Haloween Pumpkin Dosa

Procastinating things is one thing I would like to change in me sometime, I am known for it and I know surviving with this trait in my DNA will not help me in this fast and competetive world!! But , I can't help it !!!! Here I am late again partipating in the FMR event!! Someday, I am hopeful of catching up with things :(

I am a person who believes in "Better late than Never" !! So here I am with the event that lead me to this FMR Event. Believe me this dish was prepared somewhere in the month of September!

I saw this recipe using Butternut Squash on the food network show and decided I would prepare it this weekend, Well, things never happen as planned and the desert turned out to be a disaster( I tried tweaking it a little... nopes actually tweaked a lot!! ;) ].
Anyways, din't know what to do next with the half cut squash , so in it went into refrigerator ....... until I saw Mita's Blog FMR event. Since I have never prepared anything out of pumpkin/Squash , I decided I will try my hand making Squash Dosa and my recipe will soon follow ..but not before I type down what I learnt abt pumpkins and their cousins.

• The word Pumpkin originated from the greek word Pepon meaning large melon.
• Pumpkins I read are an extended family of cucumber's
• I wonder why despite their hard exterior pumpkins are not grown in Antartica!!
• Morton ,Illinois is the pumpkin capital of the world.
• For all us ladies(and men too!) consuming pumpkin will reduce freckles.

Source:About Pumpkins

About Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1/2 Butternut Squash

1 cup Rice(Soak for 2-3 hours)

6 tbsp grated coconut

Water to blend

Salt to taste.

Oil

Peel the skin of the squash,cut into small cubes and grind with all the ingredients to a smooth dosa/pancake consistency. Heat the griddle and pour the batter to make dosa.

* I added 2 tbsp of grated coconut and dosa turned out to be a little hard. I also did not let the batter ferment.

Maggificent Dinner

“Maggi Noodle” .............Well, this is the name that I think all of us are familiar with. I am assuming that maggi noodles were the first of its kind in India other than Vermicelli. Those days getting my mother to let us buy Maggi noodles was one big task,15 years back it used to cost about Rs 8 a pack if I remember it right and convincing Mom to buy and prepare Maggi was one hell of a job, but it was worth the effort, that 2 mins thing taste is still etched in my mind. However, though its available at very minimal price I feel the taste of the Maggi Masala is not as flavorful as it used to be.
So, this time when my sister visited us here she taught me a healthy, simple and super easy recipe with Maggi noodles without using the masala . This was a simple yet fulfilling dinner for us this weekend. Must say kids would love it!!!

2 packets- Maggi Noodles (Discard the maggi masala)
1 cup – Fresh/Frozen Peas
4 tbsp- Olive/vegetable oil
5-6 Tbsp-Fresh pepper
Ketchup
Chilli Sauce
Salt to taste.
Egg-Optional
Water to boil the noodles.

Boil the Maggi noodles, Drain the water, In a skillet heat the oil , add the noodles, peas and pepper and salt. Mix all together well. If adding egg, scramble egg in a separate dish and mix it with the noodles. Add Ketchup and chilli sauce.

Serve with Egg Burji, Manchurian or sautéed Mushrooms…. Tastes Great!!

Eggplant Talasani

Well, before I put this recipe down , I must say that I have a special place for the vegetable ‘Brinjal’ in my heart though it was not the vegetable that I would long to eat until when I played the role of Brinjal in the vegetable drama that the school had organized to tell the story of vegetables to all the children. I remember those dialogues where other vegetable’s like Onion considered to be having a beautiful color and Okra for having a slender body making fun of me for my dark color and a green cap(Stem) on my head!!! From then on I have just been a huge fan of Brinjals,it is one amongst my favorite vegetables!!! I think the drama had a profound effect on me maybe because I played the role!! ;)

Here is the recipe:

1 brinjal (small cubes)
10-12 garlic cloves (maybe less, if you don’t like garlic much)
6-7 Red Chillies
4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
Salt to taste

In a pan heat the oil , when hot add the garlic and sauté till golden brown, add the red chillies and sauté for another minute add the cut brinjal and salt to taste, sprinkle some water so that the brinjal does not get stuck to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook on medium heat. The brinjal gets cooked in the steam when covered with the lid, Once the brinjal is soft , remove from heat and serve hot with rice or porridge.