Simple potato curry

Till date I couldn’t cook good dum aloo. Whenever I try to cook dum aloo, it always ends up into potato curry. I understand that, it is not my cup of tea. I should not even try to cook dum aloo. However, few days back I wanted to cook potato curry differently. I just started adding spices, whatever came into my mind. While cooking I could get the fine aroma, at that time I realized the curry was going to taste good. Moreover, it would taste delicious with simple roti.

One big potato (The potato I used was huge)
One-fourth tsp. of fenugreek seeds
One tsp. ginger paste
One tsp. cumin power
One tsp. coriander powder
One-fourth tsp. garam mashala powder
One cup yogurt
One-fourth tsp. or more chili powder
One tsp. of sugar
Three tbsp. of oil
One cup water
Salt to taste
Pinch of turmeric powder

Wash and peel the potato. Cut the potato into cubes. Marinate the potato cubes with salt and pinch of turmeric powder for ten minutes. Heat a heavy bottom wok on medium. Add two tbsp. of oil. Fry the potato cubes for few minutes. Let it cook. Keep the temperature from getting too hot. Fry the potato cubes until little brownish on every sides. Take the potato out from the pan, and keep then in a bowl. In the same pan add another tbsp. of oil. In oil add fenugreek seeds. As you get the fine aroma, add ginger paste into. Fry a little, and add all the dry powder. Ginger paste will stick in the bottom of the pan. So you have to scrape it. Add the fried potato cubes, and mix well with the spices. Meanwhile, in a bowl take one cup of yogurt , sugar, chili powder, and water. Mix well, and it to the pan. Mix well everything. Keep the temperature always in medium. Cover the pan, and cook until the potato cubes are tender. Serve hot with roti.

Baked chicken with vegetables

Two skinless boneless chicken halves

Two carrots (I used few baby carrots) 

Five-six button mushrooms

Five-six cloves of garlic

One tomato

One fourth tsp. of dried oregano 

Half tsp. of dried basil

Salt to taste

One tbsp. of olive oil

One-two cup salted hot water( if needed )

Shredded cheese

Cut the chicken breast into medium sized cubes. Thickly slice the carrots. If you are using baby carrots, then no need to do anything. Thickly slice the mushrooms. Peel the cloves. Cut the tomato into halves. Take an oven proof dish. Put everything in the dish. Mix well, and marinate for an hour. Preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for half an hour. Take out the dish from oven, and check the tenderness of the chicken pieces. Don’t forget to use oven mittens. If the chicken pieces are not tender , then bake for another 10-15 minutes, and check again. Bake until the chicken pieces until tender, check every 10 minutes. 

Take the dish our from the oven. Take out the chicken pieces using tong. Divide the pieces into two plate. 
Pour everything else in a mixer, and make a paste. If the paste is thick, then and one-fourth cup of hot one at a time and mix well until the soup reaches a desired consistency. Divide the soup into two bowls. Sprinkle cheese on the top. Serve hot along with baked chicken.

Green pasta

My son wanted to eat spaghetti for dinner one night. When I opened my refrigerator, I found out that I didn't have any tomato, or any garlic in my storage. However, I had a bagful of spinach. So, I decided to use the spinach instead of tomato. It was just an experiment, but the dish turned out delicious.
Here is the recipe:
One bag spinach (Which will be approximate two cups of boiled spinach)
One tsp. garlic powder
One green capsicum
Dry Spaghetti for three
One-fourth tsp. dried oregano
One-fourth tsp. dried basil
One-fourth tsp. dried cilantro
Salt to taste
One tbsp. olive oil
Boil Spinach with little salt in a heavy bottomed wok covering. If you need, add a little water. Make a paste of the boiled spinach with garlic powder.Don’t add too much water, otherwise the paste will be runny. Cut the capsicum into small slices, discarding the seed part. Boiled the spaghetti, according to the instruction, written on the package. 

Heat oil in a frying pan on medium. Add basil, oregano, and cilantro in oil. When fine aroma starts coming, add the capsicum slices, and fry for few minutes. Add little bit salt into the capsicum. Cook capsicum for few minutes, until a little bit tender , but crunchy. Add the spinach paste, and mix well. When the spinach start spluttering, add the boiled spaghetti, and mix very well. Serve hot. 

Cumin flavored chicken with sticky rice, and broccoli

Three skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Two big carrot

Handful of mushrooms

One big onion

Two tsp garlic powder

One small tomato

One broccoli head

Two tsp cumin powder

One tbsp dark soy sauce

One tbsp oil

Salt to taste

One and half cup of water

One tsp lime zest (outer skin)

One cup brown rice

Three to four cups water to boil chicken

Last week of Holidays, 2015

Last week of  Holidays were just flew by. Surprisingly, this was the first time I didn’t start missing the sweet lazy yearend Holidays. The very next morning, after come back from Los Angeles, for a moment I felt a little sadness as the holidays were soon to be over. 

Time always slips from hands, no matter how you are, how you are feeling, whether you are happy or sad. Time never has the “time” to think of that. It is always flowing like a river. It never feels to stop and look back for a wink. It never left you fully satisfied, rather always makes you think about the future time. It gives you hope. It heals your wound. It teaches you to think in new ways.Time did the same thing to me also. By the end of the Holidays, I was really done with it. I started eagerly waiting for the old everyday routine. When on the last day , my husband told me that, how sad he was as the holidays were going to be over. I told that my feelings was the just opposite.
Anyway, the very next day after our LA trip, almost all the day  we ran errands. Then we went hiking on 30th. Though, it was cold,foggy, and drizzly, but nothing could do hold us back. We were over enthusiast to go hiking. After hiking, all of were so hungry that we couldn’t think of going home, and having lunch. Actually, everyone was hungry for biryani. The smart phone helped us to find an Indian restaurant, where we could satisfy our tongue and stomach as well. It was all we did on 30th. 

Clouds cover the top of the mountain

Lima bean soup and Chicken sandwich

Three chicken leg pieces (or equivalent boneless chicken)

One big fat carrot

One small onionOne big tomato

Three-four cloves of garlic (or two taps garlic powder)

Pinch of garlic powder

Extra virgin olive oil

One fourth cup black eyed beans

One fourth cup Lima beans

Salt to taste

Half green bell pepper

One small onion

Six slices of sandwich breadGrated cheese(I used mozzarella cheese)

Butter to coat on bread slices

Freshly ground black pepper

  

Seattle trip

The hassles started as soon as we reached the Sea Tac airport. We reached at 9:00 in the  night, after waiting few minutes we got the shuttle bus to the car rental office. The car was booked prior to our journey. So, we thought that, we would get the car very soon. The queue was huge, and only two persons were at the customer service desk. We had been waiting almost an hour when my husband realized that, there should be different queue for those, who already booked their cars, and he was right. He asked me to find out, and when I went downstairs, and I found he was true. Anyway, when we got our car it was 10:30 at night, and our stomachs were rumbling. However, as soon as we started our journey towards the hotel, we lost the road. The road we took ,led us to the car rental office again. We were very confused, and the GPS was also telling something beyond our understanding. Luckily , one person, who was working on the road, told us the route. It was high time to put something in our stomach. 

Joaquin Miller Park hiking

Happy new year !!!

First job after waking up in the morning in the winter is to check the outside temperature. Every morning in this winter I see the snow clad rooftop of every house. Every morning I check whether three is frost or not. The pervious night Mr.Man told about going hiking next day late morning. When I saw the temperature at 8 o’clock  in morning which showed 32 degree Fahrenheit.

At 8 o'clock in the morning