HOTCHULHA

Ingredients:

• Immaculate Flaky Biscuits – 2 cans – 16 Oz
• Parmesan Cheese – ½ Cup – Shredded
• Cheddar Cheese – 1 Cup – Shredded
• Butter – 4 Oz
• Salt & black pepper – As per your taste
• Italian Seasoning – 1 Teaspoon
• Medium size Garlic cloves – 4 – minced
• Cooking spray for the Bundt Cake Pan.

Method:

1. Pre heat oven to 375 ^o degrees.
2. Spray the Bundt cake pan with cooking spray and keep it aside
3. In a small pan, put the butter, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, salt and pepper and heat it till the butter melts and then take it off the heat and keep it aside.
4. Open the Cans and cut the biscuits into small pieces and put them in a large bowl.
5. Now add the melted butter mix and mix it gently with the biscuit pieces.
6. Add the Parmesan and Cheddar Cheese and gently mix them.
7. Put the Biscuits mix into Bundt Cake pan and bake it for 30 minutes. Take the pan out and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes.
8. Place a plate upside down over pan; turn the plate and pan over. Remove pan. Your yummy Savory Monkey Bread is Ready.
9. Server this Savory Monkey Bread with warm marinara Sauce.

Note: To have more fun, let people peel these biscuit pieces as monkeys. Believe me!!! this is much tastier way of eating the Monkey bread. You will love it.

My hubby loves Karachi Biscuits (from Pista house – Hyderabad) so much. But once I started looking at what is in them, I decided to make better tasting biscuits with me knowing the healthy ingredients are in for sure. That was the idea created resulted in a question – Who says healthy food is not tasty? In the quest to answer this question, my new posts will be the reflection of my journey to answer this question.

Enjoy the healthy coconut butter cookies. Try it and let me know how it turns out.

Pinch of Salt and Cardamom powder gives you extra kick to your taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups – All-purpose flour (maida)(Organic)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1.5 cups shredded Coconut dry.
• 2 tablespoons vanilla essence
• 3/4 cup Organic brown sugar
• 2 sticks butter – I love grass fed – Kerry Gold Butter.
• 5 teaspoons milk(try Whole milk – Organic Valley)
• 1/8 teaspoon Cardamom powder.
• Salt – one pinch
• Few cashew halves

Method:

1. Mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda and sift it.
2. Whisk the sugar and butter together.
3. Add the vanilla essence, milk and coconut to the mix.
4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together.
5. Add Cardamom powder.
6. Knead the dough, cut it up into 4 round pieces and refrigerate
   for half an hour.
7. Take small parts of the dough, flatten them out and use the cookie cutter to get interesting designs and if you like stick one cashew half on one cookie and bake them for 18 to 20 minutes at 350^oF

Your Yummy Coconut Butter cookies are ready. You can have them as snack or with your hot tea.

Ingredients:

• Dry peas – 2 Cups
• Carrot – 1/2 Cup Shredded
• Onion – 1 medium – diced into tiny pieces
• Green Chillies – 2 – Diced into tiny pieces
• Curry Leaves – 1 Stem
• Tadka Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
• Oil – 1 Tablespoon
• Salt – to taste.
• Lemon Juice – 2 teaspoon
• Cilantro – 1/4 Cup

Method:

1. Soak the Peas(Green or Yellow) for 4 hours and then pressure cook it for 3 whistles let it cool and drain the water and keep it aside.
2. Take a heavy bottom pan and put 1 tablespoon of oil and let it heat, add the tadka seeds. When they crackel, put the onion, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute them for couple of minutes.
3. Add the peas, salt and continue saute them for 5 more minutes on medium heat.
4. Squeese the lemon juice into this mix and mix it well.
5. Add half off the cilantro and mix it gently. Take it off the heat.
6. Ganish it with remaining cilantro and shredded carrot and serve it while it is warm.

This is a after-school snack or starter for any get-together

If you like, you can garnish it with cucumber and deseeded tomatos.

Yesterday, I had a get together at my home and I made lot of food which also

included Raita too. When we had all the fun and as they were departing, I was

packing the leftover food. I had lots of Raita left over.

I was going to throw this raita to clean the bowl as you know it won’t be

good for the next day. That is when my friend Aruna Yerramalla told me you

can make Uthappa with this left over Raita. I asked her how? That is how I got

this recipe and when I made them, they came out good.

I learned not to throw away the left over Raita, but make yummy Utappa.

Try it out… you will like it.

Also note that this is a healthy snack too.

Ingredients:

• Raita – 2 Cups
• Rice Flour – 1.5 Cups
• Salt – to taste
• Oil – to make Uthappams

Method:

1. In the raita, mix the rice flour and salt and let it ferment for 5 to 6 hours.
2. Take a skillet and put little oil and put 1/4 cup of mix and spread it like pan cakes and put some oil around the uthappa and let it cook.
3. After few minutes flip it other side and cook.
4. Take this in a plate and serve this with any chutney.

