Tag: nutritious

YOGURT DILL DIP-दही की चक्का सोई चटनी

On By lavinamehraIn Less than 10 minutes Quicker Recipes5 Comments
Gluten Free, quick and nutritious
Ingredients:
750 grams yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
2 inch frozen crushed green chilli
2 teaspoon dill weed or fresh dill
Preparation:
Put yogurt in the muslin cloth and hang it for 1-2 hours for the water to drain out.
STEPS:
Step 1. Remove yogurt block from the muslin cloth and put it in a container.
Step 2. Add salt, frozen garlic, frozen crushed green chilli and dill weed.
Step 3. Mix everything thoroughly and store in refrigerator.
Handy Tips:IMG_0450
1. You can be as creative as you want to be , replace Dill weed with other herbs like chives, rosemary, basil, mint, coriander or spices like red chilli pepper, black pepper.
2. You can also add finely chopped bell peppers, mushrooms or cucumber.

More Pondering

On By lavinamehraIn MusingsLeave a comment

It has now been over a week since I launched my blog and website. All of the last week went by in the excitement of picking up a new technology and social media skills. I thoroughly enjoyed brainstorming how best to convey all that’s on my mind. The more I think about it, the more I feel that it is quite a task to be able to connect to people through writing. I am glad I am giving it a shot, though not sure how much time it will take for me to learn this craft. This is one thing I have not done much of in my life so far.

When I ponder over some reactions from family and friends on the blog, I feel, maybe I have not fully accomplished articulating my drive behind this initiative.  It is really not the recipes that I want to share,lavina masand mehra it is through the recipes that I wish to talk about some quick cooking methods, the urge to optimize time in the kitchen, and the zeal to save energy – both fuel and human. And through all this, to make this planet more green, use energies smartly, and squeeze more time out of our busy lives for the family to create some special moments and memories. Moments that are lost do not come back – गुज़र जाते है॑ जो पल वो फिर नही॑ आते, so we must seize the opportunity to enjoy precious moments with our loved ones. And, the best thing about memories is that we make them. So we need to find time to continue to create more memories. If my blog can help you save some time in your kitchen (to start with), it will be a feat for me.

Another reflection that I would like to share at this time is that being creative with cooking is not just replacing one ingredient with an alternate one, or decorating or garnishing the dish differently each time. What it really means to me, is to be able to connect things. Some salty flavour mingled with a sweet or sour flavour, or a regular bland soup infused with a spice or herb can do the trick to tingle ones tastebuds. Creativity requires one to be bold and use ingredients from conventional recipes in an unconventional one, or experiment with something different and unique. Just like some people simply follow fashion trends and others create trends. Be the trendsetter not the follower. With confidence and creativity you will have won even before you have started.

I will continue to jot down more of my thoughts as I look at reorienting my posts and work on sharing my underlying thoughts for this initiative. I genuinely appreciate all the valuable advice and feedback some friends have offered and would love to continue receiving more.

Cocothai curry-गरीथाई करी

On By lavinamehraIn Less than 10 minutes Quicker RecipesLeave a comment


SERVES: 3-4

Why this recipe?

Gluten Free , Quicker than any quick recipe. Just 3 Steps

COOKING TIME: 6-8 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon oil
2 teaspoons of sesame seeds(white til seeds)
1 tablespoon of Thai curry paste (Red, Green or Yellow)
1 can of coconut milk or coconut cream
500 grams of mixed frozen vegetables or fresh mixed veggies

STEP 1. Put sesame seeds in heated oil. Stir for 30 seconds and add thai curry paste to it.

STEP 2. Thaw frozen veggies in microwave for 2-3 minutes or steam fresh veggies with a cover in microwave for 2-3 minutes.

STEP 3:Add coconut milk, thawed frozen vegetables and salt. Keep it on the heat for 2-3 minutes with lid covered. Let it simmer for 3-4 minutes with lid covered.

HANDY TIPS:thumb_IMG_0381_1024
1. You can add boneless chicken or any other meat to make it a non-vegetarian option.
2. This preparation can be served as a soup, a topping on grilled veggies or meats or as curry to go with rice or with roti, naan or bread.
3. Bring your creative side to play and add some flavourful herbs like lemon basil, rosemary, cilantro or dill.
4. If you do not have readymade curry paste, make a paste with ginger, green chillies and fresh curry leaves or coriander leaves for a green curry.

Coconut Veggie – Cocotom curry-तु॑गटम सब्ज़ी

On By lavinamehraIn Less than 10 minutes Quicker RecipesLeave a comment


SERVES: 3-4

Why this recipe?

Gluten Free , Quicker than a quick recipe. 

COOKING TIME: 6-8 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon oil
2 teaspoons of mustard seeds
5-10 tender curry leaves
2 medium sized chopped tomatoes
1 can of coconut milk or coconut cream
500 grams of mixed frozen or fresh vegetables
½ teaspoon of red chilli powder
1 square inch of frozen chopped green chilli
2 square inch of frozen grated ginger or 25 grams fresh ginger

STEP 1. Put mustard seeds and curry leaves in heated oil. Stir for 30 seconds to a minute.
STEP 2. Add chopped tomatoes, ginger, green chilli and red chilli powder and let it simmer for 2 minutes with lid covered.
STEP 3. Thaw frozen vegetables or steam fresh veggies in microwave in the meanwhile for 2-3 minutes
STEP 4. Add coconut milk, thawed frozen vegetables and salt. Keep it on the heat for 2-3 minutes with lid covered.

