Eggless Chocolate Cupcakes

By    9:10 PM // 3 comments
When I came across this tried and tested cupcake recipe by Pavithra at Dishesfrommykitchen, I got this urge to bake them instantly. The recipe not only called for common simple ingredients that most of us would keep stocked in fridge and kitchen, but the process of blending these ingredients also was very simple. Inspite of super-busy schedule on the day before the travel - office, packing, cooking, Christmas activities at school for kids...  I decided to bake these mini cupcakes with a plan to carry them as energy boosting food for kids during our travel [hence exclusion of coffee]. Replaced white sugar with brown sugar as I wanted these mini treats to be a little healthier. The cakes turned out perfect and tasted delicious!



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Tomato Kadhi

By    4:51 PM // No comments
Sometimes some very easy recipes just go out of mind, due to the number of new recipes that we keep experimenting in our kitchen. When my friend SR shared her recipe for tomato kadhi on a food group, I remembered the one I used to prepare with a little variation than hers. Thanks SR for reminding me of this. The kadhi is prepared with tomatoes as main ingredient and it goes really well with rice and papad.



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Eggless Peanut Butter Cookies

By    4:36 PM // 4 comments
Christmas is barely few days away and baking being synonymous with this festive season its commonly done in most of the houses, be it a cake or cookies. I was no exception to this and chose to prepare some cookies. The first batch was prepared by exactly following the recipe from here. The cookies turned out yummy and we all enjoyed this special treat. 

 Since we are travelling to India during this short Christmas break, I decided I will pack and carry some home made goodies to share with my family members/ friends back in India. Peanut butter cookies is what my hubby suggested and I went ahead to make them in batches. I slightly adapted the original recipe to suite my family tastes [who prefer less sweet] by reducing the quantity of castor sugar. Hope they enjoy this special treat :)

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Pav Bhaaji Cutlets

By    11:00 PM // 2 comments
Surprise your family members and guests with this interesting and innovative cutlet recipe made from pav bhaji. Yes, pav bhaaji!  The dish is prepared with a little twist to the traditionally served pav bhaaji. 

 It was one of the times when I had prepared pav bhaji and my elder one wished to take it in his lunchbox. Usually I avoid packing foods that may be messy to eat in school and hence I didn't prefer to send the bhaaji in its original form. But then an idea hit me, why not make cutlets and send it with him as most of the cutlets are pototo based and contains different mix of vegetables. I googled to find if anybody else has tried this and yes there was a member at Tarla Dalal's site mentioning about her experiment. I went ahead to make them with already prepared bhaaji, stuffed it between pav and this served as a great grab and go, non-messy, wholesome and filling snack for the tiffin. Next time, I prepared the bhaaji with sole intention of making these yummy cutlets. Shallow frying made it much more healthy and I served them as tea time snack. Was happy to see everyone at home had polished off their plates in no time. 

 Do try the below recipe and share your experience! You can follow your own recipe for bhaaji, just avoid adding water to it and make these cutlets as mentioned below.



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Lauki Yakhni/ Bottlegourd Stew

By    3:43 PM // No comments
I have started loving the flavor of fennel seeds and the aroma they impart to any dish from the time I attempted Bhasbhatta (a variety rice from State of Kashmir). While reading through other recipes from this state, I came across yet another dish "Lauki Yakhni" which had these seeds in its recipe. According to Kaushi Bhatia, the author of the book "Favourite dishes of India", incorporation of curd in this yakhni dish works wonder and the dish subtly spiced with fennel and dry ginger powder tastes so delicious that the taste lingers. While reading the description of the dish itself, my senses got stirred. I remembered the presence of lauki/bottle gourd in the fridge and rushed to kitchen to try it right away. (Have adapted the recipe from the book as per the ingredients availability hence it may not be the authentic recipe for this dish).




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Eggless Chocolate Cake With Chocolate Ganache Frosting

By    3:14 PM // 6 comments
Kids eagerly wait for weekends as they look forward to enjoy the activities planned for them. One being "Family movie night" scheduled by dear hubby. Post dinner we sit down to watch a kid friendly movie which helps them to relax and enjoy after studies and other school activities. Personally, I see this activity as an opportunity to enhance our family bonding. 

