As everybody knows Sev is a popular snack item in all indian homes.They are noodles made with chick pea flour and are deep fried.You use this as topping on chaat items,upma,poha or just have it as a plain snack item along with hot tea.So what's special in the Sev i made.I made a healthier version of this deep fried item.Yeah!! i Baked them.
Here goes the process of baking these deep fried snack item which are not only healthy but
turned out tasty as well.OK! you can't compare them with the deep fried ones but one can always compromise taste wise when one needs to eat healthy.I hope all of you guys agree...

Ingredients:
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Besan/Chickpea flour-->1 cup
Vegetable oil-->1tsp
Red chilli powder-->1 tsp
Lemon juice-->2 tsp
Tumeric powder-->1/4 tsp
Asafoetida/hing-->1/2 tsp
Salt-->to taste
Water-->as needed

Method:
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1)Preheat oven @200 degree C for 10 mins.
2)Make a semi stiff dough by mixing all the ingredients with required amount of water.
3)Fill the dough into the sev press.Lightly grease the baking sheet and press thin strands of sev onto the baking sheet.
4)Bake them for about 7-8 mins @ 200 degree C or till they turn crisp & light brown.The timings varies depending on your individual oven wattage.
5)This is pressed in spirals as whole and once baked and cooled you can break them into smaller bits by just lightly pressing them with your fingers.
6)Once cooled store them in air-tight container.

Note:
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• Since i was running short of lemon -- i used vinegar in lieu of lemon juice .i did not find any difference.

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At my parents place we have chole masala every other saturday for meals. And sometimes the chole is replaced by rajma.My mom prepares rajma with curds - she got this pahadi(hilly region) recipe from some cookery show on tv .I am not very fond of rajma 'coz i find it too bland for my palate.In what ever way i cook i am not able to infuse the masala into the rajma - the kidney beans always stand apart. One of my friend told me that it has to be cooked for nearly half a day so that the kidney beans absorbs the masala fully. Now i don't have that much of patience and i feel that it is a waste of energy !!( nowdays we all are aware of earth day - how we have to do our every bit to conserve energy for our future generations). So i am doing mine by not cooking the rajma for 12 hrs.
One more reason i cook rajma even though i am not fond of it is - i had tasted this heavenly rajma masala @ some restaurant in north & it was mind blowing( if i remember correctly the name of the restaurant was also "BLOOWING restaurant"). My tongue still lingers with that taste & i am cooking rajma with the hope that one day i can re create that heavenly taste in my kitchen lab. So the quest is still on .........

Now coming to this recipe the rajma curry is just straight forward nothing fancy but it's delicious.
Ingredients:
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Rajma/Kidney beans-->1 cup
Onion--> 2 medium size (chopped)
Tomato--> 2 & 1/2 medium size (chopped)
Garlic-->3 - 4 pods (chopped)
Ginger-->1 " (chopped)
Green chilli-->2 (chopped)
Red chilli powder-->as per taste
Tumeric powder-->1/4 tsp
Corainder powder/Dhania-->2 tsp
Amchoor powder-->pinch
Sugar-->1/2 tsp
Salt-->to taste
Hing/asafoetida-->pinch
Jeera/Cumin-->1 tsp
Ghee-->1 tbsp
Eno fruit salt-->1/2 tsp
Kasoori methi/Dry methi powder-->1 tsp
Milk-->1 tbsp
Whole Garam masala-->(2 elaichi pods/cardamom pods , 3 dalchini/cloves , small piece of
Lavang/Cinnamon)

Method:
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1)Soak rajma/kidney beans overnight in warm water.Next day drain the water and add fresh water.To this add eno fruit salt and little bit of ordinary salt and pressure cook this for 6 whistles
and then lower the flame and allow it to simmer for another 20 mins.
2)Grind together chopped onions,chopped tomatoes,green chillies,garlic,ginger and whole garam masala(2 elaichi pods/cardamom pods , 3 dalchini/cloves , small piece of lavang/cinnamon).
3)Heat a Kadai/Vessel - pour ghee or butter into it.When the ghee is hot enough add Jeera/cumin seeds and Hing/asafoetida and allow it to splutter.
4)Now add the above ground masala and fry till the raw smell is gone and the ghee leaves the sides of the vessel.
5)Now add the dry powders(red chilli powder,tumeric powder,amchoor powder,corainder powder) and fry for few seconds.
6)Add the boiled rajma along with the water.Crush few rajma with the help of spoon/laddle.This gives the thickness to the curry.
7)Add sugar & salt and bring to a rolling boil.
8)Add kasuri methi(crushed with fingers) and milk .Then lower the flame & allow it to simmer for some time say about 7 mins.
9)Remove from gas stove - garnish with chopped corainder leaves and chopped onions & serve it hot with rice ( rajma-chawal) or rotis.