HANDY TIPS:thumb_IMG_0374_1024
1. You can add boneless chicken or any other meat to make it a non-vegetarian option.
2. This preparation can be served as a soup, a topping on grilled veggies or meats or as curry to go with rice or with roti, naan or bread.
3. Bring your creative side to play and add some flavourful herbs like lemon basil, rosemary, cilantro or dill.

Value Your Time-एक सलाह चाहो तो ले लो

On By lavinamehraIn Tips2 Comments

Try using all the stove burners at the same time. Plan the use of burners in a way that the recipe taking the longest time is put on the burner first, and other recipes follow in descending order. This will result in all your cooking finishing at the same time and you can spend the saved precious time doing something else you love to do.

That Creative Streak-कुछ अलग करने की सलाह

On By lavinamehraIn Tips1 Comment

On the day you feel creative –  Give a shot to this advice.

You can change the flavour of a regular recipe, caramelize ingredients by adding 1/2 teaspoon sugar to warm oil in the pan, once sugar melts and the drops becomes brown put in vegetables or other ingredients to cook.

Green Tip-दमदार सलाह

On By lavinamehraIn Tips2 Comments

Save Earth- do your bit!

If you do not already have a regular heavy base pan and planning to buy one, consider buying a pressure cooker instead. All pressure cookers are usually made of heavy metal base as they work on a steam system. You can use the bottom part of the cooker as a pan without the cover when you are not pressure cooking. Pressure cooker of the right shape and size can serve both purposes, pan and as well a pressure cooker. Do your bit to save this planet. You save 70% fuel energy and your time and energy by using a pressure cooker.

IMG_0168

Quick home made cottage cheese (Paneer)-घर का पनीर

On By lavinamehraIn Less than 10 minutes Quicker Recipes1 Comment

GLUTEN FREE- LOADED WITH CALCIUM -QUICK TO MAKE

COOKING TIME: 6-8 MINUTES

How am I contributing to making this earth green by following four steps or less recipe?

Save fuel energy by covering the pan all the time while milk is reaching the boiling point. This will quicken the process and save energy.

Consider using the residue water after cheese is made, you can use it in some other recipe or make dough for cookies, bread or muffins. 

You save: 10-40% of fuel energy by covering the pan and 2-3 minutes of your time

INGREDIENTS:

1 litre full cream milk
1/2 tablespoon of lemon/lime juice or vinegar

STEP 1: Pour milk into pan and bring it close to boiling point. Continue stirring the milk so that it does not stick to the bottom.

STEP 2: Add 10-12 drops of lemon juice. Milk will start to curdle as lemon juice is put in, keep the heat on until milk curdles completely and becomes watery and transparent.

STEP 3: Pour this into a muslin cloth over a sieve and either hang the cheese or press it with heavy weight for an hour for it to form shape.

HANDY TIPS:

For the cheese to get solid  you can chose to hang it for the water to drain out. This is good if you want to grate or crumble the cheese when it is ready. However if you want it in a block to cut it into square or any other shaped pieces you can put it on a cutting board pressed by another heavy flat object or a heavy cutting board.

You can add any herb or spices of your choice like dill, rosemary, cilantro, red chilli flakes, garlic or black pepper to make flavoured cheese. Be as creative as you want to be.

Chargrill without Barbecue-तन्दूरी ज़ायका बिना तन्दूर के

On By lavinamehraIn TipsLeave a comment

To get a chargrill/barbecue flavour from stove top cooking, try caramelizing the ingredients by putting 1/2 teaspoon sugar in oil as the first step and let the sugar turn to dark brown liquid. Or, add some Thai/Indian sweet and sour sauce when ingredients are getting cooked. Put the heat on high for the sauce to burn and give a barbecue/burnt flavour. This will save fuel energy used by the barbecue and some of your precious time.

Save Time for the Next Time-एक सलाह वक़्त बचाने वाली

On By lavinamehraIn Tips3 Comments


Here is a tip to get the quick cooking going and to save time on the days you are really pressed for it and yet want to make something nice and elaborate. Most sumptuous indian curries and dishes require sautéed onion and this is what takes time. So, be smart and keep some chopped sautéed onions in your refrigerator. The day you are making a recipe with onions, plan on peeling and chopping some extra onions to save them for the next time. You can also do this on a weekend or at a time when you are anyway in the kitchen cooking something else and have your hands free in between to peel the onions and drop them in a chopper. Sauté all onions together for your current recipe as well as for the next one. Save sautéed onion in small freezer bags/containers for the next time for quick use. This has been a trick that has saved me time on many occasions. For some my upcoming recipes I will be using ready sautéed onions from my fridge. It’s all about saving time, the most precious thing..efficient use of time in the kitchen this time around will save some time for the next time you are in the kitchen.

thumb_IMG_0290_1024