Carrot egg poriyal and some muffins too

I wanted to post this recipe for a long time but didnt get to it.

Its an interesting recipe from one of my friend back in seattle who got it from his Mom. It tastes so good and liked by all of us that no wonder it used to be a standard dish in his bachelor cooking every now and then and morever this was the only dish that included some vegetables other than sambhar. After moving out of seattle whenever I make this carrot and egg porial I remember those days when we used to cook together and have endless chats and share lots of funny stories.I miss seattle and many friends over there.

Ingredients:

2- 3 large carrots

2 green chillies.

1 medium onion chopped

mustard, uraddhal, curry leaves (optional)for tempering

2 eggs.

Method.

In a wide pan, add 2 tblsp of oil.

Add the tempering ingredients when the oil is hot.

To this add the chopped onion and chillies and sate till the onion becomes translucent.

Now add the grated carrots , salt and stir well.Sprinkle some water, reduce the flame to medium and allow the carrots to cook well.

After 10 mins open the lid and check if the carrots has cooked well and all the water is absorbed.Now move all the carrots to one side of the pan.

Add 2 tsp of oil on the other side and crack the eggs in it.

Allow the eggs to set for some time and then scramble them well.

After its partially ooked mix with the carrots and stir well for few minutes.

Alternately we can also scramble the eggs seperatly and add to the carrots.

This dish goes to the the "FIL - Carrots" event hosted by Sanghi of Tasty Bites.

Iam also sending some carrot muffins that baked over the weekend to the same event.The recipe of the carrot muffins is here in my previous post.

Veggie Lasagna

Veggie Lasagna
I love Italian food, especially pasta of any kind. I used to think Lasagna as this one great Italian dish which is very complicated to make . One day I came across a program by
Giade De Laurentiies in the FoodNetwork about Individual vegetable Lasagna which made me completely change my opinion about this particular recipe. I like her way of presentation, she usually narrates the process slowly and in such a way that you feel like trying it immediately , if you have all the ingredients with you. That weekend I got some lasagna pasta and all other Ingredients needed.However I tailored the recipe to suit my convenience..hey that's how new recipes are born right.
There are a few things that I changed from the original recipe

Firstly The Original recipe calls for home made sauce, but I did'nt have the patience to make the whole pasta sauce my self, So I took the store's help and bought some Prego pasta sauce.
Secondly I changed white beans to our favorite Rajma/kidney beans.
And the main change is I made the Lasagna in a whole casserole, rather than individual ..Other than that the procedure is the same.
Since this dish contains more vegetables , spinach, and beans its very wholesome and filling meal in itself. Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy this ...


Ingredients

1/2 bottle of Pasta sauce
8 strips Lasagna Pasta
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped zucchini
1 cup sliced Onions
1 cup chopped and cooked spinach
1 cup rajma soaked for 6 hrs and cooked /1 can kidney beans
1 cup shredded mozarrella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese





Method:
Preheat the Oven to 375F
Stir fry chopped onions, carrots and zucchini and keep aside

• Stir fri one cup spinach unil cooked and keep aside
• Cook Rajma in a pressure cooker and keep aside
• Cook the pasta in a deep vessel as per the cooking instructions on the packet
• Now Take a casserole dish and spread 3 tsp of pasta sauce at the bottom.
• Place the Lasagna pasta in single layer.If the pasta is too lengthy for your casserole dish, you can cut according to the size of your dish.
• Over this layer spread the stir fried vegetables.spread 3tsp of saue over the spread.
  

• Now again place a layer of pasta sheets.


• Over this layer spread the spinach and rajma beans.Spread 3 tsp of the sauce over this.




• Now place the final layer of pasta over the rajma and spinach spread.

Spread the sauce liberally over the pasta at this stage

Sprinkle the cheeses well over the Sauce.

Place the Casserole in the Oven and bake for 20 mins or until the cheeses melt and turns a little bit golden.

I had posted this recipe way back in 2006, Iam reposting it as I thought this would be an apt entry for" My Favourite things :Cheese" event hosted by Poornima at "Tasty Treats" originated at "InloveWithFood" by Bindhya.

This also goes to "FIC : My Favourite Event" hosted at "TastyCurryLeaf" for my favorite color Red.This event originated at SunshineMom

Tried and Tasted - Pears Walnut Upside Down Cake

Past weekend I was searching for a simple cake recipe, as I had invited some friends for dinner.Came across Sunita's post on "Pears Walnut Upside Down cake" .The pictures tempted me to give it a try, and morever I had all the ingredients in hand.Then what else do I need, I whipped it up in less tha 15 mins and baked for half an hour.

