3 Recipes

Egg Curry -

Needed - Lots of diced onions, diced tomatoes, boiled eggs, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt, garam masala(optional).

In a heated pan, add oil and lots of it(I use Olive oil). Add mustard seeds and jeera. Then add the onions and little salt. The salt helps the onions cook a little faster. When the onions are half cooked, add the tomatoes, the chilli powder, the turmeric powder, garam masala(optional) and salt. Do not add water. Cut the egg into halves. After the tomatoes and onions are fully cooked, add the egg and cook for 5 - 10 mins. Enjoy!

Pizza - I made this all from scratch, even the sauce

Needed -

For the base - All purpose flour, active dry yeast, sugar and salt.

For the sauce - tomato sauce, diced fresh tomatoes, diced garlic and italian herb seasoning. I used the McCormick mixture and it had basil, Marjoram, thyme, rosemary, oregano, savory and sage. I am just writing this straight from the bottle. Just look for anything that has Basil.

Toppings - any cheese you want, but Mozzarella is a must. How else will you get that string of cheese falling from your plate?!. I used a mix of Parmesan and Mozzarella, onions, bell pepper.

To make the base - In a bowl of warm water, add a tsp of yeat, sugar and salt and leave it for 10-15 mins until it starts becoming foamy. Add this to the flour and mix it like chappathi flour until it is smooth. apply some olive oil on top of the dough, cover it with foil or plastic wrap and leave it for 1 - 2 hours until it doubles in volume and it does!

To make the sauce - In a heated pan, add olive oil and add the garlic and fresh tomatoes and little salt. once the tomatoes are cooked and mashed a little, add the tomato sauce. I also added a little tomato paste to get that red color. Then add the herbs seasoning. You don't have to cook this for a long time. Just get this mixture heated up and you are good to go.

To make the pizza - spread the dough, a little bit thicker and put it on the pizza pan. I actually bought a pizza stone. It was only $2 more than the pan and I know that it awesome for making naans. They come out really well. Heat the oven to 420 degrees and put just the base into the oven for about 15 mins. Then take it out and add your toppings and bake again for about 10 - 15 mins. Don't forget to sprinkle a little salt if you are using lots of vegetables for toppings. but use very less since cheese is salty. The recipes in internet ask you to put the toppings and sauce on the uncooked base and cook them together. but I found that the base doesnot cook properly if I do that. That's why I cook the base separately before adding the sauce and toppings. It is much easier when u actually do it. Enjoy!

Stuffed Baingan(borrowed from a friend) -

Needed - Brinjals, Onions, garlic, ginger, red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, basin flour, turmeric powder, red chilli powder.

Fry the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, besan flour, red chillies, turmeric powder and little salt and grind them all together. This is the stuffing. But my friend made another stuffing by grinding roasted peanuts, red chillies and salt and it was better than the besan flour stuffing.

Slit the brinjals and put them in sality warm water for half an hour.

Grind the onions, garlic and ginger and fry this paste in heated pan with oil. Once the mixture is cooked, add red chilli powder, garam masala, salt and a little water and let it cook some more. Stuff the brinjals with the stuffing and press them hard so they won't fall off. Add this to the mixture on the stove and cover it and let it cook. turn the brinjals slowly inbetween until everything is fully cooked. It tastes awesome. Enjoy!

Cars

After reading lazy blogger's old movie review, I decided to write on the animation movie "Cars". I just love this movie a lot. I watched it 3 times last weekend inspite of working till 7:30 PM on Saturday! When I am changing channels and see this movie in one of them, I just stop there and start watching as if I am watching it for the first time. Out of all the animations I have watched, this is my very favorite. Well, Finding Nemo and Cars equally good. Where do I even begin to describe the scenes I like? Every one of them is awesome. The attention to detail is mind blowing. Luigi is so cute! and Mator is funny....every Character in Radiator Springs is as if they are real and meant to be there. I like "Back then Cars didn't run to make great time, they ran to have a great time". Very true. Scaring the tractors and getting chased after by that Frank? don't remember his name very much. The big one with the ring in the nose.....that one. And winning the race with the tongue, the cozy cone, the dude who sells organic fuel, the very shy Red, the old car whose husband built Radiator Springs, the 2 cars that come looking for directions, Besse...yup I like every car in that movie. The main characters just wow you - Lightning McQueen, Sandy(right? the porsche?) and Doc Hudson. what else can I say.....I just love this movie.

I am not vanilla.....

...That's what Rachel from FRIENDS said when she was described as being very common/usual/nothing different. Ever since I saw this episode, I have been thinking if I am also a "vanilla", meaning there is nothing interesting about me? There is nothing wrong in being one, it's just makes you feel better if there are distinctive qualities that make you stand out. So here is the list of "not so vanilla" things about me -

1. I hate coffee. Tasting even a single sip of coffee makes me feel nauseous for hours.
2. While the rest of the world counts calories and tries to lose weight, I have been trying hard to put on weight ever since I can remember. I have always been on the too thin side and had to wear selective dresses and hairstyles that makes me look plumpier(is this even a word? who cares. you know what I mean.) I proudly tell everybody that I put on 40 pounds during my pregnancy and even today am probably the only one who is scared to go the gym for fear of losing weight.
3. Hate makeup. Makes me feel fake. May be a little lipstick, that too only because my lips are very dark.
4. Doesnot care about my career very much. I love to work and earn, but would give it up in a heart beat if it means compromising even the smallest of things for my husband and daughter. Have done it before. This might not seem to be a big thing for others, but the fact is that I am really good at the work I do, if I can say so myself. I have been working in my current job for only a year now and am already the most important person in my team. I got a bonus on the first 3 months of working here(you are eligible for a bonus only after completing one year) and the work is hard core script writing, sql querying, sometimes worse than a developer kind of work. But as I said before, would give it all up without second thought if it comes even slightly in my way of my duties as a mom or wife.
5. Am scared of cats. Love dogs, but scared of cats.
6. I am comfortable only at 90 degree temperatures. Anything less than 80 is cold for me. and a couple of days back the high was 5 degrees in Fahrenheit!
7. Don't like sweets that much. ofcourse chocolates and icecream is fine, but don't like most of the Indian sweets, pies, cookies.
8. cannot absolutely eat cereal at all. I would rather faint with hunger than eat cereal. Nope not for me.
9. I am a very good cook. I mean really really good. I do sometimes make flop recipes, but 90% of my cooking will be unbelievably tasty. Guess I got that one from my mom...:)

Now all you busy, lazy, touring and wondering bloggers, haven't seen an update from you guys in a long time. Here is you next topic.....your "not so vanilla" list.......

and a Happy new Year To All!