Pad thai

Coming to the US and in the first month we went to Thai restaurant according to all my newly acquired pals this was very close to Chinese food and good too. So as usual playing on the safe side we ordered some fried rice and ginger chicken or something like that not very clear on the details since it has been close to 10 year now ;0

Then later I came across the ever popular Thai dish called Pad Thai which I instantly fell in love with for years it stuck to be the favourite dish to be ordered  any Thai restaurant then later I started to venture into making this one from scratch. well after a few attempts i nailed it now it is a regular at our place .

 The only catch is that u cannot make it ahead of it just make it before u plan to eat.

the recipe I followed is all thanks to an other blogger whose link is posted below .

Try u wont be disappointed

http://chezpim.com/cook/pad_thai_for_beginners

Njoy!

Rava Upma

Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day and hence the name break the fast :) usually on weekends I luv to make something heavy so we all can indulge into good food and fill up our hungry bellies for the rest of the easy and lazyy weekend ahead. I remember as a child travelling in trains the best part was eating the train canteen and station  food yummy!!!
Usually it would take us 2 days to get to our destination and the starting station would have an entirely different food selection then the ending station because both were 2 different states .The canteen food was more or less the same one dish which I truly looked forward to on the train was their upma packed in a little silver container, hot and steamy delivered by the canteen men who would come ahead of time to take your order , along with this upma we always ordered hot coffee or garma-garam tea what a great way to start your day! Eating the upma , while sipping on some hot coffee and looking outside the through the window of the train was so relaxing . I miss those long train rides , now when we go to India we reach the same destination in 2 hrs even before U can finish your breakfast and coffee it is landing time , and the view out of the window of the plane well now thats a whole different story!

And  that is why I still have that dish as my top 5 breakfast dishes to indulge in on a weekend morning!

WHAT U NEED TO MAKE THE DISH:
upma- 2 cups
shallots-1 tablespoon chopped
ginger chopped-1 inch
green chillies-2-3 chopped
curry leaves a few optional
cilantro a small bunch chopped
mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
urad dal-1 teaspoon
butter 1 tablespoon
EVOO-1 tablespoon
water-2 cups

Heat a thick bottom pan , add the oil when right temp is reached add the mustard seeds let it spurte add the urad dal toast for 1-2 mins then add chopped shallots, ginger, chillies. curry leaves, saute for 5 mins.
Add the rava and salt to this and again toast for 5 -7 mins till the rava is very slightly brown.
Then add water and let this simmer for 10 mins till all the water is absorbed into the rava.
Mix the upma well such that the rava is all separated out evenly , toss the butter in for added softness and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.
Njoy !

Beef cutlets

Beef cutlet is not a very universal Indian dish but when u go down south like specifically Kerala this dish is a perfect appetizer and a great compliment to hard drinks and otherwise too . U cannot go wrong with this absolute crowd pleaser make it and u will be hailed as a rock star even if it is just for the day ! ; P
I usually make it around Christmas or Easter time truly delectable dish believe me there won't be any left overs with this one!
what u need to make the recipe:
Beef -2 pounds
boiled potatoes-2
shallots chopped-1/2 cup
(sorry the pic shows big red onion in the backdrop cos I had used up the shallots for the cutlets!)
ginger finely chopped-1/2 inch
green chillies chopped as per taste
cilantro chopped -1 tablespoon
salt to taste
bread crumbs plain- 2 cups
oil to fry as needed
eggs -2 beaten

There are different options to make the mix but the one I follow is to boil the beef pieces with a little salt in the cooker till well done. Then use a blender to get it to a thread like consistency with out adding any water at all just the meat this texture gets it close to the authentic beef cutlets in kerala because I have tried this other ways comes out little chunky.
add the chopped shallots, chillies, ginger, cilantro, salt
and the boiled potatoes blend these all well together.
Then line up the beaten eggs first add a little salt to the eggs too, then the bread crumbs
 start making the patties of the beef mix.
Heat a pan with oil when the right temp take the patty dip the patty in the eggs , then coat with the bread crumbs next stop is the hot pan.
Turn the patties both sides till golden brown serve with tomato ketchup or shallots marinated with chillies and vinegar Njoy!

Simple Rice Pilaf

It has been long since I have posted something close to a recipe on my blog , well busy life takes a toll on you never the less my 3 and 1/2 year old blog has started to hyperventilate getting near on to its last breath and so in desperate need to revive it I decided to post, the other very valid reason is that this was my weekend off no plans ahead so just lazing on the couch like a potato I decided to put this time to good use visit my blog world and seeing all the excellent recipes & updates that my fellow blogger's were up to inspired me to get in action .

So here's is a very simple dish

Rice pulao or like the western world calls it rice pilaf , name it either ways this dish is a great combo with any gravy dish.

What u need to make this dish:

Rice -2 cups

frozen or fresh peas -1/3 cup

cub size cut up carrot -1/3cup

ghee-1 tablespoon

bay leaves-4

cardamon-4

cinnamon stick -2 inch length

whole black pepper-1 teaspoon

salt to taste

lemon juice-1 teaspoon

water -4 cups

Heat a thick pot /pan ,add the ghee which can be also substituted with oil too as per taste and preferences of the individual . Add the whole spices to the ghee toss around till a smoky aroma comes, add the carrots and peas cook for 10 mins on medium flame .

Then add the cleaned rice to this stir till the rice is pearly white at least another 5 mins .

Add hot water to this mix gently stirring usually the water should be twice the quantity of the rice .

When the rice starts boiling add the lemon juice and salt cover for 15 -20 mins till the rice is fully cooked

Serve with hot curry and Njoy this easy peasy recipe