Renus Kitchen

This was my first year in blogging world and I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey.....hope to have a rocking 2010 in blogosphere.   I wish a very Happy and a Prosperous 2010 to all my readers and their families!!!   Top 12 Searches on Renus Kitchen in 2009 !!!  . [Click each picture to find the recipe] Eggless Carrot Cake Eggless Oatmeal-Walnut Cookies Baked Shakarpara Lobia Curry [black-eyed peas] Jalebi [Indian Muffle Cake] Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Zebra Cake Bell Pepper & Potato Fry Potato-Moong Vadi Curry Baked Methi Muthia Chocolate Cake Urad Daal Laddu Sending this to Srivalli's  " Best of 2009 " event

This is my second attempt with Lasgna and each time its getting better. This recipe was passed by a friend, made a teeny tiny change and here it is for you to savor :) Ingredients: No boil Lasagna noodles Tomato-basil [aka. Marinara] Sauce - 1 bottle [store bought or home-cooked ] Italian herbs, oregano herbs, basil herbs - fresh or dried Parmesan cheese Zucchini, carrots, broccoli - 1-1.5 cups, chopped Ricotta cheese - 5-6 tbsp Spinach - fresh or frozen - 1/2 cup[frozen] or 1 cup [fresh] Salt and Pepper Sugar - optional Method: Adjusted the taste and consistency of store bought marinara sauce by adding more salt, sugar, dried herbs and water. Warm the sauce to blend the contents and keep it aside . Thaw frozen spinach in a microwave or just run it under water. Squeeze excess water and mix with ricotta cheese. Add salt, pepper and some dried herbs and let it it sit. Arranging the lasagna: Take the baking dish [mine is 8'x8'], pour 2-3 scoops of marinara sauce. Place the 2 uncoo...

Paav Bhaji is a very popular western Indian street food where 'Paav' means bread and 'Bhaji' means vegetables. Ingredients Potatoes - 3 medium Tomatoes - 3 medium, ripe Onions - 2 medium Carrots - 2 medium Green beans - 1 cup Bell pepper - 1/2 cup, chopped Cabbage - 1 cup, grated Ginger - 1 inch Lime jiuce Green chillies - optional Paav bhaji masala, preferably MDH brand - at least 3 tbsp * Turmeric powder- 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp Butter[un-salted] - 2-4 tbsp ** Method: Boil and grate potatoes. Steam chopped carrots and beans. Chop bell peppers, green chillies, ginger, onions and tomatoes. Heat oil [preferably butter], add cumin seeds and let it crackle. Now add chopped ginger, green chillies followed by onions and saute'.Throw in steamed carrots, beans followed by cabbage and bell pepper. Cook the vegetables till they are tender. Add pav bhaji masala,turmeric powder, salt,tomatoes and cook well. Add water to get desired ...

Persimmons are generally light yellow-orange to dark red-orange in color, and depending on the species, They are high in glucose, with a balanced protein profile, and possess various medicinal and chemical uses. When eaten fresh, the skin is usually cut/peeled off and the fruit is often cut into quarters or eaten whole like an apple. How to choose Persimmons: Choose persimmons with deep red undertones and are round, plump, have glossy and smooth skin. Choose ripe persimmons if you want to eat immediately. Store them in the refrigerator when ripe. Firm and raw persimmons can be ripen at room temperature in a paper bag with an apple or banana. Ingredients: *Whole wheat bleached flour - 1 cup Persimmon fruit- 2 in number and chopped Curd - 1/4 cup Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder- 1tsp Cinnamon powder - 1tsp Salt -1/4 tsp **Egg white - 1 Vanilla essence - 1tsp Lime juice -1/2 tsp Milk 1tbsp Vegetable oil - 1/4 cup Sugar - 2/3 cup Brown suga...

Quinoa [Keen-Wah] , native to South America is a highly nutritious food. It has well-balanced content of amino acids required for human nutrition. When compared with other grains, it has superior quality and quantity of proteins. Health Benefits of Quinoa Help for Migraine Headaches - Magnesium and riboflavin help to reduce frequency of strokes Cardiovascular Health - Magnesium relaxes blood vessels Significant Cardiovascular Benefits for Postmenopausal Women - 6 servings of quinoa is good for postmenopausal women with high cholesterol, high blood pressure or other signs of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Read more here Ingredients: Quinoa, well-rinsed under cold water - 1/4 cup Carrot, grated - 1 medium Beans, steamed and cut - 1/4 cup Green onions, chopped - 2 Green Chillies, chopped - 1 Ginger, chopped - 1 inch Boiled potato, cubed-2.5 cups b Ground cumin, roasted - 1 tbsp Amchoor [Dry mango powder - 1/2 tsp Cooking oil Burger buns Salt To go on side:...

