Cake Pudding

Today I'll show one of the quickest and easiest deserts to make. It is called "Cake Pudding"



Most of the times, I dont feel like eating left over birthday cake as there is no frosting left. So, i tried making a simple desert which gives a very different look and taste to our normal cake.



1. Jell-O pudding - vanial flavor - 1 pack (you can buy these in walmart at a cheaper price)

2. Jell-O Pudding - chocolate flavor - 1 pack

3. Cake - one small piece, broken into small pieces

4. Strawberries - 3

5. Whip Cream - 1 scoop



Note: You can bake the cake using the cake mix that you get at any groceries and try this recipe. You need not wait until a birthday party :-0)



Tip: Replace eggs with a cup of yogurt in the cake mix, if you want a eggless cake. All the remaining procedure is same.



Take two separate bowls, make vanilla pudding and chocolate pudding separately as per the instructions on the carton.



Take a glass as shown in the picture, put the chocolate pudding as the first layer, now second layer will be cake pieces, third layer is vanilla pudding. Now cut strawberries into two halves and place them as the forth layer. On top of it scoop the whip cream.



Put it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes and serve.



Deliciousssssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Enjoy.

Masala Dosa with Chutney

Best breakfast you can ever have, ofcourse you will be thirsty for atleast 5 hours after eating it:-)

Ingredients:

1. Urad dal/Minappappu - 1 cup

2. Rice - 2 cups

3. Green Chillies - 2

4. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

5. Salt - 1/4 teaspoon or according to your taste

6. Ginger - 1/2 teapoon of small pieces

7. Oil

Preparation:

Dosa prep begins one day before your breakfast day. Soak urad dal and rice early in the morning (this is one day before your dosa eating plans). In the evening, grind urad dal and rice to a smooth paste. Make sure it has a batter like consistency, don't add too much of water. Grind cumin seeds, salt, ginger, green chillies into a coarse mixture. Add this mixture to the dosa batter and let it sit overnight.

Next day morning, when you are ready for the dosa, heat the pan and pour 1/2 cup of batter on the pan, spread it and add oil to the edges of the dosa. Fry it for 1/2 minute or until it is golden brown, turn it and again fry it for 1/2 minute. Now fill it with masala or stuffing (Preparation shown in next step) and fold it into half like a semi circle and serve it hot with Chutney.

That's it, you first part of dosa is ready.

Masala or Stuffing for Dosa:

Ingredients:

1. Potato - 1 big, boiled and cut into small cubes

2. Onion - 1/2 cut into small pieces

3. Green chillies - 8-10 cut into half

4. Cumin seeds and mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

6. Green peas (frozen) - 2 tabelspoons

7. oil - 1 tablespoon

8. Salt - as per your taste

Preparation

Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Wait until they sputter and then add onions and fry until golden brown. Now add turmeric powder and green chillies and fry for 2 minutes. Add boiled potato cubes and green peas and salt and mix well with a spatula, so that all the ingredients are mixed well. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce t0 low heat and let it cook for 10 minutes. Stuffing is ready.

Chutney:

Ingredients:

1. Peanuts - 1 cup (roasted, unsalted, available at Walmart)

2. Green Chillies - 10 - 12

3. Tamarind paste - 1/2 tablespoon (store bought, available in Indian stores)

4. Salt - as per your taste

5. Water - 1 cup

Heat a pan and put the green chillies and fry until the green chillies loose their rawness and start forming a white color on their skin. (Easier way to do this instead of using a stove, take a microwave safe plate, put the green chillies in it and pop them in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.... easy) Now, add all the ingredients including the green chillies in a mixer and make a smooth paste. Chutney is ready.

Enjoy, your masala dosa with chutney.... and dont forget to thank me once you make this yummy breakfast ;-)

Pav Bhaji

Today, I spoke to one of my best friends in India and guess where she was??? The famous "Gokul Chat" in Koti.

That's it, at that very moment all the memories of India flashed in front of my eyes. And especially the tasty and savoury chat we used to eat at Gokul.

Hmm, can't get those days back now but I've decided to revive atleast few memories and the first step towards this was to eat "Pav Bhaji". This is one of my favourite snacks. I can eat it any time and anywhere, even if my stomach is full.

So, let's see the way to prepare it.

