Lemon Oats Recipe

lemon oats

Lemon oats is one of the quickest oats recipes that I have come across. When I made it, I couldn't believe that oats can be so tasty. Oats in a yummy avatar dressed in lemon juice is a must try for all those health buffs who get tired of their monotonous oatmeal routine. What’s more, you can make them in a jiffy on a busy morning.

Recipe of lemon oats

1 cup oats (I used Quaker)

1 cup water

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder or 2 green chillies chopped

Salt to taste

1 tsp dhuli urad dal (gram dal)

1 1/2 tbsp roasted peanuts

Juice of 1 medium lemon

1 tbsp oil

How to make lemon oats

1. Dry roast oats for about 4 minutes. Keep aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add urad dal. Let it turn lightly red. Sauté green chillies if you are using.

3. Add water, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. Bring it to a boil.

4. Add oats and salt. Mix, lower heat and cook covered till all the water is absorbed.

5. Turn off the heat and mix in lemon juice. Add roasted peanuts and serve lemon oats hot.

Sooji (Semolina) Toast Recipe

sooji toast

This is a low calorie, healthy and tasty breakfast option. I learnt this recipe of sooji toast from my maternal aunt Mrs. Deepa Gupta while we were casually chatting. She also adds capsicum (shimla mirch) and cabbage (patta gobi) to the sooji -curd mixture.

Recipe of sooji toast

1/2 cup sooji (semolina/suji)

1 cup curd (yogurt/dahi)

1 onion- chopped

1 tomato- chopped

3 green chillies- chopped

Salt to taste

Oil as needed

6-8 bread slices (I used brown bread)

How to make/prepare suji toast

1. Soak suji in curd for 15 minutes.

2. Add salt, onion, tomato and green chillies to it.

3. Apply a thin layer of sooji mixture on one side of bread slices.

4. Heat a non-stick tava (griddle) and smear oil on it. Place bread slices on tava with mixture side down. Keep the heat to low otherwise vegetables will burn.

5. While the lower side of bread is roasting, apply a layer of suji mixture on upper side as well.

6. After 2-3 minutes of roasting, increase the heat to medium and roast for 1-2 minutes more.

7. Flip and roast other side of bread as well. Remove from tava and serve sooji toast hot.

Note- 1. Apply a thin layer of sooji mixture otherwise it will remain uncooked and give raw taste.

2. Also, cook sooji toast on a low heat otherwise topping will burn.

3. You can also prepare suji toast by applying suji mixture on 1 side of bread only but you have to roast plain bread side also.

Hare Matar ki Poori (Green Peas Puri)

hare matar ki poori

This recipe of hare matar ki poori comes from Uttar Pradesh (U.P.). To boil the matar, you can pressure cook them to 1 whistle or you can microwave them. Some people confuse matar ki poori with matar ki kachori. This is a recipe of  matar ki puri and not kachori.

Recipe of matar ki poori

2 cup atta (whole wheat flour)

1 cup hare matar (green peas) - boiled

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp garam masala

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

2 tsp oil +2 tsp oil +  for deep frying

1. In a bowl, add atta, 2 tsp oil and salt. Adding water, knead atta into stiff dough. Keep aside, covered, for 1/2 an hour.

How to prepare the stuffing for matar ki puri

2. Mash boiled matar to a coarse paste using a potato masher.
3. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add hing. After this, add mashed matar. Add all the spices and salt and mix well.
4. Saute matar till all moisture evaporates and you get a dry stuffing.

How to make/prepare hare matar ki poori

4. Take a lemon size ball from the dough and flatten it between your palms. Place a little stuffing in it and gather the edges again making a ball.

5. Roll out on lightly oiled surface, into 3 inch round puri.

6. Deep fry this poori in medium hot oil. Fry from both sides, turning as needed, till golden. Drain on an absorbent paper. Serve hot hare matar ki poori with some yogurt and pickle.

Pineapple Sheera (Halwa) Recipe

pineapple halwa

This recipe is among the few recipes with pineapple that I know as I am not used to cooking with pineapple. Pineapple sheera is nothing but sooji halwa with pineapple. It's a quick and easy dessert which now makes its appearance in wedding buffets so you can also call it dessert for crowds.

Recipe of pineapple sheera/suji halwa with pineapple

1 cup sooji (suji/semolina)

1 cup pineapple pieces

1/2 cup ghee

1 cup sugar

Nuts like cashews, almonds and raisins - chopped

A pinch of saffron (kesar)

How to cook/prepare pineapple sheera

1. Heat ghee in a kadhai or a pan and add sooji. Roast sooji, stirring, till it turns golden brown. Add saffron and mix.

2. Add pineapple pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add 4 cups of water and sugar. Cook covered over medium heat till all moisture evaporates and sooji is completely cooked.

4. Garnish pineapple sheera with nuts and serve hot.

Corn in a Cup Recipe

cup corn

This is not much of a recipe actually but I posted it anyhow. Corn in a cup or cup corn is very popular around the world. This is a quick and simple snack and very easy to make. If you do not want to use tinned corn, recipe with fresh corn is also given below.

Recipe of corn in a cup/cup corn

1 cup tinned corn kernels

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp chaat masala

2 tsp lemon juice

How to make corn in a cup

1. Heat a kadhai or a pan and melt butter in it.

2. Add corn, red chilli powder, salt and chaat masala. Stir for 2 minutes.

3. Turn off the heat and mix in lemon juice.

4. Serve hot cup corn in plastic cups or bowls.

How to make cup corn with fresh corn

Boil fresh corn with little sugar and turmeric powder for 5 minutes. Do not add salt while boiling as it will harden corn. Turn off the heat and add salt. Let corn stand in salted water for 10 minutes. Strain and prepare corn cups as above.

Palak Poori

palak poori

This is a simple yet healthy and tasty recipe. You can enjoy palak poori with potato curry or even with pickle. I usually prepare palak ki poori on festive occasions like diwali.

Recipe of palak poori/palak ki puri

1 1/2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)

20 palak (spinach) leaves

Salt to taste

1 tbsp oil + for deep frying

How to prepare palak poori

1. Blanch the palak leaves in boiling water for 2 minutes. Puree the palak leaves.

2. In a bowl, take atta. Add palak puree, salt and 1 tbsp oil. Knead into stiff dough. Cover the dough and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

3. To prepare palak ki poori, pinch a small ball or peda out of the dough and roll on an oiled surface, into 4 inch round puri.

4. Heat oil in a kadhai/wok. Deep fry palak poori on medium heat. Drain on an absorbent paper. Similarly make rest of the palak poori with remaining dough.

Sookhi (Dry) Moong Dal

sookhi moong dal

This is among the simple and easy yet tasty recipes. What is the moong dal used in this recipe? It is split yellow moong dal or split skinless green gram. Sookhi moong dal is also known as sookhi dal amritsari. You can have this dal as a breakfast option or with your parathas or rotis.

Recipe of sookhi moong dal

1/2 cup moong dal (split yellow moong dal/mung dal)

3/4 cup water

Salt to taste

3 green chillies- chopped

1 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

A pinch of hing (asafoetida)

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish

How to cook sookhi moong dal

1. Wash moong dal, drain. Soak in water for 1/2 an hour. Drain.

2. Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they turn darker, add hing.

3. Add green chillies and sauté for 1 minute.

4. Add dal, 3/4 cup water, salt and turmeric powder.

5. Cook, stirring, moong dal till all water evaporates. Add more water if required, remembering that dal should not get mashed up.

6. Turn off the heat and mix in lemon juice. Garnish sookhi moong dal with coriander leaves.