Roti Laddoo

What starts off a stale roti, end up as a nutritious delicious laddoo , which fly off the plate before you set them down. Its as easy to make as it is tasty to eat.

Here i have 4 small stale rotis. Stale rotis are dry and easily crumble. Just tear the rotis into small chunks and run it through a chopper or food processor. Just a couple of turns. What you get is crumbs like these.

To these crumbs add 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of soft ghee. You can add jaggery instead of powdered sugar. Just grate the jaggery and rub it into the roti crumbs before adding the ghee. Add a pinch of cardamom powder and a few sliced nuts. lift a fistful and pressing hard shape into small lemon sized balls.

Leftover arent left any more. Magic !!

Tofu Satay

An extremely popular starter common to Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian cuisines. However its origins are traced to Indonesian food culture. A quick , easy and exotic starter and very fast moAving with drinks. Equally popular with kids, youngsters and adults, this skewered  dish tastes just as delicious  Paneer and Tofu are delicious options.

400 gms extra firm tofu sliced into 1/4th inch thick x 2 inch rectangular strips. pat dry and marinate for an hour., cut into strips or thin cubes.

 1st marinade : 

 salt, pepper , 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp cornflour. mix well and keep for abt 10 mins.

peanut sauce :

1 small onion, 6 cloves garlic, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 inch piece of ginger, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp chopped green coriander, , 2 tbsp sweet mango chutney , 1 cup peanuts or 1/2 cup peanut butter. if the mango chutney or achaar is not sour enough , mix in the juice of one lemon. the taste has to be crunchy sweet and a little sour. if you like more spice add in a green chilli while grinding. 

this is basically the peanut dipping sauce. just mix all ingredients except the peanuts and blend to a paste, add in the peanuts and blend till the peanuts are coarsely crushed.  use 1 tbsp of this as a marinade and add to the tofu. 

soak the wooden skewers or toothpicks in water for about half an hour. thread in the marinated tofu and keep aside till required.. just line up on a hot gridle, or grilling surface. turn every 2 mins till all sides are well roasted. serve hot with the peanut dipping sauce separately or spooned over the satay. 

Soupy Noodles

Ever wondered what to cook when you are not particularly hungry , dont have much choice, have to meats or even vegetables and cant be bothered to go out and shop for some? Here is how a pack of instant noodles can work for you.

1 pack of instant noodles. Any vegetable scraps, 1 tablespoon of instant soup powder ( mushroom, vegetable, chicken, asparagus, oriental veg, sweet corn soup) , 1 stock cube, 1 tablespoon ketchup or worcestershire sauce . ( Here i have used leftover noodles half a pack of egg noodles and half plain)

Boil water according to the instant noodles packet instructions, add an extra half measure of water to it first. Add in the stock cube , sauces and vegetables. Mix the soup powder in 2 tblsp water. Add to the boiling water. Break the noodles and add. Switch off the heat when the noodles are just about done. Cover and keep for 2 mins. Serve garnished with grated cheese or a fried egg, boiled chicken or anything handy really.

Battered Fish

Many a happy lunchtimes have been spent chatting over batter fried fish and a large green salad. Its a great dish when you feel like a special meal. Its so easy to make . Just make sure you are all ready when its time to dip the fish in and you can sure to get a yummy flaky crisp covering on the delicately cooked fish. During my Newcastle stay , we often ate a leisurely lunch with ready to make soups and fried fish. You get cheaper white fish at supermarkets and this is how special meal can be economical .

oil for frying , 1 1/2 cup plain flour, 3tsp baking powder , 500ml chilled soda / beer , 4 fillets of firm white fish


Heat the oil in a deep fryer .
Whisk the baking powder into the chilled flour, along with ½ tsp salt, and then quickly whisk in the cold soda until you have a thick paste. This needs to be done just before you cook the fish.

