Strawberry muffins

Ingredients:

Canola oil: 1/2 cup

Milk: 1 cup

Eggs: 2

Salt: 1 teaspoon salt

Baking Pwd: 4 teaspoons

Sugar: 1 cup

All purpose flour: 3 1/2 cups

Chopped strawberries: 2 cups

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, oil an 8 cup muffin tin, or use paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, and egg. Beat untill well mixed.

In another bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Now toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.

Fill muffin cups. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

I baked them for a get together and the kids loved them a lot.

Enjoy.

Contest Winning Strawberry banana pie

For crust:

All purpose flour: 11/2 cup

Sugar: 2 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Milk: 2 tbsp

Oil: 1/2 cup

For filling:

Strawberries: 4 cups chopped

Condensed milk: 1 tin (14 oz)

Bananas: 2 rippen (Chopped in circles)

Method:

For crust:

Pre heat oven to 350 Degrees.

Mix all the above ingredients to form a dough.

Grease the pie pan and spread the dough in the pie pan evenly.

Put the pie pan in the oven for about 15 minutes or untill the edges turn golden brown.

Remove from oven and let cool.

For filling:

Mix the chopped strawberries with condensed milk just before you use it to fill the pie.

Method for pie:

Take the pie crust and spread the banana slices in the pie. Now fill the strawberry condensed milk mix on top of the banana slices.

Decorate using your imagination.

I used melted chocolate to decorate along with some fresh strawberries.

Enjoy.

Contest winning pie.

On saturday July 19th I won a first prize for a pie contest.

Doodh peda

Ingredients:

Paneer: 3/4 th cup

Milk: 3/4 th cup

Milk Powder: 3/4 th cup

Sugar: 1/2 cup

Elachi pwd: 1/4 tsp

Butter/Ghee: 2 tbsp

Method:

Heat the pan on medium heat, add butter and let it melt.

Next add milk, milk powder, and paneer. Keep mixing. cook mixture on medium heat stirring continuously until mixture starts leaving the sides of the frying pan and becomes very thick like dough. This is called khoya.

Let it cool off until khoya becomes just lukewarm. Mix the sugar and cardamom powder into the khoya and knead it until every thing blends together and become soft dough.

Make sure the khoya is cooled of, if you mix the sugar while khoya is hot that will make pedas soft. Divide the mix into about equal parts and roll them into round balls. Lightly press it down so it looks like small patty. Sprinkle elachi pwd on top. Yummy pedas are ready to eat.

Refrigerate the remaining pedas. These be stored in the freeze for about a month.

Enjoy.

Upma

Ingredients:

Sooji or upma rava: 1 cup

Water: 2 cups

Onion: 1/2 of a Small onion (cut into long stips)

Carrots: 1 chopped into small pieces

Tomato: 2 small chopped

Green chillies: 2 cut into long strips

Salt: to taste

For seasoning:

Oil: 4 tbsps

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal: 1 tsp

Channa dhal: 1 tsp

Ginger: 1 inch piece

Curry leaves: 4 leaves

Method:

In a pan heat oil and add all the seasonings. Once they started to pop add onions and fry untill golden brown.

Now add chopped carrots and tomatoes and fry for about 5 minutes.

Now add water and salt, cover the pan and let the water boil. Adjust salt to taste.

Once the water starts to boil remove the lid and slowly add rava to the water, keep stirring to avoid lumps and untill the mixture starts to thicken.

Remove from heat and let stand for 10 minutes.

Enjoy when it is still hot.

Vankaya Pakodi

Ingredients:

Vankayalu (small, round): 2 pounds (Sliced into long strips)

Onion Pakodi: 2 cups

Oil: for deep frying

Onion: 1 small

Chillies: 4 chopped

Salt: to taste

For seasoning:

Oil: 2 tbsps

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Urad dhal: 1 tsp

Channa dhal: 1 tsp

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves: 1 string

Garlic: 2 cloves chopped

Method:

Wash the vankayalu and dry them off with a clean cloth. Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Once the oil is hot enough for frying cut the vankayalu into long strips and put them immediately into oil or before they turn brown.