Ingredients:

• Thick Dosa batter –  1 cup
• Chanadal – 1 Tablespoon – Soaked
• Green Chillies  – 3 – Cut into small pieces.
• Onion – ½  – Cut into small pieces.
• Zeera – ¼ Teaspoon
• Oil –  to deep fry
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. In a bowl put all the above ingredients except Oil and mix them well.
2. Take oil in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to heat. Put spoon full of batter in small balls shape and let them  fry until they look golden brown.
3. Once they are done, take them out with slotted spoon and put them on paper towel so that all the excess oil can be drained. 

Serve this hot and have fun. You also can serve this with any chutney.

Ingredients:

• Plantain – 1
• Besan Flour – 1 cup
• Red Chilli Powder – ½ Teaspoon
• Azwan – ¼ teaspoon
• Rice Flour – 2 Tablespoons
• Baking Soda – 1 big pinch
• Oil – To deep fry
• Salt to taste.

Method:

1. Take the skin off the plantain and cut into long slices.
2. In a bowl put the Besan, rice flour, salt, baking soda, red chillie powder and coarsely ground azwan powder and mix it well. Add water as needed to make thick batter and keep it aside.
3. Take oil in a heavy bottom pan and bring it to heat. Now dip the plantain slice in the batter and slip that into hot oil slowly. Repeat this for as many as you can fill in the pan and fry them till they look  golder brown.
4. Once they are done, take them out with slotted spoon and put them on paper towel so that all the excess oil can be drained.

 Serve this hot and have fun.

Also you can follow the same procedure in making Potato Bajjis by replacing Plantain with potato in the above ingredients. Rest is the same.

Chana Saute

Ingredients:

• Green Chana – 2 cups – cooked
• Shallot – 1 cut into small pieces
• Green Chillies – 2 Cut into small pieces
• Cilantro – 1 Tablespoon – Cut into pieces
• Lemon Juice – 1 Teaspoon
• Tadka Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
• Salt to taste
• Scallions – 1 Teaspoon
• Oil – 1 Tablespoon

Method:

1. Soak the Chana for 4 hours and pressure cook it for one whistle and let it cool before you drain.
2. Take a pan and put one tablespoon of oil and bring it to heat. Put Tadka Seeds and let them crackle.
3. Add cooked Chana and saute it for 7-10 minutes. Lower the heat and add cut Shallots, Green Chillies and Cilantro and Saute it for couple more minutes. Add the lemon juice and Scallions and mix it gently.

Serve this hot to your Family & Friends on a rainy day. I will assure you, they will love it and ask for more…

Semiya Pulihora

Ingredients:

• Semiya – 1.5 Cup – Dry Roasted
• Water – 1.5 Cup
• Tamarind Juice – ¼ Cup
• Green Chillies – 6 – Cut into long lengths
• Curry Leaves – 1 stem
• Peanuts – ¼ Cup
• Tadka Seeds – 1 Teaspoon
• Turmeric – 1 pinch
• Cilantro – 1 Tablespoon – Cut into small pieces
• Salt to taste
• Oil – 2 Tablespoons 

Method:

1. Take a heavy bottom pan and put oil and bring it to heat.
2. Put Tadka seeds, peanuts, green chillies, curry leaves and saute it for couple of minutes.
3. Add the tamarind juice, 1.5 cup of water, salt, turmeric and bring it to a boil.
4. Add the dry roasted Semiya and mix it well. Cover the pan with lid and let it cook on medium heat until the water evaporates.
5. Sprinkle Cilantro on and serve it hot.

Ingredients:

• Green Zucchini – 1 Cup – Grated
• Red Onion – 1/2 Cup – Cut into extra thin pieces
• Salt – 1/4 Tea Spoon
• Maida(All purpose Flour) – 6 Table Spoons
• Pepper – 1/2 Tea Spoon
• Egg – 1
• Cilantro – Handful – Cut into thin pieces
• Oil to Shallow Fry 

Method:

1. Mix everything from the ingredients except oil to make pancake batter
2. Take a skillet and heat it.
3. Put some oil and put one table spoon full of batter and make pancakes.
4. Serve this hot with tomato ketchup.

Ingredients:

• Potato – 1 – Cut into one inch pieces
• Green beans – 1/4 cup
• Mutter(peas) – 1/2 Cup
• Carrot – 1/2 cup – cut into small pieces
• Onion – one – Cut into big chunks
• Tomato – 1 big – Cut into big chunks
• Curry Powder – 1 teaspoon
• Garam Masala/Pav Bhaji Masala – 1/4 tea spoon
• Turmeric Powder –  1/4 tea spoon
• Ginger – 1 inch piece.
• Garlic  –  2 cloves
• Coriander Leaves – handful.
• Salt & oil as needed
• Lemon Juice – couple of Tea Spoons

Method:

1. Boil all the vegetables and take the onion & tomato out of the vessel and grind onion, tomato with Ginger & Garlic.
2. Mash the remaining veggies.
3. Pour oil in the pan and bring it to heat. Then put the onion & tomato paste and fry it for couple of minutes. To this add the chillie powder, salt , turmeric powder, Pav bhaji masala and then put the mashed veggies.
4. Mix it very well. Add lemon juice and simmer it for couple of minutes.
5. Garnish it with coriander leaves.

* Server this with store brought Pav/Bread after toasting it with bit of Oil. To get the best flavour, use refined butter(Ghee) in place of Oil.