 Now the activity I m interested in is baking! Hubby takes care to engage kids in extra curricular activities and, I prefer to enter the kitchen to start my baking with a relaxed mind and extra time on hands. This is usually done on a day before the Family movie night:). Baking kind of unwinds me from my daily mechanical routine and I am sure it has the same effect on all of you who love doing it. Being alone in the kitchen with my baking equipments, I am able to enjoy the whole process, right from assembling, mixing the ingredients to preparing the final product. 

 Today, I am posting a recipe of chocolate cake that I finished baking last weekend. This recipe is eggless bookmarked from Joy of Baking. Reading through it, I got to know that the cake was named as "Wacky" or a "Crazy" Cake. So if you are crazy about chocolates this cake is perfect for you !

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Badam Burfi

By    1:39 AM // 12 comments
We do get Indian sweets like Kaju Katli, Motichur Laddoos, Jalebis in the mithai shops here, but I haven't seen badam burfi in any of these shops. Badam burfi is a famous Indian sweet. I came across many recipes for it on different blogs and food groups, but when my friend "J" posted her recipe and photos, they looked perfect and tempting as always. I wanted to grab them straight from the computer screen itself. [How I wish that "grab from screen technology" was invented by this time,,, do u also wish the same ?]




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Ratalyache kees

By    4:04 PM // 4 comments
"Ratale" is a marathi name for sweet potato. This ingredient is best known for its use on fasting/ Vrat days in Maharashtrian house. "Kees" means grated or shredded and the dish prepared from this grated sweet potato [sometimes prepared from potatoes too] by Maharashtrians is a simple stir fry served as fasting food with Sabudana Khichadi. This can also be served as breakfast dish on other non-fasting days.



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Soya Chunks Song/Saung

By    6:02 PM // 2 comments
Song/ Saung is an authentic dish from Konkani cuisine. It is one super spicy and tangy dish which goes very well with rice, dosa, idli and even chappatis. I usually opt for less spicy levels so that kids too eat it . I prepare this dish from either of these ingredients - potatoes, mushrooms, cauliflower, green peas and few beans like navy beans, soya bean, etc. 

 Soya/ Meal maker which is known to be a healthy means of increasing the protein intake is also known to readily absorb the flavors of any dish that we cook them in. Recently I have been using soya chunks in different recipes substituting it for the main ingredients. It is during one of these times the below recipe happened. Glad that I attempted it and this was a healthy twist to amchi recipe which tasted very nice with chappatis.




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Raw Banana Curry With Cashew Paste

By    12:27 AM // No comments
I never used raw banana other than traditional amchi dishes. So when I came across it's recipe which used cashew paste, it was something new to me. The rich creamy curry with its inviting looks, and I had to attempt it. The recipe was shared by our FB friend on a food group [Thanks VNS for doing so]. After tasting the dish, a thought crossed my mind and it was raw bananas can surely be a healthy option instead of paneer in paneer based dishes. The best way to know the deliciousness filled in this curry is to try yourself and let me know how you find it. 



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Pineapple Paneer Pulao

By    10:07 PM // 2 comments
Have you ever tried making pulao that tastes bit sweeter than any other pulao? Yes, that's the Kashmiri Pulao with lots of fruits and dry fruits which makes this dish very unique. Fruits such as apple chunks, pineapple chunks, grapes, pomegranate, etc and dry fruits such as cashews, raisins, almonds can be added while making it. Kashmiri pulao goes well with paneer based gravies or simple raitas. Infact this is a satisfying meal in itself without any accompaniment too. Its an easy and quick recipe, which surely will be a hit menu at any potluck, party or picnics. 




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Amrud Ki Subzi

By    12:00 PM // 1 comment
Last week one of our friend "P" who was back from India vacation, dropped in at our place. As we welcomed him, a bag was handed over to me. I knew he had got some traditional goodies, sweets and savories from India :) [he has been doing this always after his India visit]. But this time there was something more special, a unique fruity fragrance coming from the bag. Without opening the bag I could guess and I was correct. I was excited to see GUAVAS. It's sight and smell brought back childhood memories and tickled my tastebuds . I used to eat them plain or sprinkled with salt and red chilli powder just like raw mangoes and cucumbers. 

