my style cooking

Mango icecream

2009-02-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

This is a simple and an refreshing icecream i enjoyed each spoon of it.If you like mango fruit then you have to try this,it turns out so good and that too with only 3 ingredients.

i followed this video for the recipe ...

check it out

the texture was so smooth and it was melting in my mouth...hmm yum...

easy and simple Black Forest Cake

2009-02-16T12:20:00.000-08:00

I made this cake with readymade choclate cake mix. i wanted to ease my work a little.
if you want to make the choclate cake too from scratch check this video and the rest process of assembling is same.

shopping list :
click on the pic to zoom and see the ingredients and you can match them according to the ingredients i mentioned below.

Ingredients :

A. For cake :

1.Devil's food cake mix (pic 1)
2.Eggs - 3 (as mentioned on the cake mix pack)
3.Vegetable oil - 1/3rd cup (as mentioned on the cake mix pack), i used canola oil.
4.Water - 1 1/3 cup (as mentioned on the cake mix pack)

B. Cherry Filling

1. Maraschino cherries without stem - (pic 2)
2. Corn startch - 2 tbsp

C.Whipped cream icing

1 . Heavy whipping cream - 2 cups (pic 3)
2 . powdered sugar - 4 tbsp ( if u want to add more add it)
3 . cherry syrup - 1 tbsp (or use 1 cap of vanilla essensce )

D . cherry syrup

1. maraschino cherry syrup - 2 tbsp (pic 6)
2. sugar - 1 tbsp
3. water - 1/2 cup

E . Cake assembling

1 . semi sweet choclate shavings - of 1 bar(3.5 oz)(pic 5)
2 . Maraschino cherries with stems - 8 (patted dry)

METHOD :

1 . Mix the devil's food cake mix according to the instructions given on the backside of the cake mix.

2 . grease the pan with oil/butter or add an parchment paper and flour along the pan. i.e; add a spoonful of all purpose flour(maida) to the pan and shake the pan so that maida coats the pan evenly.

3 . bake it in the oven according to the instruction given on the cake mix pack. i baked it in two 8 inch round pans and it took 45 mins for me.

4 . meanwhile the cake in baking we can get ready with the icing and the filling.
before that ...keep an empty bowl in freezer(the bowl which u want to use for whipping cream)and keep even the beaters of the hand blender in freezer.and have some ice cubes ready for later use.

filling :
---------

5 . drain the juice out of marashino cherries and reserve the juice for later use,cut the cherries into half and keep aside.

6. In a pan add the drained cherry juice and let it boil for few minutes then add the cut cherries to it and at last add corn startch..

7. corn startch has to be mixed in water and add that water to the cherry mixture,this will thicken the cherry filling.

8. so after adding corn startch mix it for a min and keep the pan aside and let the mixture cool down.

filling is ready now lets prepare icing

Icing :
-------

9 . Use the bowl which we kept in the freezer add whipping cream to it then beat it slowly for few minutes then add icing sugar , and cherry syrup (or vanilla essensce)

10 . beat it in high now until soft peaks are formed (pic 4). do not over beat. over beating breaks the whipped cream and makes it like butter so use caution.

11 . set in in freezer for 1 hr atleast..it makes icing easier...

once the cake is ready and cooled down completely...scrap of the layer of cake if you want to level the cake..
then add the cherry syrup...to make cherry syrup..just mix all the ingredients which i mentioned above .
add cherry syrup to the cake layers to make it more moist and juicy.

finally Assembling the cake

12. take an 8 inch round cake ...Using a piping bag filled with cream,
pipe a circle of whipped cream around the cake.

13. place cherry filling that we prepared in the center of the circle and spread out evenly.

14 . also add add some icing on the cherries and spread again.

15 . place the second layer of cake on top .

16. spread the icing all over the cake and smoothing over the sides.

17 . pipe any borders for the cake if you want then add choclate curls in the center of the cake..add cherries with stems and decorate your cake.