Finally I baked eggless oatmeal cookies...its been on my list for very long time, for some reason kept pushing. While searching for the recipe today I came across Chef in you , I liked the idea of roasting oatmeal and walnuts and grinding them to fine powder. The author has used maple syrup and rice syrup in the recipe. In order to replace these ingredients , I used Madhurams idea of adding sugar and honey. End result, my cookies turned out just great!!!! Ingredient: Oatmeal [quick cooking] - 1/2 Cup Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup Walnuts - 1/2 cup Vegetable oil [Canola] - 2 tbsp Honey - 2 tbsp Brown or white Sugar - 2 tbsp Raisins - 1/2 cup Cinnamon powder - 1tsp Vanilla extract - 1tsp Salt - a pinch Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Method: Soak raisins in water and keep it aside. Combine walnuts and oats and dry roast in a pan until it turns little brown and emits aroma. Cool and grind in a blender to make powder. Add salt, baking soda and cinnamon powder In a separate bo...

Indian version of a Tofu dish.....I don't like the raw smell of tofu, therefore I like to sauté tofu before dumping them in tomato gravy. It really takes the "beany" smell.... This dish cooks very quickly and is one of my Saturday meals when I am not in mood of cooking something elaborate, yet healthy :) Ingredients Tofu- extra firm - 1 small packet 1 onion [chopped] - chopped 1 tomato - chopped Corriander powder - 1.5 tsp Garam masala - 1tsp Zeera powder - 1tsp Kashmiri mirch -1tsp Cumin and mustard seeds - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Cooking oil[canola oil] - 2 tbsp Method: Cut open tofu packet, drain water and cut tofu in 1 inch long small pieces Heat 1tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and saute tofy pieces and keep aside In another or same pan , heat 2 tbsp oil, add cumin and mustard seeds and let it crackle sauté onions till they are pinkish and glazed with oil. Add chopped tomatoes and all the dry powders. Sauté well till the powders and tomato gets cooke...

Couscous is staple grain of North Africa same way as we have rice. It also resembles polenta or farina. Couscous is often considered Moroccan, however it is home to most North African countries. This is a great light complete meal. When I have nothing in my pantry or not in mood to cook something elaborate, yet healthy I cook up this one! It prepared the same way as suji (rava, semolina) upma. A properly cooked couscous should be fluffy and not slimy. Read more about Couscous here Ingredients Whole wheat CousCous - 1 cup Water - 1 cup Onion - 1 medium - Sliced Green chillies - to taste Curry Leaves - 5-7 Roasted peanuts - 2 tbsp Turmeric - 1/4 tsp Corriander powder - 1/4 tsp Cumin [zeera] seeds - 1/4 tsp Mustard [Rye] seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt- to taste Lime juice - to taste Any Vegetable Oil - 1.5 Tbsp Method: Boil water , add couscous and few drops of oil and cook for 5 minutes . Fluff with the fork and keep it aside. In a frying pan heat oil, add zeera and rye...

Did you know that beets have amazing blood cleansing properties!!! Beetroot is a good source of folic acid, iodine, organic sodium, potassium, chlorine and digestive forms of sugars. The iron content is of fine quality, which makes it ideal for blood production. Health Benefits: [ Read more here ] Fights Acidosis A great blood builder Excellent solvent for calcium deposits in arteries Normalizes blood pressure Relieves constipation Beet juice when mixed with vinegar makes a good anti-dandruff solution The chlorine detoxifies the liver When mixed with honey, heals gastric ulcer Beet juice and carrot juice together cures gall and kidney problems Prevents varicose nerves by maintaining elasticity of arteries Enjoy Beetroot [Chukandar] Halwa !! Ingredients: Beetroot [Chukandar in Hindi] - 2 medium Milk - 2 Cups Sugar - 1 tbsp Clarified butter [Ghee] - 1 tsp Choicest Nuts and berries - handful Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Grated coconut - optional Method: Grate an...

