Tips for Moms

For any mom when you have little kids in  house , you feel very exhausted with chores ,running around kids and cleaning up  mess.We don't feel like cooking and chopping vegetables to prepare basic recipe.

As a working mom and having a toddler at home I myself feel submerged with all the things at times. I wanted to make my life easy, below are the things I learned with experience that helped me to focus more on kids rather then spending hours in kitchen. You probably spend 2 hours seems a lot but you will save tons of time during hectic weekdays.

Grocery Shopping : 

Once I get  groceries ,I start sorting vegetables that I plan cook next week.

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I clean following vegetables and store them in freezer or cut them a head and put in refrigerator when plan to cook them in a day or two.

Freezer : Methi leaves, Coriander leaves,Bottle Gourd/Sorakaya,Mooli/Mullangi,Dosakaya.

Refrigerator : Beans, Cauliflower, Bhindi/Bendakaya, Tindora/Dondakaya,

For vegetables that I plan to cook in a day or two like Beans, Bendi,Tindora and Okra

I usually wash them with salt water or vinegar with water thoroughly and wipe them completely and will dry for 30 minutes then I chop them and put it in ziplocks in refrigerator( next 3 days i just throw them in kadai and cook in 30 minutes.

Wash Coriander and Methi leaves with lot of water ,Usually my 6 year old help me to pluck methi leaves :) before wash.

Once washed i dry them on a towel and pat them with hand towels to get excess water and let them dry for couple hours, after they are dried out I chop them and freeze them in different zip locks.

This way they don't go bad before you use it  and you are freezing them fresh to retain nutrients. I know they take more time to clean than other vegetables.

When chopping vegetables I  mix  sambar vegetables in ziplocks or veggies for dosakaya pappu this way we don't  spend tons of time when you are tired or  unexpected guests knock at your door.

Sambar veggies - Dosakaya, Sorakaya,Tomato,Beans, Carrots,Bendi (whole)

Below  sambar with the frozen sambar veggies 

Dosakaya Pappu veggies - Dosakaya, Tomato , chillies 

Sorakaya chopped for pachadi or pulusu 

Beans, Okra and cauliflower

 

Rainbow Salad

Summer is here!!! Mixing yogurt and  colorful veggies gives a great taste , tried this salad as an experiment and fell in love now with it!  now we make this often :)

very easy to make and no cook dish:).

Ingredients

Avocado - 1

Carrot  - 1 grated

Cucumber  - 1

Orange, Red and yellow bell peppers- 1 Cup

Yogurt - 2 cups (beaten without lumps, can use plain greek yogurt)

Salt - as per taste 

Pepper - as per taste

Directions:

1. Grate carrots , chop  cucumber and bell pepper  finely, chop avocado.

2. Place everything in a bowl as below picture, add salt and pepper.

3. slowly add yogurt

4. Mix gently and serve cold. 

YUMMY.. salad is ready for your snack 

Note : You can add dry nuts ,raisins  other vegetable or fruit you like. 

Mixed vegetable curry with leftover veggies

This is one of my favorites in my kitchen while I am running out of vegetables at the end of weekdays, apart from chopping it do not consume much time.
you do not have to include all the vegetables mentioned here at times I use beets(we don't mind color of beets) ,cauliflower and bell pepper (if using add at step5 and simmer for additional few minutes)
Goes well as main or side..

Ingredients:

Onion -1(cut lengthwise)
Broccoli
Tomato -1
potatoes - 1
frozen peas
carrots - 1
Beans - 4-5
coriander leaves (handful)

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp(optional)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Water - 1/2 cup
oil - 2-3 tbsp
coconut milk/coconut milk powder/coconut powder 2 tbsps(optional)


Directions:

1. Heat oil in cooker(using small one here), add mustard and jeers let it splutter.
2. Add Onions fry for few minutes , add GG paste and fry till raw smell of gg paste is gone.
3. Add veggies, coriander powder, turmeric powder, salt, chilli powder,garam masala powder and tomato , mix everything well
4. Add half cup of water and stir well , close lid and leave it for 2 whistles on low flame
5. Open the pressure cooker , at this point you can add coconut milk or coconut milk powder or coconut powder if you like and cook further until desired consistency.
6. Sever with rice ,roti,poori it is absolutely delicious.

