Spices n Secrets

Egg devil is a popular snack item.


While, it can be made in many ways, I have a fairly simple recipe.

Ingredients for 6 Egg Devils:

1. 5 eggs
2. 3 medium size boiled potatoes
3. 1 medium size onion finely chopped
4. 1/2 cup bread crumbs
5. 1 tbsp. lemon juice
6. 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
7. 1 tsp. rai/mustard seeds
8. 1 tsp. haldi/turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp. zeera/cumin powder
10. 1 tsp. dhania/coriander powder
11. 1 tsp. red chilly powder
12. 1/2 tsp. garam masala powder
13. salt to taste
14. vegetable for deep frying

Method:

Sanjana Datta Das


Born in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India, I have travelled all over the country and few places abroad.
My educational background is B.pharm and M.pharm.
With a keen interest in cooking, I am here to share my ideas and views on easy to cook recipes, homecare, babycare and much more.

Egg is one of my favourite ingredients to work with.


It can be had as it is or mixed with something else.


Interestingly, egg is one of those kitchen ingredients that works for both sweet and savoury dishes.


Today, I bring a recipe of an omlette.
I regard it as an upgraded version of a plain omlette that you can make on days when you are very hungry and there is no bread to accompany your egg. Or you need to serve 2-3 people and have only 2 eggs at home.


This is a basic recipe that is intended to give you can idea on how this omlette takes shape and prepared. You can master this and then go about adding more ingredients of your choice like vegetables, pre-cooked chicken, ham, salami, etc.
For, now its time for Potato Cheese Omlette!

Ingredients:

1. 2 eggs
2. 2 medium size potatoes
3. 1 medium onion
4. 2 tsp. crushed black peppercorns
5. any cheese of your choice (grated or cut into small pieces)
6. salt to taste
7. vegetable oil for cooking

Method:

Spinach is a tricky vegetable to feed kids and sometimes adults too.


So, I have come out with a way to hide spinach in a popular snack item called Samosa.
Pureeing spinach and kneading the dough with it and filling vegetables inside, will not only make you forget there is spinach but also make you eat a very healthy samosa.


To make my Spinach Samosa,

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups maida/all-purpose flour
2. 3 cups chopped spinach
3. 1 medium size potato
4. 250gms cauliflower
5. 1 cup green peas
6. 5-6 garlic
7. 1/2 inch ginger
8. 6 green chillies
9. 1 tbsp. dhania/coriander powder
10. 1 tsp. haldi/turmeric
11. 1 tsp. zeera/cumin seeds
12. salt to taste
13. vegetable oil for cooking.

Method:

Sanjana Datta Das


Born in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, India, I have travelled all over the country and few places abroad.
My educational background is B.pharm and M.pharm.
With a keen interest in cooking, I am here to share my ideas and views on easy to cook recipes, homecare, babycare and much more.

One of the best things about Winter is the extensive range of vegetables and fruits you can get, and the freshness in them is absolutely unparallel to any other season of the year.


Carrot, an otherwise not so favourite vegetable of mine, becomes a special one when I cook something sweet with it or bake a cake with it.
A few days back I bought a kilo of carrots and a winter staple called Gajar Halwa was on my mind.


But the traditional method of cooking this Indian sweet dish is way more laborious than I can ever get myself to start with.


Then recalled my mom's way of making gajar halwa and I tried it.
It really is the most easiest and quickest way to cook this halwa.


Some might even ridicule and say it will not be the same as the recipe that calls for boiling carrots in milk for an hour. But I can truly assure you, that it tastes better!
The color is so much brighter and fresh looking of this recipe than the traditional one. And the time taken is like 1/4 the amount.


While, I haven't added any nuts, you can go overboard with a variety of dry fruits in this halwa and add yummy stuffs like Khoya and Condensed milk for richness.


Lets begin!

Ingredients for 4-5 Servings:

1. 4 cups grated carrots
2. 3/4 cup granulated sugar
3. 1/2 cup milk
4. 1/2 cup raisins
5. 1/4 cup ghee
6. 1 tsp. nutmeg powder
7. 4-5 elaichi/cardamom

Method:

Meanwhile, grind elachi to a fine powder.