This is my second egg-less cake and again the result is awesome!!! It came out very moist and had beautiful texture. Again I replaced the eggs with yogurt and looks like its working for me. This is a very flavorful cake especially the spices add inviting flavor to it. The carrots provide nice color. Try it for your self, you will love it ! Ingredients: *Whole wheat bleached flour - 1 cup Carrots - 2 Indian curd (thick) or Yogurt - 1/2 cup Canola oil - 1/2 cup Brown sugar - 2/3 cup Nutmeg powder- 1tsp Cinnamon powder - 1tsp Vanilla essence - 1tsp Milk 1tbsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp Salt -1/4 tsp Raisins - handful Walnuts, chopped - handful Method Pre- heat the oven at 360 degree Fahrenheit and grease the baking pan and keep it aside Combine all the dry ingredients [except sugar] and sieve it through at least 2 times Blend oil, thick yogurt , sugar and vanilla with a beater for 1 minute at medium speed Next fold in the dry ingredients...

I found this recipe at sanjeevkapoor.com . I followed pretty much what he did except replaced 1/2 cup of clarified butter[ghee] with 1 tbsp ghee and 1/4 cup of canola oil . Also used whole wheat bleached flour instead a mix of regular wheat flour and all purpose flour [maida]. My Shakarparas came out very good, almost melts in the mouth. Its really a guilt free snack, enjoy .... Ingredients: Bleached whole flour * - 1 cup Canola oil - 1/4 cup Clarified butter [ghee]- 1tbsp Powdered Sugar ** - 4 tbsp Baking powder- 1/2 tsp Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Crushed fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp Method: Mix all the ingredients and make a soft dough using cold water. Cover the dough and leave it to set for 30 minutes. Pinch the dough into five balls and roll each ball one at a time into 0.5 cm thick chapati like sheet [use flour dust to ease the rolling process] Using knife or pizza cutter cut the sheet into the form of diamond and place it over greased baking tray. Repeat the sam...

For the past few weeks my little one had been on hunger strike, refusing to eat anything offered. I really didn't know what to do, then my mum suggested to try soups and it worked like a wonder......my LO is back to eating business :) This soup is very nutritionally rich. It provides lycopene from tomato and beta carotene from carrots, both necessary for proper eye-sight development and immunity. Garlic and onions help improve blood lipid profiles and broccoli offers folic acid , minerals and vitamins. Recipe For Toddlers [12 months onwards] Ingredients Carrots - 2 medium size Tomato - 1 medium Onions - 1/2 medium Garlic - 1 clove Broccoli - handful[optional] Bay leaf - 2 Salt - according to taste Sugar - a pinch Olive oil/ Clarified butter - 1.5 tsp Water - enough to get desired consistency Method: Make tomato purée by blanching in a microwave for 5-8 minutes [make sure to remove all the seeds by passing the tomato pulp through sieve] Heat oil/butter add bay...

Semolina or Cream of White [Sooji/Suji/ Rava] and Almond pudding is a good combination of carbohydrates and proteins. This can be a healthy snack/dessert for infants and toddlers, provided sugar is added to minimum. This kheer is equally liked by adults and is prepared the same way with little variation. For Infants and Toddlers [12-36 months] Ingredients: Semolina [Rava or Sooji] - 3 tbsp Whole Milk - 2 cups Sugar - just enough to make it little sweet Raw Almond - 8 Clarified Butter [Ghee] - 1tsp Method: Soak almonds overnight or blanch them in boiling water. Remove the skin and make a smooth paste with milk in a regular mixer. Add more milk to finely grind the almond and keep the paste aside Heat ghee in thick bottomed pan and roast semolina till it starts releasing aroma Slowly add milk and almond paste and cook till semolina softens and reaches the desired consistency [ keep stirring to to break lumps if any ] Add sugar and its ready to serve warm or cold ! ...

HA P PY DI W AL I ! !! ! This year for Diwali I made diyas [Diwali lights] at home!! They came out pretty nice ! I prepared it very simple but you can get creative by painting, glue small mirrors , beads and other stuff. Here is how I prepared: Ingredients: Whole wheat flour Water-just enough to prepare the dough Food color - yellow [optional] Method: Pre-heat oven at 200 degree Fahrenheit. Line the baking tray/dish with un-greased foil Combine flour, water and color in a bowl to prepare little stiff dough Pinch out small balls from the dough and shape it into diyas Bake it in the oven for 20 minutes [during the process I gradually increased the baking temperature to 300] Cool diyas at room temperature The diyas should feel little hard, if not just leave it in the sun Roll out some cotton wool to make wick, add some oil and light your Diya !!! Tips: While preparing the dough you can add some fresh petals to add beautiful pattern During baking, one of my...

