Cooking&more

Mung bean pancake (Peserattu) Mung bean or moong dal pancakes known as cheelas in hindi or pesserattu in telugu are an easy and popular dish in India. Many varieties abound, with whole or split mung beans and with or without filling. For our Saturday dinner, I chose to make them with split mung beans because they take the minimum effort and soaking time, and because I am lazy like that and because I would rather just read a novel or watch a movie with DH on a Saturday evening than spend hours in the kitchen preparing dinner  :) To make the pancakes (makes approximately 6 pancakes of 8 inch diameter each) Take  1/4 cup of rice to 1 cup of split mung dal Soak them in enough water to cover  Along with 3 dried red chillies and a shake/pinch of asafotedia powder (also known as hing this powder is easily available in Indian grocery stores. Its totally optional but I would totally recommend it) Soak for two hours-(this is where using split mung gives me a maj

As a mom, I'm always on the lookout for healthy recipes that will pack nutrition into my fussy preschooler. so when I saw this recipe for a healthy fruits and oats muesli I just knew I had to try it. I adopted the recipe to suit my preschoolers taste and the ingredients I had on hand. The original recipe is from epicurious. Original recipe Ingredients 1 1/4 cups quick-cooking oats 2/3 cup reduced-fat (2%) milk 2/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2/3 cup fresh orange juice 1/4 cup honey 1 1/2 cups grated peeled red-skinned apples (about 2 medium) 1 cup chopped raw almonds 3 cups chopped fresh fruit (such as apples, pears, and peeled oranges) Preparation Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Let stand 5 minutes to soften oats. Whisk orange juice and honey in medium bowl. Stir in grated apples and almonds, then 3 cups chopped fruit. Stir fruit mixture into oat mixture. DO AHEAD: Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Spoon into bowls. MY recipe 1/4 cup quick coo

Coconut chutney is the usual accompanient with idlis. But, at my in-laws place i learnt this unique and tasty recipe for a chutney with roasted peanuts and pudina. It goes very well with idlis, upma or any kind of dosas. Roasted peanuts and pudina chutney 1 cup peanuts 1 bunch pudina leaves (seperated from stem) 4-5 green chillies (slit vertically in half) 1 tsp salt or to taste 1/8 tsp tamarind paste For tempering 1/4 tsp mustard seeds/rai 1/4 tsp cumin seeds/jeera 2 red chillies asefotedia Dry roast the peanuts in a kadhai. keep them aside in a plate to cool. In the meanwhile, heat about 1/2 tbsp oil in the same kadhai and saute the pudina leaves and green chillies until the leaves darken a bit. Take care that the leaves don't become too dark. They should still retain their original green color. Grind the roasted peanuts, pudina and chillies along with salt and a little tamarind paste dissolved in water. The chutney should be the consistency of a thick porridge. Finally for the t