Videos that might be helpful :
----------------------------

1 . how to whip cream if you dont have hand mixer

2 . how to whip cream with hand mixer

3 . how to whip cream with hand mixer video 2

4 . cooking cherry filling

5 . eggless choclate cake

6 . making heart shape black forest cake

7 . How to make choclate curls video 1(shavings for decoration)

8 .how to make choclate curls video 2(shavings for decoration)

Chicken Fry

2008-12-27T12:47:00.000-08:00

will post receipe soon....

Chicken Curry

2008-12-27T12:43:00.000-08:00

Ingredients :

Skinless chicken - 2 lbs
cinnamon - 1 inch stick
cardamom - 2 nos
cloves - 2 nos
onions - 2 medium
green chilles - 4 nos (julien cut)
ginger & garlic paste - 1 tbsp
turmeric - 1/4 tsp
corainder powder(dhaniya pwd) - 2 tsp
garam masala - 1 tsp
pc powder - 2 tbsp (see recipe below)
salt - to taste
red chilli pwd - to taste
corainder leaves for garnishing
oil - 3 tbsp

PC POWDER
In short i call it as pc powder it is nothing but poppy seeds and coconut powder.
poppy seeds(in telugu gasagasalu)
dry coconut powder
take equal quantities of both and grind them in a blender .
i make this powder is large quantities and keep it in refrigerator for future use,as if we make less quantity the poppy seeds doesnt grind well.

Marination
cleaned chicken
ginger & garlic paste-1 tsp
turmeric-1/4tsp
salt-1 tsp
red chilli powder-1 tsp
yogurt -1/2 cup well beaten

mix all of them and marinate atleast 20 mins.

Method

1 . Heat a skillet over medium heat to it add 3 or 4 tbsp of oil.(adding so much of oil gives good taste and texture to the dish) then add the cardamom,cloves and cinnamon after few sec add onions and green chillies.

2 . fry until the onions become translucent then add ginger and garlic paste fry until the raw smell vanishes.

3 . then add the marinated chicken and let it cook for sometime.
all the water in the chicken evaporates and the chicken will be cooked in few mins.

4 . then add water upto the level of the chicken inside the skillet.cover the skillet with a lid and leave it to cook for 10-15 mins in medium flame.

5 . then add red chilli powder,salt,corainder powder,garam masala,pc powder and stir well.you can add more water if needed.

6 . let it cook until oil oozes out.adjust spice levels according to your taste and remove from flame after garnishing the curry with corainder leaves.

thats it ..spicy chicken curry is ready
some add tomatoes to this dish.but i prefer this way,even without adding tomatoes you get very good gravy since we are adding the poppy seeds and dry coconut powder.

Murukulu/Chakli

2008-12-24T16:05:00.000-08:00

Murukulu/Chakli is a snack which is famous in southern part of india..whenever i prepare this at home ...they dissapear in 2 days i and my hubby enjoying munching on these in the evening.and here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Rice flour/biyam pindi - 2 cups
Besan/Gram flour/ - 1 cup
Ajwain/Carom seeds/vamu - 1 tbsp
Sesame seeds/nuvvulu - 1 tbsp
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Melted butter - 1/4 cup
Lukewarm water - abt 2 cups approx
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Makes approx 40-50 chakli's

Method

1. Sieve rice flour, besan flour together in a mixing bowl. Add carom seeds, sesame
seeds, red chilli pwd, salt and mix together. Pour the melted butter and mix.

2. Add luke warm water little at a time and make dough. Dough should not be too stiff nor too loose.

3. Cover the mixing bowl with a wet tissue paper and leave it aside for atleast 15mins.

4. In a chakli maker, fill the dough and make shapes onto a plate, prepare a bunch of them ahead.

5. Heat oil in a kadai(do not use non stick kadai)and slide the chakli's slowly into the oil and fry them until golden brown in medium to high heat..turn them to the other side in between so that it fries equally.

