Batat poha (potato and flattened rice)

Ingredients:

1. 1 potato boiled and chopped to cubes
2. 1 cup thick beaten rice/poha ( wash in water thrice, drain water and keep aside)
3. 1 onion chopped
4. 3 green chillies chopped
5. 1 tbspn oil
6. 1 tspn mustard seeds
7. 1 tspn cumin seeds
8. 1 tspn curry leaves
9. 1/4th tspn turmeric
10. 1 tspn lime juice
11. coriander leaves
12. salt
13. sugar

Procedure

1. Heat oil in pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves
2. Add green chillies and onion fry till transclucent
3. Add salt turmeric
4. Add potatoes and sugar
5. Add beaten rice, add lime juice  and mix well.
6. Garnish with coriander
7. Can add shev along with it (optional)

Vegetable cutlet

 

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes – 2 medium  (boiled and mashed)
2. Mixed Vegetables – 1.5 cups (like green peas, carrots, green beans, corn, etc)
3. Onions – 1/4 medium (finely chopped or grated)
4. Ginger & Garlic - 1 tblsp (minced)
5. Green Chillies – 2 (finely chopped)
6. Coriander leaves – 2 tblsp (finely chopped)
7. Lemon Juice  – 2 tsp
8. Red Chilli Powder – 1/2 tsp or to taste
9. Roasted Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp
10. turmeric powder 1/4th tspn
11. Salt – to taste
12. Rawa to cover cutlet
13. Oil – for frying

Procedure

1. Boil the potatoes and drain them soon to avoid them from absorbing water. Peel and mash it and keep aside.
2. Finely chop or grate the other veggiesor you can chop it in a food processor.
3. Boil the vegetables or you can simply microwave it. Squeeze out water as much possible from the vegetables
4. Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions and ginger garlic paste for few minutes. it removes the raw flavour in the onions and garlic.
5. Spread the rawa also in a plate to coat the cutlets before frying.
6. Take the boiled potatoes and veggies in a mixing bowl.
7. Add the sauteed onion and ginger garlic paste, green chillies, lemon juice,chilly powder , coriander leaves, cumin powder, turmeric powder and salt.
8. Mix everything together. Taste the mixture and adjust any seasoning as per your tastebuds.
9. Shape into round patties. You can make the cutlets in triangular, oval or heart shaped.
10. Roll each cutlet with rawa. The cutlets should be coated with the rawa on all sides.
11. Now heat oil in a pan for deep frying.
12. Slowly drop each cutlet into the oil and fry until it is golden brown on all sides or you can shallow fry the cutlets on a pan.
13. You can serve the cutlets with ketchup, chilli sauce or green chutney.
14. You may also make a bigger cutlet and place it in between buns along with cabbage and chopped tomatoes to make a veggie burger. 

cheese pasta

CHEEESE PASTA

Ingredients

1. 1 small onion chopped
2. 1 garlic minced(optional)
3. 1 tspn 0regano (as per taste)
4. 1/2 cup milk
5. 1 cup pasta
6. salt
7. sugar
8. 1 tbspn plain flour
9. boiled green peas( can use other veggies too)
10. 1/2 cup soft cheese or grated cubed cheese
11. tomato catch up(optional for people wanting tangy flavour)
12. 1/2 tspn pepper as per taste 

Procedure:

1. Boil the pasta untill just cooked or as per packet instruction and keep aside.
2. In a pan add butter and fry the onions till translucent and keep aside
3. Add milk in the pan and bring to boil
4. To that add plain flour and stir til it thickens up
5. Add  grated cheese salt and sugar and keep stirring till it thickens. (I usually add more sure as I like it sweet).
6. Now add oregano pepper, fried onions and simmer for sometime
7. Add green peas and pasta, mix well
8. For tangy flavor add tomato catch up and mix well...
9. Serve hot sprinkling with grated cheese and some parsley/coriander

Basic toddler dress

This dress I had made for my neice. Its a nice combo of colour.You can use different colours or keep the whole dress in one colour. You have to make 2 parts one is the top part making the hand-shoulder and other is lower dress part and attach.