Fry untill crisp, and remove from oil and put them on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Continue untill all the vankayalu are fried and keep them aside.

In another pan take 2 tbsps of oil and heat it for seasoning.

Once the oil is hot slowly add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dhal, channa dhal, curry leaves, garlic, and turmeric and let them pop.

Once they start popping add green chillies and chopped onions and fry untill the onions are golden brown.

Now add the fried vankayalu and adjust salt to taste. Mix well .

Now take the pakodi's and make them into small pieces. Add the pakodi's to the vankayalu and mix well.

Remove from heat.

This curry goes well rice.

Enjoy.

Onion pakodi

Ingredients:

Onions: 2 big (cut into long strips)

Besan: 1 cup

Rice flour: 1/2 cup

Salt: to taste

Green chillies: 4 finely chopped

Ginger: small piece finely chopped

Water

Oil for deep frying

Method:

In a bowl take the chopped onions and add salt to them. With hand knead the onions until water comes out.

Now slowly add the remaining ingredients and mix well without lumps. Add little water if the mixture is too thick or little bit more besan if the mixture is too watery.

Heat oil for deep frying and slowly add little amounts of pakodi mixute into the oil and fry until golden brown. Remove from oil and put them on a paper towel to drain off excess oil.

Serve hot.

Enjoy.

pelala pindi (popcorn powder)

Ingredients:

Popcorn: 2 cups

Brown sugar or Jaggery: 3 tbsps

Elachi pwd: 1/2 tbsp

Method:

Pop the popcorn in the microwave and let it cool.

Grind the popcorn into smooth powder.

Add elachi pwd and brown sugar to the popcorn pwd.

If you are using jaggery grind it along with popcorn.

Enjoy.

Channa curry (dry)

Ingredients:

Channa: 1 cup

Onion: 1 small chopped

Oil: 2 tbsps

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Black pepper pwd: 1/2 tbsp

Cilantro: 1/4 cup

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp

Turmeric: 1/4 tsp

Urad dhal: 1/2 tsp

Channa dhal: 1/2 tsp

Garlic : 3 pods crushed
Method:

Soak channa overnight and pressure cook it by adding water and a little salt. Once cooked drain the water and keep aside.

In a pan heat oil and slowly add seasonings. Once the seasonings started to pop add onion and fry until golden brown.

Now add the cooked channa, red chilli pwd, black pepper pwd and fry untill the channa gets dry.

Adjust salt and garnish with cilantro.

This curry goes well with chapathis or pulaks.

Enjoy.

Instant Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

Left over Chapathi or pulka: 1

Pasta sauce: 3 tbsps

Shreaded cheese: 1/4 cup

Method:

Take a left over chapathi or pulka.

Spread the pasta or pizza sauce (or ever ketchup tastes good) on the pulka.

Sprinkle the cheese on top and microwave for about 2 minutes.

Let it cool a little bit.

Yummy pizza is ready to eat. Kids will love this a lot.

Enjoy.

Sorakaya pulusu

Ingredients:

Sorakaya : 1 small (Peel the skin and chop into 2 inch pieces.)

Onion: 1 small (chopped)

Tomato: 2 small or 1 big (chopped)

Tamarind: small ball (soak in water for about 30 minutes and take the jest)

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Sugar or jaggery: 1 tbsp

Cilantro: chopped

Seasoning:

Oil: 4 tbsps

Mustard seeds: 1 tsp

Jeera: 1 tsp

Urad dhal: 1 tsp

channa dhal: 1 tsp

Hing: a pinch

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves: 5

Garlic: 2 pods (chopped)

Method:

In a pressure cooker take the chopped sorakaya, tomato and onion pieces add a little salt and pressure cook until one long whistle. Remove from heat and wait untill the pressure is all gone.

