Lapsi or broken wheat(dalia) halwa and 2 awards

Lapsi is a sweet halwa or porridge made from dalia or broken wheat or bulgar wheat or cracked wheat, known by diffent names in different region. This is very similar to semolina or suji halwa and very easy to make. Lapsi is nutritious as it is unrefined wheat, therefore high in fibre and manganese. It is a famous sweet dish of Indian state of Rajasthan. It is also very nutritous for infants who has just started eating soild. I make this for my toddlers and they love it.

Ingredients :

Dalia or broken wheat : 1 cup
Milk : 1 cup
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Solid Palm jaggery : 1/2 cup (shredded)
Cashew nuts : 1/2 cup(chopped)
rainsins : 1/4 cup (Chopped)
Cardamom or elaichi powder : 2 tsp.
Ghee : 2-3 tblsp.

Method :

• Heat the ghee in a pan,add broken wheat or dalia. Fry stirring coninuously till it's golden in colour.
• Add enough warm water to cook. Lower the flame or allow to cook. Otherwise, I cook in the pressure cooker. It cooks fast.
• When broekn wheat is done, add milk, sugar and jaggery, Stir continuously, otherwise it tends to stick to the pan. Add as per your taste. Finally add chopped cashew nuts and raisins. Mix and remove from flame.
• Lastly, after removing from heat, add cardamom powder. Serve in room temperature or cold.
• Decorate with rainsins, almonds or any kinds of nuts or dessicated coconut.

Ok, with this sweet note, I want to complete one long pending work...i.e., my new blogbuddy, Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary, has passed me 2 awards about 1 month back, one of them "Kreative blog Award", which I received earlier from other blogpals, another one is "beautiful blogger award", but It was a sheer pleasure and a great achievement to get from you, Sayantani, as you are one of the talented and creative blogger with a warm personality in the blogosphere. I am delighted to get to know you, dear.Thanks a lot for sharing with me, Dear Sayantani....

Now, I want to pass these awards to these 7 wonderful bloggers :

Deepti of Panchamrutham

Priya of Priya's Easy n Tasty recipes
Parita of Parita's World 
Indira of Krishnakolee'r Kitchen 
Sudeshna of Cook Like A Bong 
Pari of Foodelicious 
Shanthi of Shanthi Krishnakumar's Cookbook

Kids' favorite Chocolate Pancake

What is Pancake ?

A Pancake is a thin, flat, mostly round (can be made in any desired shapes & sizes) cake, prepared from a batter made of APF(all purpose flour), milk, egg and butter. The prepared batter is then cooked on a griddle or frying pan. Pancakes are named differently in different part of the World. Depending on the region, pancakes may be served at any time, with a variety of toppings or fillings including jam, fruit, syrup or meat. But basically, it's a wholesome breakfast item, loved by all ages, especially children are very fond of them. My daughter is a huge fan of Pancakes. Nowadays, readymade pancake batter are found in markets, because of its popularity. But if you want to make it at home, I'll give you the recipe today.........

Do you know What is a Pancake Day?

Pancake Day ( also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the last day before the period which Christians call Lent,
a Christian festival leading up to Easter Sunday (Easter Day). It is traditional on this day to eat pancakes. It is the one day of the year when almost everyone eats a pancake. Lent is a time of abstinence, of giving things up. So Shrove Tuesday is the last chance to indulge yourself, and to use up the foods that aren't allowed in Lent. Pancakes are eaten on this day because they contain fat, butter and eggs which were forbidden during Lent.  
In 2010 Pancake Day will be on 16 February.
So now to the Basic recipe of pancake....

Ingredients : (yields 7-8 pancakes)

All purpose flour(APF)  :  1 and 1/2 cup
Baking powder : 3 tsp.
Salt : 1 tsp.
Fine granulated sugar : 1-2 tblsp.
Milk : 1 and 1/4 cup(as needed)
Egg : 1
Butter(melted) : 3 tblsp.

Method :

• In a bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In another big bowl, whisk together egg and milk, add to flour mixture little by little, just enough to make a semi-thick creamy batter. Blend in melted butter.
  
• Heat a non-stick frying pan or a griddle, apply little butter/oil, lower the heat to medium, then pour about 1/4 cup of prepared batter. Cook until you see little dry around the edges and lightly browned on the bottom. Turn and brown the other side. Drop a little butter/oil if you see it's sticking to the pan. 
• Your pancake is ready.
  