Materials used:
Woolen yarn (yellow and blue)
Crochet needle
Weaving needle

Method:
Chain 50
Row 1. Dc in 3rd ch from hook and in next 5 chs, 3dc or(1 dc,1 ch, 1 dc) (corner made), Dc in next 9 chs, 3dc (corner made),dc in next 13, 3dc (corner made), Dc in next 9, 3dc (corner made), Dc in last 7. Ch 3 turn. Continue till row 6. 
Row 7: join the 2 ends and continue with Dc forming a square.

Row 8: now join the 1 and 2nd corner with 10 chains and 3 and 4th corner with 10 chains.

Row 9: Dc in each chain and continue around in a loop form. join with ss in the end 3 ch and continue. after every 2 rounds increase some dcs to give a flair to the dress. Continue doing so till you achieve your desired length. This pattern should fit an infant-18 months old. to make bigger sizes increase the above begining chain.
at row 9 you can change the colour of the yarn.

Last row: 1 ch skip 2 ch,5dc in next ch, skip 2, 1sc in next ch skip 2 ch* till end of the row.
. 

Pav bhaji

   

Pav bhaji  is a spicy fast food dish from Mumbai.   But Pav bhaji is now made in most of the western india like maharastra, goa, karnataka.  Pav actually is a Portuguese word 'Pao'  which means bread. Pav bhaji consists of a thick spicy potato and tomato based curry with mashed vegetables and  onions. 

Health Tips:

Potatoes are rich in carbohydrates. As a rich carbohydrate source, they help to fuel our body with energy needed. Potatoes are also a rich source of Vitamin B, folate and minerals but to retain this you need to bake or boil potatoes with the peel on. It is also considered that potatoes to some extent lower blood pressure. But, Potatoes are typically loaded with fats such as butter, cheese, cream etc which increases the calorie.Pav bhaji is again with butter  so it can cause health issues provided you add less butter and add some more vegetable along with potatoes to make it nutritious. It can be fattening like all other fast food giving cardiovascular risks and obesity. Potatoes are said to increase sugar levels is diabetic people because of the carbohydrates in them. Some say Potatoes and tomatoes trigger arthritis pain so people having arthritis be cautious.

On the other hand tomatoes are rich in Vit A, Vit C and also minerals. they have beta carotene and lycopene which helps boost immunity and protects from cancer. Lycopene is responsible for tomatoes red color, is considered to be the reason for cancer protection. Tomato seeds are very high in oxilates, which can lead to the accumulation of calcium in the body, resulting in kidney stones. People who already have Kidney stones or are prone to develop should avoid tomatoes. Also people with acidity problem should avoid tomato as it is citrus fruit and can be acidic in stomach causing reflux.

Ingredients

1. pav
2. 4 tbsp butter
3. 1 tsp pav bhaji masala (optional)

Bhaji 

1. 1 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed 
2. 2 cup mixed vegetables, boiled and chopped finely (cauliflower, green peas
3. ,carrots,capsicum )
4. 1 medium onion, chopped
5. 2 chopped tomatoes 
6. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
7. 1 tsp chilli powder 
8. 1 1/2 tbsp pav bhaji masala 
9. 1 large sized onion, chopped 
10. 4 lemon wedges 
11. 1 tbsp chopped coriander

Procedure

Bhaji

1.Heat the butter in a large pan, add the onion,sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add garlic and sauté till the onion softens.  
2.Add the tomatoes and simmer till the oil separates.  
3.Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, pav bhaji masala, salt and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. 
4.Add the boiled vegetables and potatoes and mash thoroughly using a masher, adding ½ cup of water.

Pav 
1.Slice the pav into 2 horizontally. Apply butter to each side and sprinkle a little pav bhaji masala. 
2.Heat a large pan and fry pav on both sides till the pieces are slightly brown.  
3.Serve hot bhaji with the onion and coriander.  
4.Serve hot pav with lemon wedges. 

Kaju mutter curry(Cashew nut and green peas curry)

Health Tips:
Cashew nuts are very delicious to eat. Like all other nuts,they are also an excellent source of protein and fiber. They are rich in mono-unsaturated fat which may help protect the heart. It helps to maintin good cholesterol level. Cashew nuts are also rich in potassium, B vitamins and folate and contain useful amounts of minerals.They are a great energizing food, helps maintain healthy gum and teeth. Cashew is again rich in antioxidants that help in age related degenerative conditions.
People sensitive to amino acids may have headaches on eating cashew and cashew nut can be fattening if had too much. Some people are allergic to cashew nuts so avoid if you are allergic.