Guavas are one of the rare fruits available in supermarkets over here and whenever available most of the times overripened, so we go without buying them which is why kids never got to taste them before. I picked one from the bag, cleaned and chopped it, sprinkled some salt and served to my kids so that they could taste it. The first bite and few more forcible bites after which both of them said "NO". May be matter of taste or they didn't like the seeds inside. Removed the seeds and tried offering them but they turned their heads away. 

 We [me and hubby] very much enjoyed eating them. As I was wondering what I could do more with this fruit so that kids too can enjoy eating it, I remembered Amrud Ki Subzi. Few years back had watched Chef Sanjeev Kapoor on his show preparing this subzi and then had read a similar recipe in one of the magazine. The name itself was so attractive that I tried to recollect both recipes and adapt it based on the availability of ingredients at home. We enjoyed this subzi with parathas [except my younger one who still refused to eat even those deseeded fruit pieces from the gravy !]




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Panpolo

By    9:07 PM // 4 comments
"Panpolo" is a popular breakfast item in Konkani household. "Polo" is konkani word for dosa and "Pan" describes these dosas to be thin as leaf made from watery batter. These dosas are thin, snowy white color, soft and lacy texture. Kannadigas and Tuluvers too prepare this dosa, called as "Neerdosa" where they grind the batter without any coconut which makes it crispier as compared to panpolos. 




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Adraki Aloo Palak

By    2:16 PM // No comments
Today I am posting one of my favourite dish, Aloo Palak.  This is yet another traditional Punjabi delicacy filled with flavors and packed with nutrition. There are different ways to prepare it. I usually follow the same recipe of Palak Paneer, where I substitute paneer cubes with boiled potato cubes. But when I came across the recipe of aloo palak here, I liked that extra unique adraki flavor given to the dish. With generous amounts of ginger infusing its flavor into this dish, it was a perfect accompaniment to rotis especially at the time when the weather was chilly outside.


Recipe adapted from "Annapurna" by Mangala Barve 


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Chocolate Mousse (Without Egg and Gelatin)

By    11:51 PM // 6 comments
Universally, Children's day is celebrated on 20th November to create awareness and encourage the welfare of children in order to ensure a better future. However this date varies in India and it is preponed to 14th November which coincides with the birthday of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, to commemorate his great love for children. Pandit Nehru emphasized on welfare of the children and worked towards it. He was fond of children and thus became popular as Chacha Nehru [Uncle Nehru] among them. Kids are eager and look forward to celebrate this day with lot of fun activities and party organized in their schools. 

 At home, I thought to prepare something sweet that they love which means something with chocolate. Since long time, I have been thinking of preparing a mousse. Mousse is a French dessert prepared with different techniques. I opted to prepare it without eggs and gelatin and narrowed down to its recipe from Rak's Kitchen. 


Recipe source: Adapted from Rak's Kitchen


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Raw Mango Kadhi / Kairichi Kadhi

By    10:51 AM // 3 comments
Today, its drizzling a little which means winter's here. Yes, during the transition from summer season to winter it drizzles at my place. With the temperatures dropping down, I was longing for some warm saar/ kadhi/soup kind of drink just to slurp on. This is what I prepared, a tangy kadhi from raw mango. 


Recipe adapted from book "Annapurna" by Mangala Barve

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Celebrating 1st Blog Anniversary :)

By    3:01 PM // 6 comments
Its 12th November ... Yes dear readers, celebrations at Flavor and Colors ! It was exactly 12 months back I clicked the "Publish" tab for the first blogpost and today this space is one year old. Not sure of how and what exactly I was going to do, I just commenced on this journey carrying a hope to experiment with my clicks, cook more recipes, gain knowledge about how blogging works, and mostly to know and interact with new friends who share the same passion. Can't believe how fast time has flown by, but it surely has shaped Flavors and Colors to the present form. 