Variations : You can add any crushed or finely chopped fruits(eg. mango, apple, banana etc.) in that batter and can enjoy different flavours of pancake.

For Chocolate pancake :

• To the basic batter, add 2 tblsp. of chocolate syrup( I used Hershey's chocolate syrup) or cocoa powder. Mix together.  

Tips : While making chocolate pancake, add less sugar in basic batter recipe, as chocolate syrup is going to add the sweetness.

• Make pancakes same way as mentioned above. Serve hot .............................

Sending my daughter's favorite breakfast dish to Arundhuti of Gourmet Affair, who is hosting an event, "Served With Love" .

And to Srivalli , who is hosting "Kids' Delight - Wholesome Breakfast"

Bread Utthapam

Bread is now so important part of our diet...without eating bread day's diet can't be complete. But always choose wholemeal bread over white bread or white flour bread. The basic difference between these two types of bread is during production of wholemeal flour the whole grain is used. This type of flour has an extraction rate of 100%, which means nothing is removed during milling. White flour is refined. The bran and nutrient-packed germ are separated from the rest of the grain losing many nutrients. The wholemeal flour contains all parts of the grain: the fibre-rich bran (outer layer), the endosperm (middle layer) and the germ (inner layer). The bran provides fibre, B vitamins, minerals, protein and other phytochemicals. The endosperm contains carbohydrates, proteins and small amounts of B vitamins. The germ is packed with minerals, B vitamins, vitamin E and other phytochemicals. The regular consumption of whole grain foods has been linked by researchers to a reduction of several diseases including heart disease and cancer, especially colon cancer.
My family likes bread than cereal or any other breakfast stuff. So I'm in a constant look for something different to serve them with bread. Few months back, I came accross one such recipe which can be served as a breakfast and also for evening snack. My daughter loved it and now every day she wants only this for her evening snack...so try it some time and let me know how your kids have liked it...........

Bread Utthapam........It's very easy to make and simply delicious bread snack recipe, which will be loved by all ages. If you don't know what a uttapam/utthapam is, it is dosa like dish made from same batter like dosa, but it's thick and not filled like dosa and different grated veges spread over it and fried.

Ingredients :

Bread ( any type of bread) : 6-8 slices ( I used Focaccia, it was just yummy)
Curd/yoghurt/Dahi : 1/2 cup
Semolina/Suji : 1/4 cup
Grated Onion : 1/2 cup
Grated Carrot : 1/2 cup
Grated Capsicum : 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Finely chopped tomatoes : 1/2 cup
Grated Ginger : 1 tblsp.
Finely chopped Green chillies : 1 tblsp.(Omit if cooking for kids)
Finely chopped Coriander leaves : 1/2 cup
Chilli powder : 2 tsp.( as per taste)
salt to taste
Butter/Margarine : as needed
Oil/ghee(clarified butter) : 2 tblsp.

Method :

• In a big bowl, take curd/yoghurt, whip it a little. Then add all the ingredients except oil and bread. 
• Spread butter or margarine in only one side of your bread. 
  
• Heat tawa or a wide pan, put butter side of the bread down, let it brown, on the top side, spread the yoghurt batter evenly in a thin layer. Once the down part is done, pick it up with a flat spatula, drop 1 tsp. of oil, flip to the other side. 
• In medium heat, let it brown. Remove from tawa. Prepare other slices same way.
  
• Serve hot with a ketchup or any sauce of your choice.

I'm sending it to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
for her event, "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread". I've the priviledge to host this event next month, so friends and foodies come to my place for the announcement and please participate and make it a success........

Also want to share my daughter's recent favorite snack with Srivalli of Spice your Life, who is celebrating her first blog anniversary with the theme, "Kids Delight"

Spicy Potato & Scrambled Egg Sandwich

Friends, I have a good news to share with you...Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong, who is a famous bengali blogger, has loads of authentic bengali recipes in her new site. She is doing so much more than just blogging. Recently, she surveyed the web and enlisted Top 7 Bengali food blogger and Friends, I am in her list. I still can't believe this. This recognision just after 1 and 1/2 years of blogging, I am just delighted and so much thankful to Sudeshna and Kalyan. Thanks a lot, you both. She is going to publish the our interview, too in her site soon.
For this joyous occassion, I 'll share our family's favorite breakfast sandwich recipe which I make quite often ... its very filling and you can pack this sandwich for your and kid's lunch-box, too. It's a very healthy evening snack option for kids.