Quickly Dip your fish into the batter and then carefully lower it into the hot oil, and agitate the frying basket to prevent the fish sticking to it. This will also give the batter a more interesting texture. Do this one or two pieces at a time: don't overcrowd the fryer.

Cook the fish for about 4–6 minutes, depending on size, keeping a watchful eye on it; it should be crisp and golden. Lift out of the oil and drain on kitchen paper then serve immediately.

Best eaten with overcooked mushy peas seasoned with just salt and pepper and with mayonnaise, just the way the British do.

Chicken Satay

We are always on the look out for exotic, easy to make and non fried party snacks. Anything that is on skewers seems to be difficult to make and needs to be tended to. Not the satay. Its easy to assemble, needs no special equipment. Can be just as easily cooked on a girdle as it can on a barbeque . Its juicy, yummy and flies off the plate really fast. i have had guests , monopolizing the satay plate . The peanut dipping sauce is as yummy on its own as it is with the satay. It can be used as a dip with julienned vegetables as well. I make the peanut sauce in larger quantities , so its just a matter of marinating some chicken and putting it on skewers the next time we feel like having satay. 

4 chicken breast boneless, cut into strips or thin cubes.

1st marinade :
 salt, pepper , 2 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp cornflour. mix well with the chicken and keep for abt 10 mins.

peanut sauce :
1 small onion, 6 cloves garlic, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 inch piece of ginger, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp chopped green coriander, 2 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp sweet mango chutney ( if not available use 1 tbsp mango murabba or 2 tbsp oil free sweet mango achaar), 1 cup peanuts or 1/2 cup peanut butter. if the mango chutney or achaar is not sour enough , mix in the juice of one lemon. the taste has to be crunchy sweet and a little sour. if you like more spice add in a green chilli while grinding.

this is basically the peanut dipping sauce. just mix all ingredients except the peanuts and blend to a paste, add in the peanuts and blend till the peanuts are coarsely crushed.  use 1 tbsp of this as a marinade for the chicken.

soak the wooden skewers or toothpicks in water for about half an hour. thread in the marinated chicken and keep aside till required. this chicken will cook in 7 to 10 mins flat. just line up on a hot gridle, or grilling surface. turn every 2 mins till all sides are well roasted. serve hot with the peanut dipping sauce separately or spooned over the chicken.

Green Snowdrop soup

A yummy soup that is pleasing to the palate as well as the stomach. Mother will never complain about this one. This uses greens and egg whites. Nutritious , healthy, chunky and pleasing to the eye. Now that we've listed its virtues lets get down to how easy it is to make.

You need just a cupful of greens you like. Sliced french beans, capsicum, snow peas, spinach, bok choy, spring onions, coriander leaves, celery, cabbage etc. 2 cups chicken / vegetable stock, 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp crushed garlic, 1 ts grated ginger , salt, pepper to taste, 1/4 th tsp sugar. 1 egg white. 1 tsp cornflour mixed with water to make a thin paste .

Heat a pan and add 1/4 tsp oil to it. saute the ginger and then add garlic. add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add in the greens and the seasonings.Bring to a boil. Beat the egg white and slowly add to the boiling soup. Add in the cornflour paste and stir well. Serve.

Fish cakes

A small portion of Fish, a bit of potato, a bit of stale bread, seasoning , oil. Yummy Fish Cakes. Heres how.

About 100 gms of a boneless fish easily available to you. 1 boiled potato, 2 slices of stale bread, salt -pepper to taste, chopped herbs if available, ( Fish and herbs pairing) . Oil for frying.

Steam and flake the fish, crumble the stale bread or mince it up  finely.Grate the potato, mix well the fish, chopped herbs salt n pepper and leave for a bit. After abt 5 mins add grated potato and tablespoonful of the breadcrumbs . gently mix with a fork, check seasoning. divide and roll into 2 balls, shape into patties and roll in the rest of the breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a shallow pan and fry over medium heat till golden brown on both sides. Alternately brush a non stick pan with a little oil, flatten the patty and cook till light brown on both sides.