 It has been an amazing year getting to know so many talented, creative friends and foodie bloggers all around. Looking back, I feel proud to see the successful culinary experiments from my kitchen [more dishes were cooked and baked last year than ever before]. Learning about the developer's tools hidden in the browser to manipulate the look of the blog [a bit of CSS, html coding] was something which I wouldn't have dared if I was not blogging. Those tons of food clicks and offline articles on photography [my laptop hard drive is burdened with food photos and its shouting for a cleanup :P] helped me to explore my DSLR settings and at the same time understand food on the plate from an aesthetic perspective. 

So, I am here to celebrate this special occasion and share the recipe of laddoo, a popular Indian sweet. Usually laddoos are made with sugar syrup but this recipe uses condensed milk. Thus, it is an easier and faster way when compared to regular sugar syrup method of preparing laddoos.



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Tandlachi Ukad

By    12:40 AM // No comments
There's an age old axiom "Breakfast is known to be an important meal". Yes, it is, especially for growing children to get them started for the day. 

 With my elder one, A 's exam scheduled early morning on weekend, I had less time in the morning to cook anything and that's when I remembered "Tandlachi Ukad". Immediately, I headed towards my kitchen to prepare the dish and get "A" fueled up before his exam. 




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Sprouted Moong Ghashi

By    4:16 PM // 2 comments
The recipe that I am posting today involves process of sprouting. I have always seen amma saying and practicing to consume sprouted dhanya [beans/ pulses] and this is because they are known to be very nutritious and helps in digestion too. We call the process of sprouting as "Kirloche" and the sprouted bean as "Kirlaile dhanya" in konkani.

I was less lucky with this task in those initial days of cooking, firstly, I never observed the proper technique when amma used to do it. Secondly, the climate here [extreme summers and extreme winters] didnt't give me the sprouts as expected and overall due to repeated failures I assumed the process to be tough and hence the bean used to sit back in the pantry for days together. But when amma visited me during my first delivery, I carefully observed her way to grow the sprouts. Refer the notes section below the post to know how to sprout any bean**. Since then I have been following her method to sprout them and have never failed in doing so. The easiest and fastest to sprout amongst all beans/dhanya is the green gram or moong bean. We can prepare salad, upkaris/stir-fry, usli and randeyi/curry from sprouted moong. 

 Mooga Ghashi [using moong bean] is a konkani festive dish [as it contains no onion garlic] and favourite of most of the amchis. This dish which is a coconut based gravy can be prepared in combination with yam / raw jackfruit / tender bamboo shoots / potato. 


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Pista Katli/ Pista Fudge

By    2:58 PM // No comments
After 3-4 attempts with use of liquid glucose for burfi making, I decided to prepare pista burfi as one of the sweets during Diwali. This time I followed the recipe from Maayeka, a blog for wonderful vegetarian recipes by Anjanaji, and this recipe was without using liquid glucose. I am a big fan of her blog, love the way she presents her dishes and photography.

Recipe source: Maayeka, I just increased the quantity of ingredients


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Benne Chakkuli/ Butter Murukku

By    4:07 PM // 1 comment
A savoury snack and that is Butter Chakkuli - a traditional snack prepared from main ingredients such as rice flour, phutane daal [roasted gram / hurikadle] and butter [Loni/Benne is preferred for that taste].

Recipe source adapted from Ravikala Shenoy, FB friend


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Happy Deepawali !!!

By    5:11 PM // No comments
And here comes the festival of light, Diwali ! Hope you are having great time meeting relatives, friends and relishing Diwali goodies :)

After my intitial experiments with Kaju Katli and Balushahi [ you don't see them in this pic becz they got finished before Diwali :)], I managed to do Pista Burfi, Butter Chakli, Shankarpali/ Shakkarpara, Two tone Coconut Burfi, Churmundo [wheat flour laddoos], Ragi Omapodi, and Rawa Coconut laddoos.


Diet ko maro goli its HAPPY DIWALI !
On this auspicious day wishing all of you good health, happiness,success and prosperity.