Ingredients :

Bread : any bread of your choice
Butter or margarine
For filling ::
Potato(medium) : 2(boiled and mashed)
Egg : 2
Onion(medium) : 1
Green chilli : 2(chopped)
Tomato(small) : 1(chopped)
Fresh coriander leaves : a handful(finely chopped)
Turmeric Powder : 1 tsp.
Red chilli powder : 1 tsp.
Chaat masala : 2 tsp. or Lemon juice : 1 tsp.
Oil : 1 tblsp.
Salt to taste
Black Pepper powder to taste
Lettuce leaves, Cucumber, Onion and tomato slices(few)

Method :

• Boil the potatoes and mash them finely with a pinch of salt. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, fry onion and green chilli till onion turns brown, add chopped tomatoes. Wait till tomatoes softens.
  
• In a bowl, beat 2 eggs vigorously to mix egg white and yellow. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to the egg and add in the pan and mix well with onion and tomato.
  
  
  
  Vegetarians skip the above step and follow rest of the steps for spicy potato sandwich
  
  • Stir and break the fried egg into small pieces, just like you make scrambled egg, keep the eggs soft, not too much fried. So do it in medium low flame. Now add the mashed potato in it. Add turmeric, red chilli powder, chaat masala or lemon juice and coriander leaves. Season with salt and keep stirring until everything is well mixed. It should be a dry mixture. Remove from heat, your filling for sandwich is ready.
  
  

• Now toast bread slices, put some butter or margarine. On down piece of bread, place few lettuce leaves, spread some of the filling on that, place 2 slices of cucumber, onion and tomatoes each, sprinkle some black pepper powder on that and finally place your top bread slice.
• Your sandwich is ready. Give a big bite.........yummmmmmmmm
  

Alternatively, You can skip the potato and make a scrambled egg sandwich too in this way.....

Sending this to Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes for her event "Sunday Snacks : snacks with bread" 

Classic Mac n Cheese w/vegetables(stove top version)

SAY CHEEEEEEEEEEESE TO THE HEALTH OF IT!!
Cheese's high nutritional value and its beneficial roles in health make this food an important dairy food to include in a healthful diet. Cheese contains a high concentration of essential nutrients, in particular high quality protein and calcium, as well as other nutrients such as phosphorus, zinc, vitamin A, riboflavin, and vitamin B12.
In addition to its nutritional contribution to the diet, cheese has several health attributes. Certain cheeses such as Cheddar, Swiss, blue, Monterey Jack, and process American cheese, among others, have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of dental caries. Consuming cheese may stimulate the flow of saliva, which has caries reducing properties. Milk proteins in cheese have been demonstrated to neutralize plaque acids through their buffering capacity.To help reduce tooth decay, health professionals recommend eating cheese immediately after meals, or as a between-meal snack. other health benfits includes improving bone health, reducing high blood pressure and managing weight.
Many cheeses, particularly aged cheeses such as Cheddar and Swiss, contain little or no lactose. For this reason, cheese is an important source of calcium and many other nutrients found in milk for lactose intolerant peoples. (facts source: National dairy council of America)
So give your family their daily servings of cheese. As cheese is also high in sodium and saturated fat, consume low fat cheese and always low sodium content cheese. AND Moderation is the Key.....you can enjoy everything but in moderate quantity.
I'll share with you a good way to serve kids Cheese....Kids' favorite Classic
Macaroni & Cheese or Mac' N Cheese with vegetable(stove top version-no eggs)
(the touch-up of garlic, hot sauce and mustard take this supreme comfort food into another level)


Ingredients :
Elbow Macaroni : 1 pack
Carrot : 2(cubed)
Corn : 1/2 cup
Flour : 2 tblsp.
Milk : 2/3 cup
Cheddar cheese(I used white cheddar) : 1 cup(shredded)
Butter : 2 tblsp.
Garlic : 4 pods(chopped finely)
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Hot sauce like Tabasco: 2 tsp. (as per taste)
Dijon Mustard : 1 tblsp. (optional)

Method :

• In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni or any kind of swirly pasta until done, not mushy but little softer than we do for other pasta dishes. Drain and keep aside.
  
• In a large pan, melt butter, add cubed carrots, fry until done, add corn, fry adding little salt. Keep aside. In the same pan, add chopped garlic, stir fry for a minute or two, then add flour, mix in the butter. Then pour the milk over. Let it cook for 2 minutes.
• Then add shredded cheese and combine with the milk. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes until sauce thickened. Now add drained pasta and cooked vegetables. Combine with the sauce. Add hot sauce according to your tolerance(if cooking for kids, omit hot sauce), mustard, salt and pepper according to your taste.
  