It is a tasty snack goes well with hot tea on a rainy day. I also like to eat it with plain rice and simple tadka daal Ingredients Broccoli - 1 c of florets Besan [Gram flour] -1.5 cup Turmeric - 1/2 tsp Salt - according to tatse Asfotedia - 2 dashes Red chilie powder - 1/4 tsp Corriander powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin [Zeera ]seeds - 1/2 tsp Water - as needed Canola Oil 2 cups Method: Wash the broccoli florets and slightly trim the stem Mix gram flour and spices together and little by little add water until you get pancake- batter like consistency [maybe little thicker than that] Heat enough oil in a wok [kadai] on a medium flame Dip each broccoli floret in the batter making sure it is coated from all sides and drop in hot oil. Fry them in small batches till they turn golden in color. Drain on paper towels and they are ready to serve !! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My Entry for High Tea Treats hosted by Aparna and started by Meeta ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...

This is a very healthy quick home-made energy bar. I pack these in my bag when I know I will be out of the house for long time. I made this for the first time, and quite happy with the results. My DH thinks it tastes like a pumpkin pie :) however, there is no pumpkin in the ingredient .... Ingredients: All purpose flour [Maida]- 1/2 cup Wheat flour - 1/2 cup Steel cut quick oats - 1 cup Brown sugar - 1/2 cup Honey - 1/2 cup Vegetable oil - between 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup Baking soda - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp * Dates - 1 cup Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp Method: First prepare date syrup: Boil around 1.5 cups of water and add chopped dates and cook for 10 minutes Cool to room temperature and add vanilla essence and keep it aside Pre-heat oven at 350 degree Fahrenheit and line the 8 inch x 8 inch baking pan with greased foil Combine all the ingredient except the date syrup with fingers Press half of the oat mixture evenly over the bottom of the pa...

Urad Daal Laddu is a very popular sweet dish of Andhra Pradesh . I made this for the first time, came out quite good. It has a very different flavor which makes it unique. It also has high nutritional value, therefore good for kids! I am going to make this again for Diwali. This is my ds's second Diwali and am sure this time he would like to try this one ! Read more about Urad daal [White Lentil] here Ingredients Dhuli Urad Daal [black skin removed]- 1 cup Jaggery - 1 cup or less [powdered] Ghee [Clarified butter oil] - 3-4 tbsp or more Nuts and Raisins - handful Method: Dry roast urad daal in a heavy bottomed skillet till its golden brown and starts emitting pleasant aroma. Cool and grind it into fine powder [sand like consistency] Fry nuts and raisins in 1tsp of ghee and keep it aside Combine urad daal powder, jaggery, nuts and rub in warm ghee. Mix the mixture well with hands or spoon and start making golf sized balls. Add more ghee if necessary. Store them i...

Black-eyed beans are also called black-eyed peas and Lobia in Hindi . It originally belongs to Africa. They are rich in soluble fiber, which helps to eliminate cholesterol from the body. They are also high in potassium and low in sodium, therefore help in reduce blood pressure. They are also good source of folate, copper, phosphorous and manganese. Ingredients Black eyed beans [Lobia] - 1.5 cup Onion - 1 large Tomato - 1.5 medium Ginger-garlic paste - 1tsp [optional] Green chillies - 1 large [optional] Cumin seeds - 1tsp Asafoetida [hing]- 2 dashes Dry Spices Powder Turmeric powder - 1.5 tsp Corriander powder [dhania]- 1.5 tsp MDH Garam Masala - 1 tsp MDH Kitchen King Masala - 1 tsp MDH Kashmiri Mirch - 1tsp Salt Canola oil - 3 tbsp For garnishing Few sprigs of cilantro Lime juice [optional] Method: Soak the beans overnight and pressure cook with 3 cups of water, maybe 2-3 whistles. Release the pressure and keep the boiled beans aside [ keep in mind that you don't want to over coo...

Thank you Sangi of Simply Delicious for passing this Fabulous Blog Award...My blog is fabulous because my readers are Fabulous ! I want to pass this award to Yasmeen of Health Nut , Dipti of DipsKitchen , Priti of Indian Khana ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to thank Sanghi of Sanghi's Food Delight for passing me Gold Friend Award!!!! I congratulate you for reaching 100th post !!!! wish you good luck and may you keep posting wonderful recipes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I have been TAGGED :) Dipti of Dipskitchen has tagged me with the following questions.....Thank you Dipti for remembering me :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~