Ingredients:

1. Potato - 1 big, boiled and cut into small pieces

2. Tomato (canned and diced) - 1/2 cup

3. Butter - 4 tablespoons

4. onions - 1, cut into small pieces

5. Green Peas (frozen) - 1/2 cup

6. Chilli powder - 1/2 tablespoon or according to your taste

7. Salt - according to your taste

8. Chaat masala (store bought) - 1/2 tablespoon

9. Pav Bhaji Masala (store bought) - 1 tablespoon

10. Bread - 2 slices

Preparation:

Heat butter in a pan, add onions and fry until they are golden brown. Add tomato and mix well and let it sit on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Once the butter starts oozing on top, add chilli powder, salt and green peas and mix well. Now let it simmer on medium heat for 5 minutes and use a spatula to mix occaisonally in order to stop it from burning.

Add boiled potato cubes and mix well so that masala is well coated on the cubes and now add chaat masala, pav bhaji masala and let it simmer on medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Now, take a potato masher or a spatula and mash the potato cubes in the pan itself until the cubes become a paste like consistency.

Now, mix everything well with the spatula and cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on low heat for atleast 3-4 minutes.

Add onion and coriander leaves for garnish if needed.

And for the bread, take two slices and toast it in the toaster or on the frying pan and then add a little bit of butter on both sides.

That's it. Pav Bhaji is ready.... Let's dig in. Can't wait to eat.

Sambhar

Aahhh!!! This is my favourite. I can eat alot of rice just with Sambhar.

Ofcourse this is one of the reasons why I'm putting on a lot of weight ;-)))

Ingredients:

1. Toor dal / Kandhi Pappu / Yello pigeon peas / Lentil - 1 cup

2. oil - 1 tablespoon

3. Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

4. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

5. Drumsticks - 4 pieces (frozen, store bought)(available in Indian Groceries)

6. Tamarind - 1 pod soaked in 1 cup of water

7. carrots - 1 cut into bite size chunks

8. salt - as per your taste

9. chilli powder - 1 tablespoon

10. Sambhar Powder - 1/2 tablespoon (store bought, available in Indian Groceries)

11. Water - 5 cups

12. Onion - 1 cut into 4 big chunks

13. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Preparation:

Wash and pressure cook Toor dal for 3 whistles and then mashed to make a paste like consistency.

Take another pan, pour oil and let it heat. Now add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and wait until they sputter. Add onion chunks and turmeric powder and mix well. Fry the onions until they turn golden brown. Add drumstick pieces and carrots and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Now add the tamarind water, salt, chilli powder, sambhar powder, water and let it boil.

After 7-8 minutes of boiling, add the cooked dal. Mix well. Let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Your sambhar is ready.

Server it with Rice. Enjoy!!!!!!!

Tomato - Spring Onion curry

Tomato - Spring Onion curry is one of the easiest and tastiest curries I've ever made.

So, let's start this easy, tasty curry........

Ingredients:

1. Tomato - 4 medium size, cut into small pieces

2. Spring Onion - one bunch (available at Walmart) (picture attached for reference)

3. oil - 1 tablespoon

4. Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

5. Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

6. Chanda dal - 1/2 tea spoon

7. Urad dal - 1/2 tea spoon

8. turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

9. salt - as per your taste

10. chilli powder - 1 tablespoon or as per your taste

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a pan, add mustad seeds, cumin seeds, chana dal and urad dal and wait until they sputter. Now add spring onions cut into small pieces and turmeric powder, fry onions for 2 minutes. Then add tomatoes and mix well. Place the lid on the pan for 5 minutes and then add salt and chilli powder. Mix well and place the lid back on the pan. Simmer the curry for 15 minutes or until it gets a thicker consistency. Stir the curry occasionally.

Yummmmmmmm............. tomato-spring onion curry is ready.

Serve it with rice or chapathi.

Kichidi and Raita

This kichidi might be very different from the traditional one, but who cares when the dish turns out to be tasty.

Ingredients:

1. Rice - 1cup (washed properly and soak in water for atleast 5 minutes before cooking)

2. masoor dal (red grams) - 1 cup (soak in water for atleast 5 minutes before cooking) (picture provided for reference)

3. oil - 1/2 tablespoon

4. ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

5. onion - 1/2 of medium sized cut into pieces

6. cloves - 3

7. cinnamon stick - 1/2 of small stick

8. bay leaf - 1

9. water - 4 cups

10. salt - as per your taste

11. green chillies - 7 small ones (cut into half)

12. Vegetables (optional) - 1/2 carrot cut into pieces, 3 beans cut into pieces, 1/4 cup of green peas ( i didn't use them this time)

13. turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan, once the oil is hot, add onions and green chillies. fry them until onions become golden brown. Now add ginger garlic paste, cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and fry for 30 seconds. If you are opting for vegetables, then add them now and fry them for 3 minutes.

