Chilli Soya Chunks

I was so excited on having a good day at work that not only did I make the moong dal, I also decided to venture out and make soya chunks for the first time in my life.

I had always seen my mum cook soya extensively so I knew the basics. Pressure cook it till 1 whistle, wash, drain, squeeze. But then what? To that question a leaflet fell out from the soya box with several recipes. Found one that I liked and rehashed it to my liking. Less effort, time and oil. :P This was a 2-time success thing. I cooked it the first time and realised it needs more zing and added "tadka" the second time. So have patience and you will know how you can make this yummy Chilli Soya.




Ok, so things you will need to make this:

Dry Red chillis: 2
Green chillis: 2
Hing / asfoetida: 1 pinch
Onion: 1 big, chilli style big chunks
Tomatoes: 2 + 2
Ginger: 3 + 2 tbsp
Garlic: 5 cloves
Oil: 1 tbsp
Maggi Chicken Stock Cube: 1 (optional) or chole masala: 2 tbsp
Soya chunks: 1 small cup
Garam Masala:  1 tsp
Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder: 1/2 tsp
Vinegar: 1 tsp
Soya Sauce: 1 tbsp

Add oil to a pan and add 2 split red chillis. Then add the big chunks of onions and stir till onions turn pink, add a pinch of salt. Cut similar big chunks for tomatoes. Then add the tomatoes, soya sauce and vinegar to the fried onions and stir for a minute or so.

 

Now add garam masala, coriander powder, ginger garlic and salt. Now add in the soya chunks and 2 glasses of water.



I simmered the heat for it to cook slowly till the all the water had evaporated. Then added chopped capsicum to garnish. At this point this is how the soya looked.

It looked better face to face but the taste didn't even barely match how good it looked. So I went in for a second round of internet snooping and realised my blunder.

Now this is what followed.

I got a pressure cooker added 1/2 tsp oil and a pinch of hing and two split green chillis. I again cooked two tomatoes by poking it thoroughly and then microwaved it for 3 montues. This makes it give out allll its juices and looses its posture and saves you so much of time on the whole run. Now I add this puree to the hot cooker; which in turn splat a lot on my head, funny but could have been scarily dangerous too. Now I add a maggi magic cube, you can also add 2 tbsp chole masala if you don't have the cubes at home. Now once the cube has got completely mixed through the mixture I added the nutrela chunks and put on the lid, simmer the heat and let the whistle blow once. And voila, the best Chilli Soya I have ever had!

The best praise definitely has to be my mother applauding to the taste of this chilli.

Hope you like my recipe too. If you do like this post,please do subscribe. :)

Bengali Style Moong Dal AKA "kaancha moonger daal"

This was a day when I was particularly craving for the bengali styled food. Then again I'm thoroughly lazy so I realised, moong dal is the answer to all my woes.



Things you will need:
Dry red chillis :2
Cumin seeds: 1 tbsp
Dal : 1 small cup
Water: 4x the measure
Salt: 1-1/2 tsp
Oil: 2 tbsp
Ginger: 1 tbsp
Green Chilli: 1

Wash the moong dal and add some water and keep it doused on the side.

Now start the cooking.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a deep pan. Once the oil is hot add the jeera seeds, wait for it to stop crackling or at least when you can hear the crackling seperately.Now switch off the gas, drain the dal; add it to the jeera and red chillis and switch the heat back on.

Stir the dal till the dal is almost musical when it brushes against the pan almost a faint jingle sound.By this time the dal would have started to look almost split. Add water, simmer and cover.


In the meanwhile, grind the ginger and green chilli into mulch.


Once the dal is thoroughly cooked, add this paste to the dal and cover for 10 minutes post taking it off the heat.

Your delicious Bengali style moong dal is ready!

No sweat Vegetable stir fry

Often when I feel like eating healthy I realise I'm not the kind that likes slogging and slogging and slogging for hours before I get to something good.This is my go-to vegetable stir fry.

I start with some oil in the pan, grind 12 garlic cloves , 2 tsp ginger powder and 4 chillis into mulch and add into the still cold oil.
  
I like adding this to cold oil to avoid allll the fumes the adding chilli to hot oil can be avoided. The I add aniseed and cinnamon and follow this by adding cubed mushrooms. I add mushrooms first for they give out water and keep everything from burning without the added hassle of adding more oil. Then goes in the diagonally sliced corn. I like cutting them diagonally for you can cut longer fancier looking pieces and such a huge time saver. :) Add 2 tbsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/2 tsp garma masala, 1/2 tsp coriander powder and anything that you find. That's the magic of my cooking style, very accommodating; much like me. ;D

Then I add the spring onions and beans. Then as usual I micro 2 tomatoes that have been poked through for 2 minutes till its cooked.

Then my love for spinach remains unhindered, and I cut out the leaves after washing it thoroughly.


Simmer and cover it for 15 minutes. Be ready for yummy yummy in your tummy. :)

Quickest biscuit pudding for the lazy souls !

Looking for an easy dessert recipe? Here's one - The pineapple biscuit pudding!

Prep time - under 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Marie biscuit - 24 numbers/as required
• Pineapple Jam
• Unsalted butter - 100 grams
• Sugar - 2 table spoons
• Vanilla essence - 1 table spoon
• Egg - 1
• Coffee powder

This may not be the best looking pudding ever, but trust me, it tastes too good for the effort put in.  

All you have to do is melt the butter and mix it with some pineapple jam, sugar, vanilla essence and egg yolk in the quantities mentioned above. Using a blender is always easy! The mix would look something like this -

Keep this aside. Heat some water and add some coffee powder to it (as the pic below). 

Dip the biscuits in the coffee and arrange a layer of it in your tray/container. Spread some of the mix over this layer of biscuits, and repeat the process by arranging a second layer of biscuits (dipped in coffee, of-course!) over it. 

Repeat the process, until you're done with the biscuits. Spread the final layer of the mix on top. Beat some egg white untill it becomes foamy, and spread it on top.

It would then look something like this (or even better!) - 

Refrigerate it for 10 to 15 minutes, and it's ready to serve !!!

Additional tip : You can add a layer of chocolate sauce on top and sprinkle some nuts over it!