6. Drain them onto a paper napkin,after it gets cooled store them in an airtight container.

Prawn's Fry

2008-12-24T16:02:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

Prawn/Shrimp - 1 lb (shelled and deveined)
Cloves - 2 nos
Cinammon - 1 inch stick
Green cardamoms - 2 nos
Onion - 2 medium size
Green chillies - 3 nos
ginger & garlic paste - 1 tbsp
turmeric powder - 1/4th tsp
red chilli powder
Corainder powder(daniya powder)- 2 tsp
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Corainder leaves for garnishing
spring onion for garnishing
curry leaves - 2 stalks

Method

1 . First to remove the raw smell from prawns we have to cook them separetly.so for that mix prawns with 1/2 tsp salt,pinch turmeric.add this to the pan keep it in medium flame and cook it,no need to add oil,also no need to cover the pan.

2 . After few minutes the water from prawns evaporates and it gets cooked.
remove from flame and keep the cooked prawns aside.

3 . Take a pan add 2 tbsp of oil (can use the same pan or separate one),to it add the cinnamon,cloves and cardamom after few sec's add chopped onions and julienned chillies.fry until the onions become translucent.

4 . then add ginger & garlic paste and curry leaves fry till the raw smell vanishes.

5 . then add the cooked shrimp,red chilli pwd,salt,corainder pwd,and garam masala pwd.mix well and let it cook for few more mins,Adjust spices according to your taste.then finally add chopped corainder leaves and switch of the flame.

6 . garnish with spring onion

thats it...prawn fry is very easy to make.
many add tomato ,poppy seeds,or even coconut pwd but i prefer to do in this way.

Vada/Gareelu/Medhu vada

2008-11-15T14:57:00.001-08:00

Vada is a traditional South Indian food which is shaped like a doughnut but doesnt taste like it,rather it is spicy.Dont ever think about calories when you want to enjoy vada's ,usally i make it only during festivals but last time i made these for Diwali gettogether and everyone liked the vada's so much that they were finished in few minutes.So here am sharing the recipe.

Ingredients :

Urad dal - 2 cups
Medium sized onions(chopped) - 2 nos
Green chillies(chopped) - 5 nos
Corainder leaves (chopped)
Salt - 2 tsp
Baking Soda - 3 pinches
Oil - To deep fry

makes approx 25-30 vadas
For two people 1 cup of Urad dal is sufficient accordingly reduce the other ingredients quantity.

Preparation :

Soak 2 cups of urad dal with enough water alteast for 6-8hrs , i usally soak it overnight if am preparing it for next day Morning. (pic 2 & pic 3)

Method :

Part 1 : ( preparing the batter )

1. Clean the soaked urad dal with fresh water and drain the water completely. (pic 3)

2. Now grind the urad dal in 2 batches ,no need to make it as a smooth paste ...here n there if you can feel urad dal that consistency will also do if you dont like to get dal pieces as surprise while you are relising the vada then grind the urad dal as much as possible .

3. If you feel it is not grinding properly then add 1 tsp salt and then try to grind again
( adding salt makes the batter to oose out little water ) if still the blades are not moving then add little water (may be 2 table spoons ) .

4. Add water very carefully ...little by little (if the batter is runny then your vadas dont turn up as it should be )

5. Add the remaining 1 tsp of salt to the batter also add chopped onions, chopped green chillies,chopped corainder, 3 pinches baking soda and mix well if you feel the batter is too tight add little water(dont add too much) (pic 4 & pic 5).

6. You can refer vah chef's video HEREto check how the consistency of the batter should be ?

7. Taste the batter if you feel the salt is less add according to your taste,if you cannot make out the taste ...after you fry your first vada taste and then add more salt accordingly.

Part 2 : (making the vada)

1. Heat oil for deep fry in a wide kadai.

2. Take a zip lock bag or a plastic sheet grease it with oil on one side ..this we will use it as a platform to make the vadas . (you can also make vada's on hand as shown by vah chef...which ever is convinient )(pic 5)

3. Also keep a bowl of water nearby...(pic 5)

4 .Check if the oil is heated by dropping a small drop of batter if it raises quickly then the oil temp is good enough for our frying.