Chana Dal or Split Bengal Gram is a loved by the Bengali community very much.


Nutritious and tasty, this dal can be served with luchi/puri for breakfast or served with pulao in lunch and dinner.


Traditionally Chana Dal or as Bengali's say Cholar Dal is prepared with fresh coconut cut into small dices. But due to non-availability to fresh coconut, I have often made the same recipe with store-bought dried coconut flakes. The taste has been slightly different but not at all depressing. And, this has always been my motto, go ahead with whatever you have and experiment!


Extremely simple to make with very few ingredients, Chana Dal cooked in Bengali Style must be tried.

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Chana Dal
2. 1/4 cup fresh coconut pieces or dried coconut flakes (click to buy Urban Platter Dried Coconut Flakes)
3. 1 tsp. ginger paste
4. 4 green chillies
5. 1 tsp. haldi/turmeric
6. 1 tsp. dhania/coriander powder
7. 1/4 tsp. hing/asofoetida
8. 2 tsp. sugar
9. 1 tsp. zeera/cumin seeds
10. 2 bay leaves
11. 3 cardamom
12. 1 elaichi/cinnamon stick
13. 3-4 laung/cloves
14. 2 dried red chillies
15. salt to taste
16. Ghee for cooking

Method:

 Serve warm with steam rice or pulao.

In our search for healthy recipes, we all must have ended up with tasteless food at least once in our cooking life.


But I guarantee you that this recipe is healthy, tasty and easy to make.


It is not the gluten- free version as it does use a portion of flour.


The combination of banana and cinnamon gives it a heavenly flavor and smell.


The recipe goes ...

Ingredients for 3 Servings:

1. 1/2 cup or 80gms rolled oats (click to buy Quaker Rolled Oats)
2. 3/4 cup or 100gms all-purpose flour
3. 75gms milk
4. 40gms melted butter (you can reduce the amount if you want it more healthy)
5. 2 medium ripe bananas
6. 1 large egg
7. 2 tbsp. honey
8. 1 tbsp. flavourless vegetable oil
9. 1 tsp. baking powder
10. 1/2 tsp. cinnamon powder (click to buy Urban Platter Cinnamon Powder)
11. A pinch of salt

Method:

Break the egg in a bowl and whisk it while adding the butter.

In another bigger bowl, mix the dry ingredients like flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon powder and salt.

Gradually pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients.
Mix slowly with a blender.

Add milk gradually till it gains a not-too-thick but not-too-runny consistency.

Put a pan on medium heat.
Put some oil using a brush (this reduces oil consumption).

Fry a spoonful of the batter and wait till tiny bubbles form on top.
Flip to cook both sides.

Your pancakes are ready to be eaten as breakfast or snack.
Feel free to drizzle some honey or butter it up with some sugar sprinkled on top.
Enjoy when hot!!


Sohini Nandi

Egg is a versatile food.


Just as it is you can eat eggs in a variety of manner. Boiled, scrambled, poached or omlette. And then comes the gamut of recipes in which eggs can play the main role or secondary.


Either way, eggs are a great way to expand your diet and make healthy eating choice.


Today, I bring to you all an often repeated recipe of morning breakfast sandwich which is easy to prepare and assemble, absolutely yummy to eat and fills your tummy for hours till lunch.
So, lets begin Egg Sandwich!

Ingredients for 2 Servings:

1. 4 bread slices
2. 2 soft boiled eggs
3. 1 small onion finely chopped
4. 2 tbsp. coriander leaves finely chopped
5. 2 tbsp. softened butter
6. 2 tsp. crushed black peppercorns
7. salt to taste

Method:

 In a mixing bowl, add chopped onions and add salt and black pepper to it.
Mix well.
Add butter and coriander leaves to it.
Deshell the eggs and roughly mash it into the butter onion mixture.
Arrange the bread slices.
Spread a thick layer of the egg mixture.
Cover the sandwich with another bread slice.
Serve with ketchup and a warm cup of tea or coffee!