Falafel and dip

FALAFEL

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup dry shelled broad beans/ Fava beans,
1 1/2 cup of Chickpeas - soaked overnight,
4 tbsp each of- mint,Parsley and coriander leaves(chopped),
3-4 cloves of garlic,
1 medium sized onion,
1 1/2 tsp cumin,
1/2 tsp of cayenne,
1 tsp of sesame seeds(optional)
1 tsp of bicarbonate soda,
1 tsp coriander seeds,
oil for deep frying and
salt to taste.

For the dip:
1/2 cup of yogurt,
1/2 cup of tahini,
1/2 cup of lemon juice,
1 cup of water and
1 tsp of salt.

Method:
In a food processor, place the chickpeas,broad beans,chopped coriander leaves, parsley, mint, garlic, onion, cumin, coriander, cayenne and salt. Process to a firm paste..Transfer to a bowl, and add the soda and sesame seeds if using.Knead this paste to mix everything thoroughly and let rest for 1 hour.
Meanwhile make the dip by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Heat the oil in a kadai/frying pan. Make small walnut sized balls with the paste an flatten a little bit and deep fry on medium heat, until light brown or for 5-6 minutes. Drain them on a paper towel. Serve hot with tahini dip or use as a filling inside pita bread to make a sandwich. Enjoy :)

I am sending this over to Joy from fasting to feasting(season II) hosted by Lubna of Yummy Food and Yasmeen of Health Nut and to My Legumes Love Affair 15 guest hosted this month by Sia of Monsoon spice and event by Susan.

Banana shake

BANANA SHAKE

Ingredients:
1 big banana,
4 dates and
1 glass of cold milk.
Method:
Cut the banana into small pieces. Add dates and little milk in a blender. Blend well, add the remaining milk. Serve chilled.

This quick and easy Banana shake goes to Sireesha's event "Soup 'N Juice" .

Sambousik al dajaj /Chicken pies and awards

CHICKEN PIES

Ingredients:

For the dough:
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast,
1/4 cup warm water,
3 cups of all purpose flour,
4 tbsp of corn flour,
1 tsp salt,
3 tbsp melted butter,
1 beaten egg and
3/4 cups of water.

For the filling:
1 cup shredded cabbage,
1 cup finely chopped green beans,
2 chicken breasts- boiled and shredded,
1 green pepper-diced,
1 onion-finely chopped,
2 cloves of garlic- crushed,
3 tbsp of vegetable oil,
1 tsp of white pepper powder,
1 tsp of salt and
2 egg yolks for brushing.

Method:
In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.Add melted butter and beaten egg to this yeast mixture. In another big bowl, take all purpose flour, corn flour and salt and mix well.Now add the above yeast mixture to it and add the remaining water gradually and knead for 5-8 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and set aside in a warm place for at least 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
In the mean time, start making the filling.Heat the oil in pan and stir fry all the vegetables- Beans, cabbage pepper, onion and garlic until they become tender. Now add the cooked and shredded chicken and season with white pepper and salt and stir for 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200 C/400 F. Divide the dough into 30 small equal balls. Roll out each ball on a lightly floured surface, into 4 inch circles. Place a tablespoon of the filling in the center of each circle and brush the sides with egg yolk and cover each circle with another circle of the dough. Pinch the edges together with a fork to seal and brush the top of each circle with egg yolk.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light brown. Arrange in a serving dish and serve hot.

Source: This recipe is adapted from 'Middle eastern Cookbook' by Maria Kalife

It has been raining awards in our food blogging world. And even I was showered with so many awards. Thanks my dear friend for all the awards and appreciation you guys give me , which forces me to come here and post new recipes. I have been very busy during this month of Ramadhan and finding it hard to post frequently and I am missing so many Yummy and delicious posts. I am finding it hard to take out some time to see those yummy posts and to comment on them. But I promise that I will be back on the track soon after Ramadhan.

First of all I would love to thank the Fall in love(FIL) lady Sanghi for this lovely Gold friend award on her 100th post.. Thanks dear Sanghi..I will always cherish this award and this award will always stay close to my heart.

And Dear Priya of Priya's Easy and Tasty Recipes (I just love her blog so much.She is never out of recipes to post everyday and to participate in all the events with 2-3 yummy and unique recipes) She has passed these lovely awards- 360° foodie award, Yum yum blog award and giant bear hug award. Thank you so much Priya. I am a huge fan of your blog. And to receive these from you means a lot to me.
And my sweet friends Sarah Naveen , Ayesha Priya and Rekha Shoban have also Passed these three awards to me. Thanks my sweet buddies for these awards.