The Fish cake can be eaten on its own, or with pasta, noodles, garlic bread. You can put it in side bread along with a salad of choice , and sauces of your choice. 

Once upon a Tyne.

Since I am visiting Newcastle  upon Tyne, UK for a short while, and staying at a student accommodation studio , I'm going to make the most of the situation. Considering I'm on a tight budget in terms of resources but have a wider range of produce to choose from , I should be doing well. And considering the meals put together in the past two day, its a great start. So now here's offering you frugal meals.

Day one was spent in exploring the place, supermarkets and generally figuring out the locations of shops, university etc. Meals were Fish and Chips ( gorgeous cod , battered and served with steamed peas and  chips), Vegetable soup ( terrible. It had lentils veggies, ham, but just not very tasty), vegetarian canneloni with a greens salad , baked potato with spicy chilli . Now finally I am geared with a basic kitchen i.e Amenities: A 2 burner electric hob,  a small microwave/ oven, a small size refrigerator, 4 1/2 feet platform with overhead storage. Some Tupperware : the magic chopper, 2 rock n serve, a 3 pc set of clear n pure bowl, a crystal wave mug, A set of serving and stirring spoons, masala dabba, and small lidded cups and bowls .
Cookware: A prestige pressure cooker, a 5 pc set of Tefal non stick cookware i. a small milk pan, small sauce pan, medium saucepan, small frying pan and a medium frying pan.

Homeware from Argos and Poundland. Groceries from Morrisons, Sainsbury's and I'm set to cook n blog.

Coming up soon. Non Fussy, easy to cook, almost frugal food.

Happy Reading and Bon Appetite.

Tomato Celery Soup

This soup is an excellent example on how to make a simple everyday dish , exciting and fancy.  Its as simple at that, just take a normal tomato soup, add in chopped celery , give it a boil , add a dollop of cream and VOILA! a lovely fresh  exotic soup. 

You have the additional trick of using packaged tomato soup if you don't have the time to make it. But in love the longer process , and if you do too, here it is.

4 firm red tomatoes, 1/2 a potato peeled and diced, 2 inch piece of carrot peeled and diced, 1 small onion chopped,2 cloves garlic chopped, 1 stalk of fresh celery or about 2 heaped tbsp of chopped celery . salt and pepper to taste. Fresh cream to garnish

Cut the tomatoes into half and scoop out the seeds.In a large pot put in the tomatoes, carrot, potato, onion, garlic  and 4 cups of water. Cover and cook till the carrots and potatoes are tender. Cool , blend into a smooth paste and strain. Put the strained soup into another pan , season with salt and pepper and the chopped celery. Cook till it comes to a boil, lower the flame and let simmer for 5 mins. Serve the soup with a dollop of fresh cream.

Garlic bread, soup sticks, croutons or crackers go well with this soup.

Spanish Rice

The kids are amazing in the kitchen . Very often they want to experiment with familiar ingredients , just adding a couple of different flavours or key ingredients to it to give it a different twist. Here is a Spanish rice made by my son. Its light, quick to cook and delightfully tasty. A treat for the eyes as well. 

Ingredients:
2 tbsp olive oil, 1 onion chopped fine, 2 garlic cloves chopped fine, 1 cup raw rice,1 tomato chopped, 2 cups chicken stock,   2 tbsp grated cheese, 1 tsp finely chopped oregano, salt and pepper to taste.

Pick and wash the rice. Drain it for about 30 minutes before cooking.

Heat a pan , lightly fry the onions and garlic till the onions are translucent.Add in the rice and saute till the rice is well coated with the oil. Meanwhile heat the chicken stock.Add to the rice, slowly mixing and stirring it . Add tomatoes, oregano , salt and pepper to the rice. Lower the flame and cover the pan. Cook for 10 mins or till the rice is just done.

To serve, fill the rice in a small bowl. Gently pat down the rice and turn it over into a serving plate. Garnish with grated cheese and serve.