Now add water and salt and let the water boil. Once the water gets to the boiling point, add rice and masoor dal and then cook it just like your normal rice.

That's it. My style Kichidi is ready.

Server it with mango pickle and raita.

Below is the procedure to make raita (my style ;-0))

Raita:

Ingredients:

1. yogurt - 1/2 cup

2. water - 1/4 cup

3. salt - as per your taste

4. green chillies - 3 (cut into small pieces)

5. onion - 1/4 of medium sized one, cut into small pieces

6. coriander leaves - for garnish

Preparation:

In a bowl, mix onions, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt and then add yogurt and water and mix it well. Make sure water is mixed well with the yogurt without forming any lumps.

Enjoy it with your kichidi.

Comments are always welcome ;-))0

Fish Curry (Chepala Pulusu)

Fish Curry or Chepala Pulusu is my mom's special and this curry was my favourite once upon a time (before I turned into Vegetarian). I was going through my old notes (that I took from my mom), before preparing this dish to confirm the procedure and then started cooking it. The ultimate result of it is, "Pat on my back from my fiance". It turned to be a very tasty, mouth watering dish. Sad, I can't taste it ;-((((((.



Ingredients:



1. Fish - 4 pieces (I prefer tilapia at walmart)

2. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon

3. onions - 1 medum size cut into small pieces

4. cloves - 4

5. Fish Masala - 1 tablespoon (store bought)

6. cinnamon - 1 small stick

7. shahijeera - 1/4 teaspoon

8. turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon

9. tamarind - 2 medium sized pods soaked in water for atleast 10 mins

10. chilli powder - 1 1/2 tablespoon or as per your taste

11. salt - as per your taste

12. oil - 1 tablespoon

13. Water - 1 1/4 cups



Preparation:



Heat pan and add oil, once the oil is hot, add onions and fry them until they become golden brown. Now add, cloves, cinnamom stick, shahijeera, turmeric powder and fish masala. After 30 seconds, add ginger garlic paste. Mix all the ingredients well and then add the fish pieces. Now use a wooden spoon to coat the masala mix in the pan on to the fish pieces. After 5 minutes, add the tamarind juice and water. Add salt and chilli powder and mix well. Let the water boil for 5 minutes.



Place the lid on the pan and simmer for 15 minutes or until the gravy gets a thicker consistency. Once in a while mix the gravy but do not touch the fish pieces as they might break.



Serve this dish with rice.



Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fish Fry (Chepala Vepudu)

This is my Fiance's favourite. He loves it and this is my mom and mom-in-law's special.

So, let's go for it........

Ingredients:

1. Fish - 4 pieces (I prefer Tilapia fish at Walmart)

2. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 1/2 tablespoon

3. Garam Masala (Fish Masala) - 1 tablespoon

4. Turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon

5. Chilli Powder - 1 table spoon

6. Salt - As per your taste

7. Oil - 2 tablespoons

8. Lemon Juice - 1 teaspoon

9. Coriander leaves - for garnish

Preparation:

Mix all the ingredients except for fish, lemon juice and coriander and then marinate fish with this masala mix and keep it aside for 30 minutes.

Now heat a pan, add oil and once oil is hot, add the fishes and fry them. This will take around 15 minutes and you have keep turning the pieces very carefully (dont break the pieces, they are very tender) once every 5 minutes.

And then crispyness of the fish depends on your taste. The more you fry, the more crispier pieces will become. Be carefully not to burn them though...

After the fry is done, place them on the paper napkin, so that it will soak all the excess oil.

Later sprinkle with lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

That's it. Enjoy the meaty snack. ;-)

Cauliflower Curry

I recently turned vegetarian, but sometimes i feel like eating Chicken curry. So, I found a wonderful alternative for this craving. It is Cauliflower curry which almost taste like Chicken curry. So, let's start the dish.