And Rebecca of Chow and Chatter has given me this Friend award. Thanks dear , I love your friendship and will always cherish it.


And Last but not least Vidhas of Appetizing recipes has passed this scrumptious blog Award. Thanks dear for this award. You made my day.

Chettinad pepper chicken

Chettinad is a region of Tamilnadu state in India. Chettinad cuisine is one of the spiciest and the most aromatic in India. It is famous for its use of a variety of spices used in preparing mainly non-vegetarian food (wiki) This Chettinad chicken is a very spicy gravy with many spices in it. But, one can reduce the spiciness according to one's own taste.

CHETTINAD PEPPER CHICKEN

Ingredients:
1 lbs chicken,
1 big onion-finely chopped,
3 tomatoes-finely chopped,
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste,
2 green chillies-chopped,
2 cardamoms,
3 sticks of cinnamon,
3 cloves,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder,
1 tsp cumin powder,
1 tsp red chilli powder,
1/4 tsp turmeric powder,
1 tsp crushed peppercorns,
2 sprigs of curry leaves,
2 tbsp of oil,
coriander leaves for garnishing and
salt to taste.

Method:
Heat oil in a heavy bottemed pan, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the garam masala-cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves and fry well. Now add the chopped onions, add some salt and cook till they turn light brown in colour. Add the turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies and curry leaves and saute for a while. Now add the chopped tomatoes, red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder, mix well and cook till the tomatoes become soft and all the moisture evaporates. At this stage add the chicken to the pan and mix well. Cover and cook till the chicken is cooked through.When the chicken is almost done, add the crushed peppercorns/pepper powder and finish by adding chopped coriander leaves. Serve hot with Chapathi/ roti/ naan.

Source: vahrevah.com

Award and Tag

My sweet friends Priya prashanth and Sarah Naveen, Arti Agarwal and Parita have showered on me this award. Thank you dearies for encouraging me by giving this lovely award.

Requirements:-

1. I must thank the person who gave me the award and list their blog and link it
2. I must list 10 honest things about myself
3. I must put a copy of Honest Scrap logo on my blog
4. I must select atleast 7 other worthy bloggers and list their links
5. I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

Honest things about me:- hmmmm....

1.I love cooking for my husband.
2. I love traveling.
3. I am very fond of babies.
4.I am very very sensitive.
5.I love reading.
6. I am very talkative and I don't like it :(
7.I love spending time with my son.
8.I am a chocoholic.
9.I love giving gifts and surprises to my dear ones.
10.I am crazy about collecting recipes.

And the Honest bloggers are:-
Shabs, Rebecca, Ann , Tina, Swapna, Muneeba and Viki .

And now coming to the tag :-
Shab's of Shab's cuisine and Priya of Priya's recipes have tagged me. Thanks sweeties :)

The Rules:1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share the ABCs of you.
4. Tag 4 people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
5. Let the 4 tagged people know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.
6. Do not tag the same person repeatedly but try to tag different people, so that there is a big network of bloggers doing this tag.The Tag:

1. A – Available/Single? Happily married :)

2. B – Best friend? My husband and my mother

3. C – Cake or Pie? Cake anytime.

4. D – Drink of choice? Milkshakes.

5. E – Essential item you use every day? My computer , my phone, my apron...

6. F – Favorite color? Baby pink and deep red.

7. G – Gummy Bears Or Worms? neither.

8. H – Hometown?Bangalore.

9. I – Indulgence? Chocolates.

10. J – January or February? why not November?

11. K – Kids & their names? 2 year old Son -Ammar

12. L – Life is incomplete without? Family and Love.

13. M – Marriage date? 27th April 2005.

14. N – Number of siblings? Younger twin brothers.

15. O – Oranges or Apples? Oranges.

16. P – Phobias/Fears? Lizards and cockroaches.

17. Q – Quote for today? Nothing is impossible if one tries to do it, because even the word 'impossible' is 'i' 'm' 'possible'.

18. R – Reason to smile?My husband and my baby.

19. S – Season? Spring

20. T – Tag 4 People? why here?

21. U – Unknown fact about me? hmmmm....don't know.

22. V – Vegetable you don't like? Karela (Bitter gourd)

23. W – Worst habit? Not being diet conscious.

24. X – X-rays you've had? Many

25. Y – Your favorite food? Biryani.

26. Z – Zodiac sign? Scorpio.

I would like to pass the above tag to:
Arti Agarwal,
Smitha,
Humaira and
Sabah.