Capsicum Sambar/ Capsicum in lentil gravy

Ingredients

1. Capsicum                                         -  2 medium or 3 small nos

2. Onion                                              -  1 small

3. Tomato                                            -  1 medium

4. Tamarind                                         -   Lemon sized ball

5.  Toor Dal                                          -  1.5 - 2 cups

6.   Salt                                                -  To taste

7.  Sambar Powder                                -  2-3 spoons

For Tempering:

1.  Oil                                                   -  2 tsps

2.  Mustard and Fenugreek seeds            -  1 tsp each  

3.  Dry chillies                                        -  1 big or 2 small

Method:

First soak the tamarind in hot water for about 15 mins. Pressure cook the Toor dal till soft. Now strain the tamarind, but mixing it with the water and take its water till the extract turns white.

Cut the capsicum, onions and tomatoes in equal medium slices. Add the veggies to the tamarind water along with salt, sambar powder and hing if required and allow it to boil. After 15 mins, check if the veggies have boiled and if the raw smell of tamarind and sambar powder has gone. Then add the cooked toor dal and allow it to boil for 1 min.

In a kadai, add oil. Once the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Then add fenugreek seeds and dry red chillies and temper it on the sambar. 

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Hot Sambar is ready to be served with Steamed rice or Idly, Dosa.

  

Strawberry Nutella Thumbprint cookies.

Today ( 12th of July) is my hubby's work anniversary. I wanted to prepare something special for him. So was pondering over for nice recipes in the Net as well as in FB. My search ended in one of the foodie grps, where I saw the recipe for Strawberry cookies. Since I have'nt tried baking cookies, thght why not try these. so started preparing them and the end result was quite satisfying to all of us. 

So here goes the ingredients list and the procedure.

Ingredients:

APF / Maida                                    – 1.5 - 2 cups
Baking powder                                – ½ Tsp
Salt                                               – A pinch
Unsalted butter                               – 4 Tblsp (Room Temperature)
Powdered white sugar                     – 7 - 10 Tbslp
Vanilla essence                                – 1 Tsp
Strawberry puree                            -  3-4 tblsp
Nutella/ Any Jam of your choice       -  For filling

The Strawberries need to be crushed finely. The consistency shld not be too watery or running. 

Procedure:

First sift the dry ingredients together and keep it aside. Then in a bowl mix the butter and sugar and beat until creamy or till they combine together. Now add the vanilla essence and the starwberry puree and mix again till the blend well. Now mix this batter with the dry ingredients. Mix well and refrigerate the dough or abt 30 mins to 1 hr.

Preheat the oven to 350 F / 175 C. Take out the cookie dough from fridge. Grease your palms with oil or butter and make small balls of the dough. Line the cookie tray with parchment paper. Place the cookie balls in the tray one by one and press them gently. Using your thumb or a small oil spoon, make a small hole in the middle of the cookies. If the butter seems to be melting, refrigerate them again for another 15 - 20 mins. 

Bake the cookies for abt 12 mins or till the bottom starts turning brown. But dnt bake them beyond 12 mins. These cookies will continue to cook after being taken out. Again, using the spoon, make a hole in the middle.
Once the cookies completely cool off, fill in Nutella or any jam of your choice.

Yummy Strawberry Nutella cookies are ready to be chewed on. 

Lemon Rice

One of the easiest and tastiest dishes and an anytimer. This can be prepared in a giffy if all the ingredients are available.

Ingredients:

1.   Cooked Rice                                             -     2-3 cups

2.   Lemon                                                        -     1 big

3.   Salt                                                              -     As per taste

3.   Mustard seeds                                         -     1 tbslp

4.   Channa Dal                                              -     1 tbslp

5.  Green chillies                                           -     2-3 small 

6.  Curry leaves                                             -    Few

7.  Oil                                                                  -   3-4 spoons

8.  Hing                                                               -  A pinch

9.  Peanuts and Cashews                             -   For tempering and garnishing.

10. Turmeric Powder                                  -   1 tbslp

Procedure :

  Cut the green chillies into very small pieces and keep it aside. Heat a kadai and add oil to it. Add Mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Then add channa dal and green chillies and fry for abt 10 seconds. Then add curry leaves, hing and turmeric powder, Cashews and peanuts and fry for about a minute.

Then remove the mixture from stove. Add the cooked rice and salt and mix well. Then cut the lemon and squeeze the juice to the rice and mix well. Lemon rice is ready to be served. Fresh coriander leaves can also be used to garnish.

Note:

Donot add lemon while the mix is still cooking as it will spoil the mix.