The result was an absoluetly delicious cake.We had it with Ice cream. Even my 18 months old toddler seemed to like it very much.

The recipe remained the same, but I added a tsp of cinnamon along with fruits and sugar, and baked it in a slighly larger pan than hers.So I got a thinner and a dark colored version of the cake. Here are the pictures.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Since I have started blogging after a long break, its quite difficult to catch up on the food events and the hustle bustle of the food blogosphere.But its very interesting to find lots of new event chains, and many new food blogs.
Checking on some of the old and favorite events first, I came across the good old Monthly Mingle event hosted by Meeta of "Whats for Lunch honey". The Theme for this months event promptly reminded me of my "Pineapple Upside Down Cake' which I made last spring, and somehow didnt get to post it.

So now is the right time for that.... here goes the recipe.



Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
6 slices pineapple or 1 can (20 ounces) can of drained pineapple chunks

Cake
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
Method:
Melt little butter in the cake pan; sprinkle with brown sugar. Arrange pineapple pieces on sugar, making a design.
Cream 1/2 cup butter; gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk; beat until smooth, ending with dry ingredients. Pour over arranged pineapple pieces.
Bake at 180°C for about 35 minutes.


Let cake cool for about 5 minutes before turning out onto a serving plate.
Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired.

Some Tulips from Keukenhoff - Amsterdam

Last weekend we made a trip to Amsterdam - The Tulip Garden of the World.It was a feast for the eyes. The garden was very beautiful and neatly arranged. I could not stop taking pictures of the flowers.

We missed the fields by a week as they were cultivated a bit early this year it seems, but we thoroughly enjoyed the huge garden.
Here are some of them for you to enjoy.

Tried and Tasted - Black/Brown Channa Masala

Iam very excited to start blogging again after a very long break. My 18 months old toddler is keeping me very busy these days that I rarely find time for blogging.But Sometimes I try to squeeze out some 'Me' time to do some browsing even if it costs me an hour of sleep or so.

Though I was not blogging, I have been cooking and baking some new and interesting recipes the pictures of which are piling up in my drafts.

But Today I made this excellent dish from Asha's post using Black channa , I wanted to post it immediately.Till Today I did not know that black/brown channa could taste this good in the channa masala recipe.As it was a long weekend here in Belgium we enjoyed a hearty brunch with this delicious channa masala and Chappati.

I used the same recipe as Asha's except that I grinded some handful of channa and added to the gravy for thickness instead of besan. I also used whole garam masala (1 inch cinnomon, 3 cloves , 1 tsp jeera) for tempering instead of garam masala powder.

Recipe :

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dry brown Chana,

1/4 Tsp turmeric,

salt,

Paste:

2 onion, chopped and sauteed in a tbsp oil, grind it with 3 garlic, 1 1/2" chopped ginger.

Liquid:1/2 cup Tomato sauce, (canned is fine too).

I blanched 2 large tomatoes , peeled and made a paste.

Spices:1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder, 1 tsp Cumin powder, 1 tsp Garam masla, 1/2 tsp or more chilli pd,1/2 tsp Dry Mango pd or Pomegranate seeds powder, (you can replace both of these tangy powders with 1 tbsp Lemon juice, add it at the end of cooking),1 tsp store bought Chana masala powder if you have it, always optional).
Garnish:Cilantro, 1 tbsp butter, fresh onion cut into rings, few Tomato slices to serve.

Method:
Soak 1 1/2 cups of dry brown Chana in water overnight and drain the water the next day.

Add 3 cups of fresh water to it along with 1/4 tsp turmeric and pressure cook until soft but not fully mashed.

Add 1 tsp salt, keep aside. Save about a cup of water out in a separate bowl.

In a pan, add a tbsp oil, saute 2 onion chopped until slightly golden.

Add this to a blender along with 3 garlic, 1 1/2" fresh chopped ginger until smooth thickish paste with little water but not too much.

Heat 2 tbsp oil, add ground onion paste and fry for 2 mins.

Add Tomato sauce/pate stir fry for 5 mins until thick and leaves the sides of the pan.

Grind a handful of cooked channa for thickening the sauce.

Now, add all the spice powders, salt and cooked Chana and the channa paste with it's water.
Simmer for 10 mins until sauce is thick, adjust the spices and add reserved chana water if needed to thin the sauce. Add 1/2 tbsp of butter, cilantro and mix well.5.

Serve garnished with cilantro, onion rings, tomato pieces .