This nutritious creamy dish can make any kid
(even adults) happy with no failure. So sending this to CFK:Healthy Lunch-boxes, where Neha of Tasty Recipes is the host for this month, event started by Sharmi of Neivedyam

Garlic Flavoured Hot Dog Pasta & Asking for visitor's tips - What Do You Pack In Your child's Lunchbox?

To pack, small children's school lunchbox is a daily challenge for every mom. To pack a lunchbox, which is healthy and eye-catchy for them and which they will like and eat in your absense. Over that, their taste buds change very frequently. One thing they won't like for long time. So, I am asking tips or recipes from my visitor's and fellow bloggers...What Do You Pack In Your child's Lunchbox?
You can write your tips in comments section of this post or you can mail me at indranidh(at)gmail(dot)com, put lunchbox in the subject line. Don't forget to write your name & blog name.

Write me within Dec.27,2008 and I will publish them for everyone.

I want to share one of my daughter's favorite Pasta recipe.........

Garlic Flavoured Hot Dog Pasta


Ingredients :
Pasta : 1/2 pack of any kind
Vegetables : Carrot, green bean, green & red pepper, corn, green peas
you can add any vegetables of your choice(cut in small pieces)
Onion : 1 (small)
Garlic : 4-5 pods(blanched)
Tomato sauce : 2-3 tblsp.
Chilli sauce : 1-2 tblsp. (optional)
Black Pepper : 1 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tblsp.

Method :

• Cook pasta in a pan with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt until done. Drain and keep aside.
• Hot-dogs are always cooked before packaging. But hot-dogs and their packaging fluid are sometimes contaminated. So I always wash and put them in boiled water for 5 minutes. Then deep-fry hot-dogs in oil until it gets brown from all sides. Cut in small round pieces and keep aside.
• In a pan, pour oil, fry all the vegetables until done and keep aside. In the same oil, fry onions for some time, then add blanched garlic and stir fry for 2 mintes.
  
• Then add tomato sauce and chilli sauce, if you child can't tolerate chilli sauce, avoid it. Mix finely, then add cooked pasta, vegetables and hot-dogs. Give it a good stir, add salt and black pepper. Mix everything together and you are done.
  

Chirer Pulao (Poha/flaked rice pulao)

If you ask me, what a typical bengali breakfast or jal khabar(in bengali) is, then there are a lot. Nowadays, when both the couple are busy getting ready for work, then in breakfast menu there will be french toast, egg omelette or milk and cereal and off course a cup tea. But on holidays, almost every household there will be an elaborate prepeartion for breakfast. I can list a few favourite, bengalis love to munch on like, Luchi-aloor dom, paratha-tarkari, kochuri(dal-stuffed puri)-tarkari, singara-jilevi with muri (puffed rice), pakora-muri or even chirer pulao.
Today I would love to share one of the easiest and delicious breakfast recipe that is loved in my household, even the kids love it...i.e. Chirer Pulao


Ingredients :
Chire/Poha(flaked rice) : 100 gm.
Potato : 1 or 2 (medium)
Green peas : 1/2 cup (optional)
Onion : 1 (medium) (sliced)
Green chilli : 2 (blanched)
Ginger : 1" (blanched finely)
Turmeric : 1/2 tsp.
Sugar : 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste
Oil : 3 tbsp.
Poppy seeds : 1 tbsp.
Grondnuts/raw peanut : 25 gms.
coriander leaves for farnishing

How I make it :

• Wash the poha and drain all the water from it. There shouldn't be any water. Keep it aside.
  
• Fry raw peanuts in oil and set aside.
  
• Cut potatoes in small pieces and fry in oil until done. Set them aside. In the same oil, add poppy seeds and when it turns brown and the aroma comes out, add the onions. Fry them until brown, add ginger and green chillies. Stir for few more minutes. You can increase or decrease the chillies according to your taste.
  
• Now add potatoes and chire/poha to the onion and mix them finely. Add the fried peanuts, turmeric, sugar and season with salt. Give it a good stir for about 2 to 3 minutes.
  
• Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve hot. This dish won't taste good when cold.
  

Note : You can add more vegetables like, carrot, cauliflower, green beans to this dish.