Dal Paratha

I had no hopes of making something for the SWC- Gujarat event, due to a very busy schedule this month, But at the end I managed it. I was browsing the net for some Gujarati recipes and found this Daal parathas extremely tempting. So tried making them and they tasted absolutely delicious.
These parathas goes to Priyanka of Asankhana who is hosting SWC-Gujarat this month. This event was started by LG Of Taste of mysore for Singapore women's club.
I am also sending this tasty parathas to Srivalli who is hosting roti mela. I had something else in mind for the event. Anyway, if that works out , I will post it later.

Here is the recipe for the parathas taken from here.
Ingredients-
For the dough
Wheat flour- 1 cup
Salt- to taste
Oil- 1tbsp

For the filling
Yellow moong daal-1/2 cup
Jeera- 1/2 tsp
Red chilly powder- 1tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil- 1tbsp

Method-
Soak mung daal for sometime and pressure cook till it gets little soft , but not very mushy.
Then, put some oil in a pan. Add jeera and hing. Then add the cooked dal followed by turmeric powder, chilly powder and salt.Cook for sometime till it gets a little dry sort of.
Make dough with wheat flour and salt. Roll it into a small circle and keep the stuffing in the centre. Seal it and roll them into normal parathas. Heat a tava and cook the paratha on both sides. Serve hot with any curry or raitha.

Gobi manchurian

This indo chinese cuisine is an all time favourite at my home. This can be just had as a snack/starter or as a side dish with rotis, though I never tried making it at home. I actually wanted to make manchurian with baby corn, but somehow never found time for that. So today when I wanted to try something different with cauliflower, I thought of making this. Here's the recipe for this.

Ingredients-
Cauliflower- medium sized-1 Cut into florets
Spring onion- A bunch chopped finely
Garlic- 1clove chopped fine
Ginger- a small piece chopped fine
Green chilly- 1 chopped fine
Cornflour- 1tbspn
Maida- 2tbspn
Soya sauce- 1tbspn
Tomato sauce- 1tbspn
Salt to taste
Ajinomoto- 1 tspn
oil for deep frying.

Method-
Make a thick paste with cornflour and maida adding a little salt. Dip the florets in the paste and deep fry them. Heat little oil in a pan. Add the ginger, green chillies, garlic , spring onion and saute for sometime. Then add soya sauce and tomato sauce and stir for sometime. Add the fried florets and ajinomoto and mix well. Serve hot.

Pumpkin halwa and an award.

I first tasted this sweet during my cousin's wedding and since then I have seen this in most of the tamil wedding parties. I had little pumpkin left after using it for a subji. So thought of trying this.It was so easy to make, took very less time and tasted really good. My hubby simply loved it.

Ingredients-

Yellow pumpkin - 1 cup grated.

Sugar- 3/4 cup or 1 cup.

Ghee/clarified butter- 1tbspn

Cardamom powder- 1tspn.

Milk- 3/4 cup

Method-

Put some ghee in a pan. Add the grated pumpkin and then the milk and allow it to cook for 5 minutes. Then add the sugar and cardamom powder, mix well and cook for some more time. You can garnish with roasted nuts.

And now about the award. I am so thrilled to receive the "nice matters award" from Swati raman garg of Chatkhor. It says “Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.” Thanks a lot Swati. I am so glad , you considered my blog for the award. And now I would like to pass this award to jayashree, jayasree,Raaga,Dee,laavanya,Arundati,Lavi. Congrats .Please accept and enjoy your awards even if you have already got them.

Tangy mango delight

It is ages I made something with mangoes. When Arundati announced the Mango madness event, I was tempted to do something. But somehow I was never fond of the kind of mangoes available here and never bought them. So it was almost two years I did not have them. But during my trip to India last month, mangoes were specially ordered for us as the mango season was just beginning and we were taken care of as if we were celebrities:)). Having mangoes after two years, was so divine ,as if I was tasting nectar. Anyway I found indian alphonso mangoes here too, so I won't miss them this year. :))
Though I love to have mangoes as it is, I made this drink yesterday. It tasted nice and tangy. Here is how I made it.