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Stuffed Brinjal - Maharashtrian Style

By    12:31 AM // No comments
I had posted Brinjal Sagle, an amchi way of making stuffed brinjal. Today I post yet another version, Maharashtrian style of preparing them. [Posting this recipe which was lying in my drafts since many days now]  The below recipe is adapted from a marathi cookery show, Sugran which gets telecasted on Saam TV.




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Kesar Balushahi

By    11:41 AM // 3 comments
It's the festive time of the year again knocking at our doors. Yay! Diwali is approaching fast !!! A festival of lights celebrated with pomp for 5 days throughout the country and abroad too where people perform pooja followed by bursting fire crackers. You can read more about the festival, spiritual significance and how it is celebrated across India over here.

 This is one of the most popular festivals of India, where you get to know its arrival prior to the the actual day of Diwali, due to sparkling night sky with fireworks, the smell and sound of crackers filling the air, houses getting decorated and lit up, shopping new clothes, decor items, etc. The celebration is incomplete without traditional mithais, and you find women in their house across India busy preparing great food for family. Distributing these mithais, namkeen among relatives and friends gives that additional touch to the festive mood. I remember amma would prepare a separate batch of mande/chavde, undo/laddoos, chakulis/chaklis, chivda and plates of these goodies would get exchanged when neighbours would drop in to wish us.  Remembering all those goodies, I could not escape from this festival fever and sat down listing the ones to do for this Diwali. My mind was racing up and down to try and prepare everything :D. But then looking at my work schedules settled down with 2-3 items on "To do list". The sweet I selected to prepare was Balushahi, a traditional dessert from North Indian cuisine. It is somewhat similar to glazed doughnuts. In South India, it is known as Badushah made during Diwali and other important festivals as well as during marriages. I had bookmarked the recipe that was shared by one of food group member on social website and thought it perfect to prepare for the occasion.




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Rajma

By    7:21 PM // 2 comments
Rajma is a popular Indian vegetarian dish prepared with red kidney beans. This spicy, thick gravy which is prepared by combining Indian spices tastes delicious when served with steamed rice, a combination known to be favorite of many North Indians.

Recipe source: FB friend Lata Pai


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Pumpkin Fritters

By    8:30 PM // 12 comments
" You are my pumpkin pumpkin, Hello honey bunny...." Do you remember this jingle...yes idea adv. Kids used to sing it like daily mantra at home for those initial days ... luckily the craze has come down ,,, and now its limited to the days when I cook any dish with pumpkin. 

 Posting a yummy dish today made from pumpkin. You can substitute pumpkin with butternut squash in the below recipe



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Karathey Kismuri

By    4:51 PM // No comments
Today's recipe includes bittergourd as the main ingredient. The name itself suggest the taste of this veggie, yes its bitter and many of you may not be liking it .... So are you trying to skip this page or go to some other recipe ... WAIT ... Believe me, this is a must try recipe and you will instantly fall in love with the crunchy not so bitter taste of this vegetable. The traditional recipe calls in for deep frying, but I follow the method of shallow frying obviously for health reasons.  Karathe is konkani word for bittergourd and kismuri means dry dish or salad type served as side dish. I love eating this dish just as it is or mixed with plain hot rice. 




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Shengdana / Salted Peanuts

By    4:24 PM // 4 comments
It was a long weekend at my side. Schools and offices were closed for nine long days due to Eid. We chalked out on plans to keep kids entertained and at the same time busy with their activities. This meant I had to think of some delicious power snack to help kids re-fuel between meals while carrying out their activities. The first thing that came to my mind was peanuts, the legume with nutritional punch and the snack I prepared was "Salted Peanuts". You can read about the nutrients that peanuts provide over here.



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Corn Sundal

By    8:09 PM // No comments
Navratri is being celebrated from 5th October till 13th October this year.

Wishing you all a Happy Navratri, 
Stay blessed today and always!

 This festival is celebrated in different ways for nine days across different parts of India. All the nine days are considered auspicious and spent in worshiping Mother Goddess, in her nine different avatars. Devotees generally fast, consume special food/ vrat ka khana and many of them avoid the consumption of onion garlic. Variety of special foods are prepared as neviedyam and offered to God which is then distributed as prasad amongst friends and relatives. "Sundal" is one such prasad prepared during this festival. You can read more about the festival here and and how sundal got popular as Navratri prasad here.  