Try this recipe and let me know your comments.

After 3 Whistles

Easy and delicious Pudina rice

Mint is a calming and soothing herb that is used for upset stomach or indigestion.Mint leaves encourage in bile flow ,which helps to speed and ease digestion (digestion process is slow during winters).
Adding cilantro and tomato paste will reduce pungent smell of pudina leaves and give additional flavour to dish.
I love making some hot pudina rice served with aloo Korma and Raita. it tastes YUMMY in your TUMMY! :-)
It tastes great with plain curd and pickle too.. and you don't have to spend hours in the kitchen.


Ingredients :

Pudina - 1 bunch grind to paste
Cilantro - 1 bunch grind to paste
Tomato big  - paste
Potatoes (optional)
Cloves -5
Cardamon - 4
Cinnamon - 1inch
kalajeera/shai jeera -1 tbsp
Ginger garlic(GG) paste (optional ) - 1tbsp
Basmati rice - 21/2 cups soaked about 30 minutes
Oil/ghee - 3 tbsp
Water - 4 cups

Directions :

1. Heat kadai/pan on the stove add  oil/ghee.
2. Add garam masala ingredients and fry for a minute, add GG paste and fry another minute.
3. Add cilantro paste fry for 2 minutes, add tomato paste and fry for 2minutes and last add pudina paste and stir for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add potatoes ,rice ,salt and water.
5. Stir well and turn on the rice cooker.

Serve hot with Korma /Raita /Pickle

Please leave your comments and suggestions.

Black eyed peas spinach vada

Made this for brunch on Sunday , it was a big hit! , everyone including my 5 year and 1 year old loved it. Very healthy , delicious, best part is it won't not observe much oil as regular vada and adding spinach made it flavourful!.

Black eyed peas are called as Alasandalu in Telugu and Lobhia in Hindi.

Ingredients :

1. Black eyed peas(soaked over night or at least for 4 hours)

2. Spinach - 2 bunches roughly chopped
3. Onion - medium size roughly chopped

3. Cilantro - handful

4. Ginger

5. Green chilies - 2( add more if you like spicy)

6. Salt - per taste

Note - I soaked 2 cups of black eyed peas for 6 people and throw away soaked water before grinding.

Directions to cook :

1. Grind black eyed peas coarsely to a thick paste, add salt while grinding(do not add water while grinding)
2.  Heat oil in kadai in medium high heat.
3. Take a bowl ,add grinded black eyed peas, spinach , onion, green chilies, cilantro , ginger and mix well.
4. Shape batter like medhu vada and deep fry till golden brown on medium heat.
5. Transfer to plate and sever hot with allam chutney or any other chutney of your favourite.

Note: - If oil is too hot , it will cook outside but,will be raw inside.

Garam Masala Powder

Making garam masala powder at home is not a lengthy process anymore.., this recipe is passed from my mom :-) ,very few ingredients ,easy to prepare and  goes very well with non-veg and vegetarian dishes.Can be store upto 1 -2 months in  air tight container.

Ingredients:

Coriander seeds 1/cup

Shai jeera/kala jeera, cardamon,cinnamon,cloves mixed - 1cup

garlic pods - 4 (optional)

Directions 

1. Fry coriander seeds till you can smell the aroma (do not burn them) and leave it in a bowl to cool down.

2. Fry garam \masala ingredients (entire house will get fragrance from these ingredients ) for 2mins on low heat 

3. Cool both ingredients  and grind together( garlic pods can be added while grinding, if you like the taste of garlic.)

Please leave your comments and sugesstions

Simple Rasam Powder

Preparing things at home not only saves you money but it adds benefits to your health.
Used to buy store bought rasam powder but, never turned back after trying this. My mother-in-law passed this recipe to me :-), very few ingredients.This recipe make a big batch which can be store up to 2-3 months (based on your use) in a air tight container.
Can also be used to make rasam for babies(it aids digestion for little tummies :-) , Just don't use too much)


Ingredients;

Toordal - 1 cup
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 cup
Pepper corns - 1/4 cup ( adjust to your spice level)
Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp

Directions:-

Fry all ingredients separately and let them cool completely and grind together to fine powder.
Store it in air tight container.

Try and let me know your comments