Notes:
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* You can add cream instead of milk to get that rich creamy taste.
* i was running short of corainder leaves so i omitted to garnish the curry but if you want a delicious curry - do garnish it with corainder leaves and chopped onions and squeeze lime juice on top..slurpp

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Come APRIL i am reminded of 2 things - summer vacations & mangoes (the king of fruits) and of late an addition to this is my hubby's birthday which falls in the month of april.I am no longer in school so no more summer vacations but mangoes - they are always there!!I am a mango connoisseur. So my love for mangoes never never fades.

Even in terms of nutrition Mangoes has a lot of health benefits.It contains a stomach-soothing enzyme -so very good for your tummy. It also contains plenty of fiber, vitamins A and C, and potassium. One mango has about a hundred calories with no cholesterol and half of the necessary daily fiber.

I love to eat this fruit as it is but sometimes you need a change in the form you have them.

Now that happened to me - i felt like having Mango ice cream and the search started...


I googled a lot in search of some good mango ice cream recipes, and zeroed on to mango ice cream recipe of Spicy Chilly b'coz it was egg free and guilt free - i mean no cream used in the recipe . I followed the recipe with slight modification -

• I pureed the pulp from mangoes instead of using the canned ones.
• I did not add the fresh cream as the ice cream mix was already thick enough, and I did not find any ice formation.
• Used milk powder.

I got to eat this eggless ice cream with less guilt as it was minus the whipping cream which most recipes call for.And i must say i relished it.Thank you Bharathy very much for this yummy recipe. This is a keeper for sure.
Ingredients:
------------
Mango puree-->1 cup
Water-->1 cup
Milk powder-->6 tbsp
Corn flour-->1 tbsp
Sugar-->3/4 cup
Milk-->1/3 cup
Method:
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1)Mix the milk powder & water.See to it no lumps are formed.
2)Pour this into a heavy bottom pan & reduce the quantity till the whole mixture thickens i.e., reduce to a quater of the original quantity.
3)Dissolve the sugar and simmer for a few more minutes on low flame. The consistency should be like that of condensed milk.
4)Now in another container dissolve the cornflour with cold milk thorougly.See to it no lumps are formed.
5)Now add this cornflour milk mixture to the boiling -milk powder sugar mixture and keep stirring all the time to avoid lumps.
6)Simmer again till you reach a thicker consistency.Remove this from stove top & allow it to cool
completely.
7)Now mix in the mango puree to the cooled mixture and pulse this mixture using the blender.
8)Transfer this mixture to a container with lid & refrigerate it.
9)When it is half frozen -remove this mixture and whip it in the blender.Now pour back this mixture into the same container and re freeze it till it hardens.
10)Once done --Scoop them & ENJOY!!


This goes to Yasmeen's   Health Nut Challenge 6 - I Scream For Ice Cream! 

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This dish needs no introduction.As every one is familiar that pasta is an italian cuisine.For me it is an ultimate comfort food - b'coz you need just few minutes to cook & serve.So here is my version of pasta.

Ingredients:
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Pasta-->1 cup
Tomato-->1 big (chopped)
Tomato Ketchup-->1 tbsp
Green bell pepper-->handful (chopped)
Garlic Pods-->3
Italian seasoning-->1 tsp
Olive oil-->2 tbsp
Black Pepper Powder-->to taste
Salt-->to taste
Parmesan Cheese-->to garnish (grated)
Olives-->to garnish

Method:

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1)Cook pasta as per instruction "al dente" in boiling water with salt & olive oil.

2)Heat 1 & 1/2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat.To this add chopped garlic.Fry them till the raw smell is gone.

3)Add tomatoes & allow them to cook.

4)Now once the tomatoes are cooked -add Green bell pepper & fry for few seconds.The pepper should be crunchy & not fully cooked.

5)Now add black pepper powder,salt,seasoning & give it a thorough mix.

6)Now toss in the cooked & drained pasta and add tomato ketchup.

7)Remove from stove top and serve the pasta garnished with grated cheese & olives.

Note:

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• "Al dente" means that has been cooked so as to be firm but not hard. To check whether pasta is cooked " Al dente" just try cutting the cooked pasta with a spoon & it should easily cut into two.
  

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