Lemon Shavige Bhath / Uppittu

Shavige Uppittu is one of my favourite items for breakfast! It is a very popular dish in Bangalore and many parts of Karnataka.  It is prepared with freshly made rice noodles but it is a long process and requires a lot of time and preparation. I have used the readymade rice noodles available locally. The last time I had used MTR but I wanted something more lighter this time.  This can be prepared in a variety of ways and I have tried the Tomato based shavige bath before. (For recipe click here)  I tried making the lemon flavoured Shavige this time and it has become a family favourite. You will find us gorging on this delicate dish mostly over the weekends. J 

I have been trying out my hands at photography and love the close up shots of the food. But still I struggle with lighting and shadow adjustments.  Whatever I have been taking is all on easy mode and should work on using the manual mode soon. The pictures came out well this time and this dish looks so good in them! Don’t you think so?  J (excuse me for beating my own drum :P)

Ingredients:

·        Rice noodles/Shavige 500 grams

·        Lemon/Lime Juice from two whole limes

·        Onions finely chopped – 2

·        Green chillies – finely chopped or slit 5-6 (depending on your requirement)

·        Mustard seeds 1 tsp

·        Curry leaves – 10-20

·        Channa Dhal /split black chickpea– 2 tbsp

·        Urad dhal / split black gram - 1 tbsp

·        Peanuts – a handful

·        Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

·        Oil – 2 tbsp

·        Fresh Cilantro/ Coriander – a hand full

·        Grated coconut – about ½ cup

How to prepare:

1.      Boil Rice noodles in water (double the measure of rice noodles) for 5-8 minutes by adding a ½ tsp of salt.  Once cooked drain and rinse in cold water for couple of times by adding 1 tsp oil in cold water to avoid stickiness. OR You can follow the instructions on the package. Just make sure you don’t over cook it otherwise it becomes mushy.

2.      Heat oil in a large Kadai. Add mustard seeds and let it crackle.

3.      Add curry leaves, urad dhal and channa dhal, green chillies and chopped onions one after another leaving a gap of 20-30 seconds.  Sauté till onions become transparent.

4.      Add turmeric powder, salt and lemon juice. Stir well and simmer the flame.

5.      Finally add chopped Cilantro, grated coconut and drained rice noodles and gently mix it together.

6.      Serve hot with Coconut Chutney.

Points to Ponder:

Speaking of food looking good, aren’t we women obsessed with that craving too??  After giving birth to my son, I have put on a lot of weight and am constantly trying to lose weight (but in vain)! All of a sudden I am obsessed about looking good, which I never bothered about in my teens and early twenties. I am not saying we shouldn’t take out time for ourselves but should we be so obsessed about it that it affects are relationships, time and money?  As a woman grows older the obsession gets stronger I must say! But it’s in our hands not to let that desire become an obsession! This scripture portion below reminds us to know where to find such beauty!!

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.  Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of gentle and quite spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight.”                  
                                                                                                                                                                 1 Peter 3:3-4

                                                                                                                       

Palak Chicken / Chicken cooked with Spinach

Hello Dear Foodies,

I don’t know what’s wrong with me….as much as I try to keep my baby blog updated, I keep postponing it or get really busy or lazy some days. But I must confess blogging sure gives me a ME time and really stimulates  my mind.  Whether it’s the photography part or the writing part both are equally stimulating and really helps me to discover new things every time I make an attempt. So, lets get on with today’s episode ooops, recipe J  (impact of too much of TV serials I guess :P)

I had tried preparing Palak Paneer for the first time before trying this healthy chicken curry.  I love palak paneer and whenever I try to prepare it at home, my husband cribs about it saying, why do you make us eat that spoilt milk.  Yes, that’s what he calls paneer!!  And he goes on to explain how they do it commercially and fool people etc.,If you ever get to listen to him, you will never ever touch the paneer available in stores again.  But I still love that spongy and juicy thing and should try to make it at home and post the recipe soon!  So, on one such day when I was tempted to make Palak Paneer I decided to add chicken instead of Panneer!  It was a total hit and everyone loved it.  It tastes so good with some hot rice and roti ……you must try it. J

Ingredients:

Chicken – 500 ½ kg

Onions 2 finely chopped

Ginger/Garlic paste 2 tbsp

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder ½ tsp

Oil – 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Yogurt ½ cup or Fresh cream 2 tbsp.

To grind:

Spinach/Palak 1 big bunch blanched

Green chillies 2-3

Cinnamon sticks 2

Cloves 4-5

Coriander/Cilantro a handful

 Method:

1.      Heat oil in a cooker ,  add onions and sauté till soft.  Add ginger garlic paste and sauté again. Add turmeric and chilli powder and give a stir. Then add the washed chicken pieces and a little salt and cook it for 2-3 whistles.

2.      In the meantime clean and wash Palak/spinach and blanch it in boiling water for 5 minutes.  Cool and grind it with other ingredients into a fine paste.

3.      Once the steam is out of the cooker, open the lid and add spinach puree and bring it to a boil.

4.      Check salt and finally add beaten yogurt or fresh cream.

5.      Serve hot with hot Rice or Roti.

Points to ponder:

Sometimes I wonder where we are heading to in this world.  Rich people get richer by the day and poor people are getting poorer.  Everyone wants to make money whether by hook or crook without bothering about the people and environment around them.  Just to make a few extra bucks, people are adapting unethical business practices without any moral obligation to anyone.  It is sad to see that they fail to understand, it’s hurting their own families indirectly and some even directly.  Some evil minds are even selling contaminated sump/tap water as pure drinking water!!!  All of this just to make a few bucks without even realizing how badly its hurting innocent people!! I wonder when there is going to be an end to all of this!!

“Whoever walks in integrity walks securely; but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.”       Proverbs 10:9  (NIV)

Yes, every evil man/woman will be exposed as this proverb says!! We can see so many of them being exposed every day for their evil deeds.