Green peas on other hand are having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It helps in wound healing and aso helps in age related degenerative condition. It has strong fiber and protein content. the fibre content helps in people with IBS(irritable bowel syndrome). It is extremely low fat content but provides reasonable amount of fat-soluble nutrients and includes small amount of beta-carotene and vitamin E. it also contain iron which is good for people with iron defeciency, pregnant women, lactating women etc.
However, green peas contains small amount of oxalates which in kidney and gall bladder disorder can cause health complication by accumulation in body fluids and crystallizing. hence its bettter avoided by this people.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup green peas
2. 1 cup cashew nut
3. 1/2 onion chopped
4. 1 large onion
5. 2-3 tomatoes
6. 2 tbspn butter
7. 1tspn oil
8. 1-2 tbspn ginger garlic paste
9. 1 tspn chilly powder
10.  1 tspn garam masala
11. 1/4th tspn turmeric
12. 1 tspn Cumin powder
13. 2 tspn coriander powder
14. 3/4 tspn pepper powder
15.  1 tspn cinnamon powder
16. 3-4 cloves ground
17. 2 bay leaves powdered
18. 3-4 pods cardomon ground/crushed
19. 1 tspn kasuri methi
20. 3 tbspn cream
21. coriander leaves to garnish
22. salt to taste
23. 1/2 tspn sugar

 Procedure

1. Grind onion and tomato into fine paste and keep aside
2. Heat oil in a pan and add butter and ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 min
3. Now add chopped onion and fry till transclucent
4. Now add Onion and tomato paste and allow to boil on low flame (close the lid for 5-7 min)
5. Once the colour changes add all the powders and kasuri methi(crushed)
6. Add salt and sugar
7. Add green peas and cashew nut and allow to cook(add water if necessary)
8. Add cream and mix and extra 1 tbspn of butter
9. Now add coriander leaves for garnishing and serve with bread, naan, roti etc.

Crochet crocodile stitch purse/hand bag

Material required
White wool yarn(can use any other colour and texture)
Crochet needle
weaving needle

Method
For body:
Row 1:Make 100 chain or more depending on the width you want. with a slip stich(ss) make a loop
Row 2: now make 2 chain and 2 double crochet(dc) in first chain 1 chain skip 1 1 dc in 3rd chain 1 chain skip 1 chain 2 dc in the nxt chain and so on till the end. Now ss into the chain.
Row 3: 1 chain, 5dc into first dc you made in 2nd row turn around and 5dc in 2nd dc of  2nd row ss in the next dc this is the first scale that is formed. again 5 dc in next dc of 2nd row and continue till the end.
Row 4-20: altenate 2nd and 3 rd row steps till you get your desired length. I have made 10 rows of the scale
Row21 -25: 2 chain ,1 dc in every chain till the end , ss in the end to join.

For the handle:
make 8-10 chain depending on how thick you want it to be.
form a loop with ss and coninue making dc or hdc an the chain and ss turn and continue till you achieve the desired length of the handle.
once done sew the handles on 2 side with the help of the needle and wool.

For Rose:
 Leaving a 10” length for sewing, chain 57.
Row 1 :In 6th chain from hook, dc, 2 chain , dc, *chain 2, skip next 2 chains, then dc, 2 chain , dc in next chain; repeat from * across.
Row 2:  Chain 3, turn, 5 dc in 1st chain-skip 2, single crochet(sc) in next chain-skip 2, (6 dc in next chain-skip 2, sc in next chain-skip2), 5 times.

(With your beginning chain 3 and 5 dc “shell” you will have a total of 6 of these shells.  Then (9 dc in the next chain-skip 2, sc in next chain-skip 2), 5 more times (you will have a total of 11 shells made).  Then 12 dc in the next chain-skip 2, sc in the next chain-skip 2, across until complete.  You should end with a sc in the last chain-skip 2.  Finish off leaving several inches for sewing and tying.
With the weaving needle, thread yarn needle from 10” length at beginning of the chain.
With right side facing, and beginning with first petal made, roll your petals, sewing as you go.  Once together, gently tie the two ends together and sew it into the purse or can put a clip to in and attach it to the purse.

Health Tips:
When working over a crochet Keep a eye on your posture. Sit straight, Do not Strain on the neck. Prolonged crochetting or knitting can cause spondylosis. Take 10 min break every hour preferably.