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Green Moong Savory Cake/ Khaman Dhoklas

By    6:52 PM // 1 comment
Dhokla is a popular Indian snack from the state of Gujarat and traditionally made with base of fermented rice and chana dal mixture. These days you will find many variations been done, like khatta dhokla, cheese dhokla, rasia dhokla, sandwich dhokla. They are made from different dals, suji or semolina and the instant ones are made from chickpea flour/besan. I thought to give a try to its recipe from here which I had bookmarked few days back. While going through the recipe I got confused - the recipe had no rice in it and had no fermentation mentioned in its steps so,,, will I be preparing a Dhokla or Khaman dhokla ? You too confused ??? Whatever it is... I would call them steamed savory CAKE. This was an easy recipe resulting in spongy delicious savory cake [steamed them in cake pan and so the name :P] infused with sugar lemon juice solution and they made a great evening snack with tea.




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Nuchinunde

By    3:47 PM // 2 comments
I got to know about "Nuchinunde", a traditional Karnataka breakfast snack from Kudpi Raj maam. He is the author/owner of Kudpiraj's Garam Tawa where he has put down his culinary experiences and posted tried and tested, veg as well as non-veg recipes picked up from traditional to international cuisine. More than the rock solid recipes, I like the simplicity in his writing and the amusing anecdotes associated with these recipes which gives the reader a glimpse into respective culture and the history that goes with it [whenever possible]. 

When I came across his Nuchinunde recipe here, I was happy to find an idea that was so easy to make especially for breakfast or even for kids tiffin [provided the school has facility to warm up the food from the tiffins, otherwise they turn bit hard on cooling]. With the combination of dals, leafy vegetables that goes into its preparation, and the process of steaming, this surely is a wholesome healthy snack/ dish full of proteins and fiber rich. I decided to prepare them the next day itself. [It needs a bit of pre-planning as it calls for time to soak the dals]




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Phagil Batato Stirfry

By    4:57 PM // 2 comments
Phagil is konkani word for teasel gourd which belongs to the same family as bittergourd but is less thorny and bitter [infact sometimes sweeter] than bittergourd. It is a seasonal vegetable available during monsoon season in India. Being seasonal they don't get missed out from the festive menus, especially the phodis prepared with them which we amchis love very much. I will post the recipe of phagila phodis/fries some other time. Today I am posting the recipe of a side dish prepared from this vegetable.


Recipe adapted from Maayeka by Anjanaji


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Capsicum Paneer paratha

By    9:53 PM // 2 comments
We always want our kids to eat healthy food and kids prefer it to be tasty, irrespective of whether that food is nutritious or not. Thus, this becomes a challenging task to think something new and innovative everytime we pack our kids tiffin. In continuation to my lunchbox ideas for kids, I am back with yet another paratha recipe. I had mentioned earlier paratha is a wholesome meal by itself. Read about savoury stuffed aloo paratha here and sweet stuffed sheera poli here. 

 This time its capsicum paneer paratha. The name must have suggested you by now what's the stuffing that goes in this paratha :). I prepared this for the first time and was eager to see kids reaction. The dish was served as an evening snack with cup of milk to kids and they loved it. Surely this recipe is a keeper.


Recipe credit: Kiranmayi Kamath


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Tambdi bhajji amshe

By    9:41 PM // No comments
While on shopping, got to see these fresh red amaranths sitting in between lush hues of greens, stacked one above the other on the shelves of supermarket. Leafy vegetables are the vegetables that tops the list for nutrient dense foods on the planet and I am quite happy that fresh ones are made easily available at a cheaper price when compared to other vegetables and fruits in the supermarkets here.


Red amaranth is called as tambdi bhajji in Konkani and amshe means sour and this is exactly how the curry tastes.