5. Now take a dollop of batter place it on the greased ziplock bag try to make a flat round shape on it if the batter is sticking to your hand dip your hand in the water bowl and again try to make the shape...

6. Now lift the ziplock bag with your left hand carefully invert it onto your right hand plam and try to gently release the vada from the ziplock bag ...try to follow this video HERE on how to drop the vada into the oil.(from 2:50min)

7. drop it very carefully...if yours hands are watery it easily slips into the oil so be sure to dip your hands before dropping each vada.

8. Fry until golden brown,remove them with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel which is placed on a big plate.

Thats it....enjoy the hot vadas with any chutney of your choice we even have it with chicken curry it tastes heavenly...
today i prepared tomato chutney ,uploaded the recipe do check it out.

Tomato chutney

2008-11-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients :

Medium size tomatos(chopped) - 4 nos
Tamarind - lemon size
Salt - to taste
Red chilli powder - to taste
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
urad dal - 1 tsp
Corainder leaves (chopped)
oil - for tadka (popu or seasoning)

Method :

1 . Add approx 1 tbsp oil to a pan, after it gets heated
add cumin seeds ,urad dal after they splutter add tamarind
2 . Saute it for a while,till tamarind becomes soft
3 . Then add tomato pieces and keep the lid after few mins the tomato pieces gets cooked
4 . Then add salt , red chilli powder , corainder leaves after a min switch of the flame
5 . Let it cool down completely and grind them in mixie/ blender to a smooth paste
6 . Thats it ...enjoy it taste good with vada,dosa,idli .

Modifications you can make :
1 . i add more than 1 tbsp cumin seeds as my hubby likes the cumin flavour so depending upon
your taste you can modify the recipe.
2 . i add chopped onions after the tadka ..after they get cooked i add chopped tomato pieces and
the rest recipe is the same .
3 . I omit tomatoes completly and just make it with onion then i skip tamarind and corainder
the rest ingredients are same .

Mushroom curry

2008-03-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

Mushrooms are fat free and potential sources of nutrients.

Ingredients :

Button Mushrooms sliced- 200gms (i used 1 pkt of agaricus mushroom)
Onion chopped - 1/2
Green Chillies chopped - 5
ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp
Soya Sauce - 2 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 + 1/2 tsp
Spring Onion chopped- for garnishing
oil - 1 + 1/2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and saute onions,greenchilies until onions are translucant,to it add the ginger and garlic paste.Then add mushrooms and fry it till mushrooms are cooked.Add soya sauce,salt into it and cook for another 3-4 minutes.Mix cornflour in 1/2 cup water and add to the pan conrflour is added to make the curry thick.Simmer for another 2 minute stirring continuosly.Remove from heat,garnish with spring onion and corainder and serve hot with chapathi.
or it goes well with fried rice or noodels

Gutti Vankaaya Kura (Stuffed Eggplant Curry)

2008-03-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

Guttivankaya kura is a traditional Andhra brinjal speciality.It is very rich in taste.This curry is very famous and there are people who love this curry and there are also people who hate it(comparitive less % am sure of it)my father and brother hate this curry so my mom used to hardly make it...Now i make it often as this is my hubby's fav and i like it too.....here goes the recipe.

Ingredients :

medium size Onion -1
green chilies -2
Cinnamon stick(chekka)-1
Cloves(lavangam)-2
Cumin seeds(jeelakara)-1 tsp
Sesame seeds(nuvvulu)-4 tbsp
Peanuts-1 tbsp
Dry red chilli-4
Dry coriander seeds-3 tsp
Dry dessicated coconut -1 tbsp
Tamarind - lemon size ball
Turmeric powder-¼ tsp
Red chilli powder-2 tsp
Mustard(aavalu)-¼ tsp
Cumin seeds(jeera)-¼ tsp (for tempering)
Curry leaves-6 nos
Salt (or to taste)-1 tsp
Oil-2 tbsp
Eggplants(vankaya)i used purple ones even green eggplants are fine -5

Method :

1.Dry roast each of the following ingredient separately
a.peanuts, b.sesame seeds, c.corainder seeds, d.dry red chillies, e.dry dessicated coconut

2.After roasting Grind them along with cumin seeds to make a thick paste if necessary add little water but dont add much we want it to b paste like so that we can stuff the brinjals properly if its too watery it cannot stay so add little.