Heat an other pan and add oil and let the oil heat on medium heat.

Once the oil is hot add all the seasoning and wait untill they started to pop.

Then add the pressure cooked sorakaya mixture, sugar, red chilli pwd and tamarind jest.

Let it cook untill the curry get thickened.

Adjust salt to taste.

Add cilantro and remove from heat.

Goes well with rice along with plain dhal.

Enjoy.

Dondakaya Kura

Ingredients:

Tindoora (Dondakayalu): 1 pound

Oil : 3 tbsps

Salt: to taste

Red chilli pwd: to taste

Seasonings:

Avalu: 1tsp (Mustard seeds)

Jeera: 1tsp

Urad dhal: 1tsp

Channa dhal: 1tsp

Curry leaves: 5

Garlic: 5 pods (chopped into small pieces)

Turmeric: 1/2 tsp

Method:

Wash the tindoora and cut the edges. Then finally chop them like thin strips or as you wish.

Take a pan and add oil to it. Once the oil is hot add the seasonings and fry them until the dhals are golden brown. Now add the chopped tindoora and fry for 5 minutes. Now add salt and red chilli pwd and fry again for about 5 minutes. Now cover the pan and let the cook untill the tindoora is tender on medium flame. Then remove the cover and fry for atleast 15 minutes or untill the tindoora is nicely fried. Adjust salt and red chilli pwd to taste.

This curry goes well with white rice.

Enjoy.

Strawberry picking in Maine

Pasta

Ingredients:

Pasta shells: 1 packet.

Pasta sauce: 1 bottle.

Mixed vegetabels: 1 cup

Salt: to taste

Green chillies: 2

Onion: 1 small

Oil: 3 tbsps

Method:

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the box.

Sauce preparation:

Take a pan, heat oil and add onions and green chillies.

Fry the onions untill golden brown and add the mixed vegetables, salt and fry untill the mixed vegetables are cooked.

Once every thing is cooked add the required amount of pasta sauce (refrigerate the remaining sauce, stays in the refrigerator for aobut a week) to the mixed vegetables and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat.

In a bowl take some pasta and add sauce. Serve hot.

I had used both spaghetti and pasta shells at the same time as kids love eating them both.

Enjoy.

strawberry halwa

Ingredients :

Strawberries: 3 cups freshly chopped

Milk: 3 cups

Sugar: 3 cups

Ghee: 1/2 cup

Strawberry milk: 11/2 cup ( take 1 cup chopped strawberries and add 1/2 cup milk, blend both the ingredients to make strawberry milk.)

Elachi : 6 pods

Elachi pwd: 1/4 tbsp

Raisins: 2 tablespoons

Sugar: 6 tablespoons

Honey: 6 tablespoons

Method:

Blend the freshly chopped strawberries with strawberry milk,6 spoons of sugar, honey, and elachi pwd into a smooth mixture.

In a heavy bottom vessel heat milk and slowly add sugar. Keep stiring the mixture untill it boils. Should take around 20 - 30 minutes. (I heated the milk in microwave added sugar and trasfered it to the stove.)

Keep in on medium heat and add the blended strawberry mixture to the milk. Keep stiring and add the elachi pods to the mixture. Remove the elachi pods after 30 minutes. (This is just to add flavor to the halwa.)

Keep stirring until the mixture gets thickened. Takes about 2 to 3 hours.

Once the mixture gets thick add the 1/2 cup ghee to the mixture and stir well for the ghee to get dissolved.

Add raisins to the halwa, mix well and remove from heat.

Pour the mixture into moulds for easy consuming. I felt difficult to cut the halwa into pieces from the pie pan, but easy to take from the moulds and eat it.

Let the halwa cool.

This strawberry halwa is really good as the halwa we get in sweet shops.

Enjoy.