Ingredients-
Mangoes- 2 chopped (reserve few to garnish)
Orange juice- 1/2 cup
Lime juice- 1tbsp
Sugar-2tbsp or according to sweetness you prefer.
Salt- a pinch
Sweetened whipped cream- 1 cup.

Method-
Blend all the ingredients except the cream to a smooth paste. Then fold in the cream and gently stir. Pour the drink into individual glasses and garnish with small mango pieces.
I am sending this to Arundati who is hosting WBB #22"May Mango madness" this month.

About Creativesaga and "me"

Hi Readers,
Welcome to Creative Saga, a food blog, for my love and passion for food and cooking.
I am a native of Tamil nadu but I have spent a good 25 years in Maharashtra, including a few years in Gujarat and Delhi. This is the reason for my love for all kinds of cuisines.
Now , I stay in Singapore with my husband and son. I am a home maker at present.
I was not a very keen cook in the beginning. It was just to satisfy my hunger. Cooking was not my cup of tea, I believed. But my initial days of boredom immediately after my marriage and in a foriegn country without job and friends lead me to take cooking as a creative hobby. I actually cooked and enjoyed it too!!I developed a sudden liking for cooking and used to ask my friends and relatives for new recipes.I use to ask my grandmom for authentic tamil recipes leaving her puzzled!! And next, I wanted a space where I could store my precious recipes with the picture and share it with my family and friends .Thus the "Creative Saga" came into existence. But then I had a few readers who followed my blog regularly. Then the number of readers grew. People actually began trying my recipes and giving me feedback. That was a huge inspiration and encouragement. I still don't consider myself a great cook.I do make mistakes and have my own disasters in kitchen. I am still learning and the blog inspires me to do more. There is still so much to learn.
Creative Saga is basically a collection of easy Indian recipes and a few international. Being a Tamilian, I have also included some Tamil recipes including some festival food too!! In the recent years , I also developed a liking for baking. And so some cakes,breads and cookies recipes for people who are new to baking.
I have tried to state the exact proportion of the ingredients I have used in my recipes. But you can/must change the proportions according to your judgement and taste. In case you try my recipes, do leave a feedback in the comment section.Positive and negative feedback are welcome. But please don't be rude. Nasty comments will be promptly deleted.
You can also leave your suggestions to improve this blog and make it better. Please do tell me what else you expect from this blog. You can also request for a recipe or submit your authentic recipe. Selected and novel recipes will be published and due credits for the submitted recipe will be given to the sender.
Please do not copy any information or picture from this blog. If you need anything, ask me first.
I also write for "The saga continues" where you will find some handicrafts, home decor and party ideas.
You can mail me at creativesaga@gmail.com.
It is great to be a part of the food community.
Regards,
Sowmya
http://creativesaga.blogspot.com
http://creativesagacontinues.blogspot.com

Microwave eggless cake

Last tuesday was our wedding anniversary. So I decided to bake a cake. I really don't get enough time for making cakes often, though I want to(mainly to improve my baking skills:o)),and hence I am in lookout for such occasions. And the microwave cake took just a few minutes.

I took the recipe for the cake from here. I just made minor changes

Ingredients-

All purpose flour - 1 cup

Milk- 1 and1/2 cup

Cocoa powder- 1tbsp

Baking powder - a small pinch

Oil- 1/2cup

Sugar- 1 cup

Dried fruits- 1cup(I used cranberries, apricots,raisins)

Vanilla essence- few drops

Whipped cream and grated chocolate for decorating.

Method-

Add milk in a pan and boil it. Add the dried fruits and leave it for sometime till they become a little tender and allow the milk to cool down. Blend this mixture in a blender till the fruits are ground well. Add the oil and blend it again to a thicker consistency. Then next goes the sugar and again blend it for a few minutes. Transfer this mixture to a bowl. Sieve the flour along with baking powder and cocoa powder. Add this flour in small parts into the mixture mixing it gently.Add few drops of vanilla essence. Mix gently.

Grease a microwave proof bowl and pour the batter in it. Microwave on high for 5-7 minutes checking in between. Allow to stand for a minute. Remove the cake and cool it. Decorate as you wish. I added some whipped cream and grated chocolate on the cake just before cutting.