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Chanmburya Upkari/ Charmurya Upkari

By    3:28 PM // 2 comments
Posting my favourite snack recipe made from puffed rice. Chanmburo/Charmuro is konkani word for puffed rice and chanmburya upkari is a very famous street food across Udupi-Mangalore. Though you may find it more or less like Mumbai bhel or Kolkota Jhalmuri when you read through the recipe, but the specialty of this snack is the use of coconut oil that gives a unique taste to this dish. Yummmm ! The basic recipe includes onions, chili powder, salt, coconut oil, coriander leaves and puffed rice. Now there are many variations done to the basic recipe like adding tomatoes, grated raw mango or lemon juice, grated carrot, beetroot, sev, etc




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Carrot with Dill Greens - A side dish

By    11:11 PM // No comments
Today's recipe is a vegetable side-dish with a combination of carrots and dill greens. I love this recipe where the sweetness of crunchy carrots gets complemented by the pleasant aroma of dill leaves, and the taste enhanced by spices and lemon juice. The blend of orange and green colors makes it very eye catching, that is bound to attract everyone's attention. A nutritious side dish that is very easy to prepare and gets ready in 10-15 minutes time.



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Sheera Poli/ Sanjori

By    4:57 PM // 3 comments
Now that my younger one has started with his preschool/playgroup I prefer to pack easy and less messy to handle foods in his tiffin. Stuffed parathas is one such food because apart from being less messy this is one wholesome meal by itself. I try different variations by adding different spices and veggies and each variation is loved at home. Kids can have them anytime and want it every time :). I have already posted the recipe of Aloo paratha and you can read it here. 

 Sanjori is almost similar to north indian stuffed parathas. We can find the difference only on tasting as the stuffing in this paratha is sweet sheera (roasted semolina halwa). I remember tasting these polis for the first time from my friend's tiffin during my school days and she used to call them as sheera poli. I thought let me try making them for my kids tiffin too. And so yesterday I made these polis with sweet stuffing. I adapted SK recipe from here. The outer covering is usually made of maida/APF but I have replaced it with wheat flour, obviously to make the dish healthy.

 While browsing for more details on sanjori I read about the difference between sanja and sheera [either of them can be used as stuffing in this dish] explained in simple terms by Anjali of Anna Parabrahma which you can read here. You can make these polis more flavored and nutritious by adding cinnamon powder to plain sheera or adding drynuts like chopped cashews and raisins. You can also try adding some fruits in the stuffing eg mango sheera, pineapple sheera or apple sheera.


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Potato Canapes With Sprouted Moong Bean

By    8:58 PM // 2 comments
Moong bean is rich in protein, fiber, vitamins and low in fat. Sprouted moong is even more nutritious and I often include it in the diet, mostly as salads, simple chaats or stirfry. This time I did some variation as per the ingredients availability at home and adapted a bookmarked recipe from here.



 Ingredients

2 big sized potato, washed, peeled and sliced into 1/2" thickness discs
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup whole green moong, sprouted
1 onion medium sized, finely chopped
1 tomato medium sized, finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
3 -4 tbsp Tomato sauce + Chilli sauce or Pizza sauce [ You can substitute this with barbecue sauce or with green chutney and sweet chutney]
Grated mozzarella cheese as topping [optional]
Salt as per taste

Method

Microwave potato slices [dipped in water] for 2 minutes. Drain the water and pat the slices dry. Toss these slices in olive oil and a pinch of salt. See to it that slices get coated with oil. Spread these slices in a single layer on baking sheet [I used aluminium foil] and bake them in preheated oven at 200°C  for 20-30 minutes, turning half way until golden brown.

Meanwhile in a bowl mix sprouted moong, finely chopped onions, finely chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves, salt as per taste.

Remove the baking tray and spread a spoonful of the mixture over each potato slice. Top with pizza sauce/ tomato sauce + chili sauce and grated mozzarella cheese. Bake it for another 2-3 minutes. Serve it as snack or starter!



Note: 
You can add chaat powder, kala namak, red chili powder, lemon juice and sev if you use sweet chutney and green chutney instead of sauces.
You can use other pulses/ beans in place of whole green gram.

 Sending this post to Kid's Delight Potluck Party event and Vardhini's Bake Fest event hosted by Marija of Palachinka

Happy Baking!

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