3.Wash the brinjals dont remove the stem and to the other side of the veggie cut as a + sign (plus sign) cut until down of the veggie until it reaches 1/2 inch above the stem of the brinjal.

4.And now open the brinjal a little apart and stuff it with the paste.Keep the remaining paste for gravy.

5.Heat oil in a sauce pan splutter mustard,cumin,cinnamon,cloves,curry leaves

6.Add onions,green chillies,turmeric pwd after the onions are translucant add the remaining paste and dilute it with acup of water.,to it add tamarind pulp

7.meanwhile take another pan add 1tbsp oil to it and add the stuffed brinjals just frying on the outside for 5 mins...this step can be avoided its not mandatory...

8.After step 6 you can directly arrange the eggplants to the curry and cook or do the step 7 and add to the curry after arranging the eggplants inthe curry keep lid over the pan and cook on medium flame,cook until oil oozes out.

Its DONE !!!
This curry goes well with hot rice.

Berrylicious Strawberry Milkshake

2008-03-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

A strawberry is a superstar when it comes to anti-oxidant power,Low in calories and high in vitamins.
1 cup of strawberries gives you recommended daily allowance of vitamin C.
Select strawberries that have a full red color and avoid any that are uncolored or white.
Here is my recipe for the berrylicious strawberry milk shake

Ingredients :

-- 8-10 strawberry's stem removed
-- 1 cup of 2% Reduced fat milk (or fat free milk)
-- 1 table spoon of honey

Method :

Toss all strawberry's in a blender to it add milk n honey,and blend until thick and serve...
this recipe serves 2

thats it so simple....
This is myway of making this milkshake....usually they add vanilla icecream or whip creme,sugar i avoided all those as they are not healthy n replaced sugar with honey in my recipe.

Baingan Bartha(Egg Plant Curry)

2008-03-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

The flavour of the roasted brinjal/egg plant is very unique...hmm yummy this dish is one of our fav's.Many add potatoes to this dish but i dint as i dont like using potatoes since its full of carbs...anyway heres the recipe for the dish in my way....

Ingredients :

1 big eggplant
1 medium sized onion(finely chopped)
1 big tomato (finely chopped)
2 green chilies(finely cut)
1/2 spoon turmeric powder
1 spoon corainder powder
1/2 spoon garammasala powder
red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves(finely cut)

Method :

1.Wash the baingan ,then with a knife make some scars on the veggie so that it bakes well....and then smear some oil all over the veggie.
2.Bake the baingan in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees and then Let it cool.
3.Meanwhile fry the onions add salt to onions so that it fries faster to it add turmeric pwd and green chilies fry until the onions are translusant.
4.Then add chopped tomatoes.
5.By now the baingan wud have cooled down so start peeling of its skin after removing the skin completly mash it with hand or grind it to smooth texture.
6.when tomatoes are cooked add red chilli pwd,garam masala,corainder pwd
7.Then add baingen mixture to it and let it boil for 5-10mins
8.add corainder leaves

Your baingan bartha is ready.
Before serving, garnish it with fresh coriander leaves. You can have it with chapathi or rice.

Happy birthday to My blog

2008-03-11T12:38:00.001-07:00

This is my first post in my blog....
I have spent lot of time thinking what shd i name my blog....atlast came up with this name.....COOKING IN MY STYLE
why i choose this name??
Coz me n my hubby are food fanatics though we are from andhra origin i try at home all most all cuisine's....and i add spices n make it according to our taste buds shortly 2 say i make it in my style....hence the blog name
well i got intrest in cooking after my marriage n so after each recipe i try out i feel like an achievement.....i'll b in cloud 9 whenever my hubby praise me tasting the diff recipes i try.....inorder to treasure my recipes n share it with my blog friends i created this blog....