Cake really tasted good. It was quite spongy and moist too. Keep checking in between, when the cake is getting microwaved. Overdoing may cause the cake to get hard.

Paniyaaram

An easy, instant and tasty snack ,which I came to know when I and my hubby had gone to his friends (bachelors)place for dinner after our wedding. Paniyarams are made with Idli batter on a nonstick paniyaram pan. Here's the recipe for this.
Ingredients-
Idli batter
Grated carrot-1
Green chilli- 4-5
Ginger- small piece
Coriander- finely chopped
Oil
Method-
Make a paste of ginger and green chillies.Add all the ingredients in the batter and mix well.
Put little oil in the paniyaram pan. Pour the batter in the pan. Flip on the other side. And cook well on both sides.
Serve hot with any chutney. My hubby prefers mint chutney.
You can also use mixture of rice flour and maida in case you don't have batter. Use the same method.

Rajasthani food and an Award!

One good thing about food blogging is it makes me hunt for more recipes and try out those food which I never thought of making. Now for the RCI Rajasthan event, after googling and debating on what to make out of so many dishes, I settled on making Rajasthani dal and missi roti. So here is how I made them.


Missi roti-
Ingredients-
Wheat flour - 150gms
Besan -250gms
Red chilly powder-1tsp
Dhaniya Powder -1tsp
Ghee -3tsp
Jeera -1/2tsp
Kaala Jeera -1/2tsp
Salt -1tsp
Ajwain -1/2tsp
Method
Mix all the ingredients well and knead them into a stiff dough. Roll into thick rotis and roast them on a tava. Brush little melted ghee on the roti.

Serve hot. Shahi ghatte is a good combination with missi roti.


Rajasthani panchmel dal -
Ingredients
Chana dal/bengal gram- 1/4 cup
Mung/Green gram- 1/4 cup
Udid dal/Split black gram- 1/4 cup
Tuvar dal/Pigeon pea split-1/4 cup
Masoor dal/Red gram split- 1/4 cup
Salt-To taste
Green chillies-2
Ginger- A small piece
Whole red chillies-2
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Cumin powder-1 tsp
Red chilly powder-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes-2 chopped
Oil- 3 tb
Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cloves- 4-5
Asafoetida-1 pinch
garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
Method-
Soak the lentils for around two hours. Add salt and turmeric powder and pressure cook them. Make a paste of green chillies and ginger. Add little oil in a pan.Add asafoetida, cumin seeds, cloves and dry red chillies. When cumin starts to change colour, add the ginger-green chilly paste and saute for sometime. Stir in some cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilly powder. Add the tomatoes and cook till oil separates. Add the cooked lentils and water if required. Cook for 10 mins stirring well. Add garam masala powder and serve hot with rice.

This goes to RCI-Rajasthan event guest hosted by Padmaja of spicy andhra.
And now for my first Award. I am so glad to recieve this yummy blog award from Lavi of homecookrecipes.Thanks a lot Lavi. You made my day wonderful. It is a great inspiration for a new blogger like me. I would also like to thank Miss Bellevue of Bombay Bistro who has passed on this award to me.

There are some rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:
The person who receives the award should display the "Yummy Blog !" logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is "Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos".
The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have ever prepared/eaten. Don’t restrict yourself to any dessert, chocolate bars also welcome.· Also the receiver should pass on the award to four other bloggers whose blog they find "yummy" and let them know about the rules.

As per the rules , my favourite sweets are as follows-

Puran poli,Bengali sweets,Cashew kathli, Most of the chocolates(tempts me the most!!)

I would like to pass on this award to Sandhya, Priya, Sagari ,and Lakshmi.

Green peas dhokla

I have never tried making dhoklas, though I wanted to make it from a very long time. When the microwave event was announced this month, the theme being steamed foods, I decided to try this dhoklas which I found in Tarla Dalal's microwave cooking. The addition of green peas made it nutritious.It was easy to make requiring very less preparation time. Though it did not come out very fluffy, it was soft and tasted delicious and had authentic flavour.