Ingredients:

1. Cauliflower - 250 gms (washed and cut into small cubes)

2. Oil - 1 tablespoon

3. Onion - 1 small size, cut into small pieces

4. Cloves - 3

5. Cinnamon stick - small stick

6. Garam masala (or chicken masala) - 1 tablespoon (store bought)

7. Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tablespoon

8. Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon

9. Tomato - 1/2 cup (I use the store bought Crushed tomato cans, they are easier to use ;-)

10. Salt - As per your taste

11. Chilli Powder - 1 tablespoon or as per your taste.

10. Water - 1 1/2 cup

11. Coriander leaves - for garnish

Preparation:

Heat the pan and pour oil, add onions and fry until they become golden brown, now add turmeric powder, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger garlic paste and fry for 30 seconds, now add garam masala and mix well with all the other ingedients in the pan. Now add Caulifower cubes and mix well. Fry for 5 minutes (keep an eye on it, as it may burn). Now add tomato and mix it well and let it cook for 1 minute, now add salt, chilli powder and water. Mix well, place the lid on the pan and let is simmer until the gravy gets the thicker consistency. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

Dish is ready. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!

Serve it with Paratha or rice.

Snake Gourd curry with milk. (Potlakaya koora Paala tho)

This is one of my favourite curries, it takes very less preparation time.




Ingredients:


1. Snake Gourd (Potlakaya) - 250 gms.

2. oil - 1 tablespoon

3. mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon

4. Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

5. Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

6. Onion - 1/2 of medium size onion cut into small pieces

7. salt - as per taste

8. Chilli powder - 1 table spoon or as per your taste

9. Milk - 1 1/4 cup

10. Garlic - 1 pod (minced)



Preparation:

Peel the skin on the snake gourd using a peeler and then cut into half. Remove the seeds and throw away (atleast I prefer not including the seeds). Now, cut the snake gourd into small cubes.




Heat a pan, pour oil and then add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they start sputtering, add onions, minced garlic and turmeric powder. Wait until onions turn golden brown, then add snake gourd cubes. Fry the cubes for 3-4 minutes, then add salt and chilli powder, mix well so that chilli powder sticks to all the pieces of snake gourd. After 3 minutes, add milk and mix well.




Now place the lid on the pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes or until the snake gourd cubes become tender.




That's it, your dish is ready.


Serve it with Rice.




PS: It is a popular myth, that Egg should not be consumed on the same day as Snake Gourd. As I said this might be a myth or may be a truth. But, I'd like to believe it, so I dont eat egg and snake gourd on the same day. ;-)

Papdi Chat

This is my favorite recipe and can be done in 10 mins.

Ingredients:

Papdi - 7 pieces (store bought)

one small potato - boiled and cut into cubes

yogurt - 3 tablespoons

chaat masala - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - As per your taste

Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon

sev - 1 tablespoon (store bought)

1/4 onion - cut into small pieces

coriander leaves - for garnish

Tamarind chutney - 1 tablespoon (store bought)

Mint Chutney - 1 teaspoon (store bought)

Procedure:

Mix yogurt with chaat masala, chilli powder, salt.

Crush the papdi into medium size pieces and put them on the plate, now put boiled potato cubes and then pour yogurt mix on these cubes. now pour tamarind chutney and mint chutney, sprinkle sev and then garnish with onion peices and corainder leaves.

Enjoy.

Tip: I love this snack when it is very sweet, so i spoon a lot of tamarind chutney. It gives a tangy flavor. YUMMMMMM!!!!!

Intro

Now, the reason why I named this site as "SemiHomeMade", all the recipes that i'm going to show will use a lot of ingredients which are store bought.

As this site will help you to make a "quickie" food to your craving stomach, let's use store bought ingredients insead of using the complete home made ingredients.

Lot of us are working, studying, staying away from home and mom, so it's a big "No No" for all the home made ingredients.

So, let's experiment using the good old grocery store ingredients. ;-)

Welcome Everyone

This blog is for everyone who loves cooking and eating (Just like me). This blog will have simple recipes (just like your mom's homemade). It will not have any resturant hungama kind of dishes.

This blog is for everyone who is planning to start the journey of cooking, this is for everyone who is staying away from mom and miss her cooking. I have gone through that, so I'm here to help everyone of you folks who are interested in cooking but dont know how to start.

Well, think this as a start.

Happy cooking and Happy eating..............

Cheers
Swetha

P.S Your feedback and comments are always welcome. As I said i just started my journey of cooking, so there is always a room for improvement. ;0)