whip cream and 1/4 cup sugar in it. Whip the cream on medium speed for 10 min and gradually increase the speed until you see peaks forming. 

For Layering the cake:

10. Take the cake and slice off the uneven top to make a flat surface. 

11. Then slice it horizontally into 1/2 inch thick layers working from out to inside by rotating the cake. 

12. Place a slice on the base and brush it with the cherry-sugar syrup until moist. 

13. Then spread a layer of whip cream, leaving 1/2 inch to the edge and spread the chopped cherries over the cream. 

14. Now moist the second layer with the syrup, place it over and press very gently. 

15. Over the second layer, spread the whip cream and chopped cherries. You can repeat this until how many layers you've got. 

16. Once you are done with top layer, spread the whip cream on top and sides of the cake. Need not be a professional. Make sure the cake is not seen out. 

17. Gently press the chocolate shavings into cream on sides of cake. 

18. Take remaining whip cream into a small Ziploc and cut the corner point. Make your own decorations on top and garnish with strawberries/cherries for a perfect color combination. 

BM # 13 Day 3 : Shish Taouk ( Lebanese Chicken Kebabs) with Creamy Garlic Dip

Shish Tawook (taouk) is a traditional Turkish shish kebab which can also be found in Syrian and Lebanese cuisine. Cubes of chicken are skewered and grilled. Common marinades are based upon yogurt or a tomato puree, though there are many variations. Shish taouk is typically eaten with garlic paste toum. Hardly any of us know what the word tawook means. Well, let me tell you. Tawook is a variant on the Turkish word tavuk, meaning chicken. So shish tawook means chicken skewers.

I made a tomato puree based kebab with a creamy garlic dip.

 

Ingredients :
4 Skinless,boneless chicken breast, cut into medium cubes
3-4 Garlic cloves, crushed or grated
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp Italian herbs/dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp all spice powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, cubed


Direction:
1. Combine crushed garlic cloves, lemon juice, tomato paste, Italian herbs/Dried thyme, pepper powder, all spice powder, salt and little oil and prepare a marinade.
2. Keep a little marinade aside and add rest of the marinade to the chicken and coat the chicken pieces well. In a separate bowl, add onions and coat the onions well with the little marinade.
3. Let the chicken and onions marinate in refrigerator overnight or for at least 5 hrs.
4. Preheat oven to 210 degrees C.  Arrange chicken and onion pieces alternatively on the skewers and place them on a baking tray. Slightly oil the skewered chicken.

5. Bake for 7 mins on each side.
6. Switch the oven to grill/broil mode and grill for 3-4 mins on each side.
7. Serve hot with creamy garlic dip.


Note: If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water atleast for 2 hours before use.
You can also use mushrooms and capsicum. Marinate diced mushroom and capsicum along with the onion.
Avoid over baking, else chicken may go dry.


Creamy Garlic Dip:
1 cup thick yogurt/hung curd
4 garlic cloves grated
1 tbsp milk
1/4 tsp pepper powder
1/4 tsp oregano
Chopped coriander 
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
Mix all ingredients till smooth and creamy.
If it becomes very thick, add some more milk and serve cold.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13 

BM # 13 Day 2 : Quick and Easy Chicken Kabab

Today's recipe is very quick and easy to make. All ingredients used in this recipe are readily available in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 skinless and boneless chicken breast
1 capsicum cut into big cubes
1 medium onion cut into big cubes
2 tbsp oil (you can use olive oil)
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp chilli powder or to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 small onion grated
4 garlic cloves grated
salt to taste
chopped coriander 


Directions:
1. Cut chicken into small cubes or bite size pieces, wash and pat dry.
2. Prepare marinade by mixing all the ingredients.
3. Marinate the chicken for atleast one hour in refrigerator.
4. Thread 4 pieces of chicken cubes with 2 pieces of capsicum and onion on to a metal skewer or a bamboo skewer. Repeat this procedure till you finish all the marinated chicken.
5. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. 
6. Place the skewers on a baking tray and slightly brush them with oil. Bake for 6mins on each side or till the chicken is cooked.

7. After the chicken is cooked, switch the oven to grill/broil mode and grill the chicken for 3-4 mins.
8. Remove on to a serving tray and serve hot.

Note: If using Bamboo skewers, then soak them in water for atleast 2 hrs before use.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13

BM # 13 Day 1 : Paneer Tikka

It been so long i have been a part of Blogging Marathon.I was a part of BM # 4 and BM # 5.  It feels so good to be a part of this again. Looking forward for amazing and yummy recipes. 
Todays post is Paneer Tikka, here goes the recipe ......

Ingredients: 
200 gms Paneer
2 medium onion
2 capsicum
2 tomatoes
2 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 cup hung curd
2 tbsp kasuri methi
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp coriander powder 
1 tsp chat masala 
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste


Directions:
1. Cut paneer, onion, tomato & capsicum into dices.
2. Prepare marinade of hung curd, ginger garlic paste, chat masala, garam masala, kasuri methi, chilli powder & salt.
3. Keep a little marinade aside and add rest of the marinade to the paneer cubes & coat them well.
4. Marinate the vegetables separately with the remaining marinade.
5. Keep the marinated paneer and vegetables in the refrigerator for 30mins - 1hr.
6. On stove top: Shallow fry the paneer cubes in a non-stick pan. 
    Stir fry the vegetables. Mix together the paneer cubes & vegetables and serve hot.
7. In Oven: Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Then keep it in grill mode.
    Arrange the paneer cubes & vegetables alternatively on wooden/metal skewers.
    Place the skewers on a baking tray and lightly brush the paneer with oil.
    Grill the paneer for 5-7 mins on each side.

8. Serve hot with green chutney.

Note: If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for atleast 2 hours before use. 
For best results, use homemade paneer.
For hung curd, i put store bought yogurt or home made curd in a strainer, place the strainer in a bowl and leave it in refrigerator overnight. 

Recipe source, http://www.deepalisawant.com/aboutus.html

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#13