Ingredients-
Bengal gram/besan- 1/2 cup
Green peas- 1/2 cup boiled
Ginger green chilli paste- 1tsp
powdered sugar- 1tbsp
Water- 1/2 cup
Citric acid crystals- 1/4tsp
Unflavoured fruit salt- 3/4 tsp
salt to taste

For tempering
Oil- 1tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
green chillies- 2 finely chopped
Asafoetida/hing- a pinch
water- 1tbsp

For garnishing-
Chopped coriander- 1tbsp
grated coconut- 1tbsp

Method-
Puree the green peas to a smooth paste using very little water.
Add all the other ingredients to the paste and mix well. Add little water to get a dropping consistency.
Pour into a microwave safe dish with a lid and microwave on high for 3 minutes covered.
Remove and let it stand for 2 minutes.

For the tempering-
Combine oil and mustard seeds in a small microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 2 minutes. Add the green chillies and asafoetida and microwave on high for 1 more minute.
Remove from microwave and add 1 tbsp of water.
Pour the tempering over the dhoklas and cut in to pieces. Garnish with Coriander and coconut.
Serve hot with green chutney.
This goes to Srivalli's MEC- Steamed dishes.

Vegetable soup - A comfort food and a MEME

We are just recovering from the fever and exhaustion from a short but a tedious trip to India. I did not want to make rasam anymore which was nice but had become boring now. So today I tried making vegetable soup, which was quite filling and soothing for our sore throats.
Vegetable soup does not require any specific preparation or a particular recipe.Everyone has their own style of preperation to meet their taste and requirements. This is how I made.
Ingredients-
Chopped vegetables
Carrot- 1
capsicum-1
Cabbage- 200gms
French beans- 12 in no.
Onion- 1 chopped
Garlic - 2 to 3 finely chopped
Ginger- A small piece chopped
Green chillies- 1
White pepper- 1 tsp
Black pepper- 1 tsp
salt- to taste
sugar- 1tsp
Cornflour- 1 tsp mixed in little water
Olive oil- 1tsp
Butter- 1tsp
Cream - 1tsp
water- 5 cups
Method-
Add olive oil and butter in a pan. Then add ginger garlic and green chillies and then the onions and saute till they turn translucent. Then stir in all the chopped vegetables. Add the pepper,salt and sugar. Mix in 5 cups of water and cook till all the vegetables turn tender/soft. Then thicken the soup by adding the cornflour and mix well. Add little cream on the top.Serve hot.


Long time ago, LG of Taste of Mysore had tagged me for a MEME. Here is something about me.
1. 5 places I have lived in
Pune,Bhavnagar,Gurgaon,Aurangabad, Singapore. Out of which I have spend maximum years in Aurangabad.
2. I never like cooking initially. But now I think I spend most of the time in kitchen!!! And writing a food blog is something which I would't have even dreamt of...My mother would have been the happiest person if she had been alive today.
3. I basically like to keep my home neat and clean. I get very disturbed if things are not organised. But nowadays , my home is a mess usually running after my one year old baby.
4. I like making friends and chatting for hours together though I take sometime to open in the beginning.
5. I think twice before spending and at the same time do a lot of shopping too. Basically I am good at managing accounts. My hubby calls me home finance manager!!!:))

Poha khichu

After a hectic trip to India, it is being bit difficult to get back to the usual routine. So microwave is a life saver for me at present. This simple breakfast dish adapted from Tarla Dalal's microwave cooking seems to be a variation of favourite Gujarathi delicacy usually made with rice flour.Sesame oil is used traditionally,but any other refined oil can be used.
Ingredients-
Beaten rice or patla poha- 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Soda bicarb- a pinch
Roasted cumin seed powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
sesame oil- 1tsp
Chopped coriander- 1tsp
Salt to taste
Method-
Grind the poha in a blender till it resembles bread crumbs. Keep aside.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine water,soda bicarb,cumin seeds powder and salt and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Add the oil ,chilli powder,green chilli,and ground poha and mix well using a whisk so that no lumps remain.
Microwave on high for a minute.
Add the coriander and mix well.
Serve hot drizzled with sesame oil and chilli powder.
I am sending this recipe to easycrafts for WBB microwave foods.