Chocolate brownie

Source: Food.com

Ingredients:

Cocoa powder - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1 1/4 cups
All purpose flour - 2/3 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Butter - 1/2 cup
Vanilla  - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Nuts(Almond, walnuts, pecans) - 1/2 cup ( chopped)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and grease a 8x8" pan.
2. Melt the butter in a large pan over low heat and then stir in cocoa. Remove from heat.
3. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Then mix in eggs one at a time.
4. Stir in all purpose flour and baking powder and mix well. Then mix in the nuts.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
6. Allow it to cool completely. Then cut it into 2x2" squares.

Bread Pizza

Ingredients:

Bread slices - 2
Pizza sauce/ Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp
Mozzarella Cheese - 4 tbsp
Vegetables (Onion , tomato, capsicum) - 2 tbsp (chopped)


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 250 F .
2. Spread pizza sauce/tomato sauce on to the bread slices.
3. Then add the onions, followed by capsicum or tomato or any vegetable of your choice.
4. Add the cheese to cover the veggies.
5. Place these bread slices onto the oven and bake for about 5 - 7 minutes or until the cheese melts.
6. Serve hot.

Pineapple Kesari

Source : Sharmis Passion

Ingredients:

Pineappple - 1/3 cup (chopped)
Rava - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 -3/4 cup
Water - 1 and 1/2 cups
Cashews - 1/2 tbsp chopped
Raisins - 2 tsp
Yellow food colour - a pinch
Ghee - 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Boil water and add pineapple pieces and let it boil for 5 minutes till the pineapple pieces turns soft. Add food colour and allow it to boil for another 1 or 2 minutes.
2. Add 2 tsp of ghee in a pan and fry cashews till golden brown and then fry raisins.Keep aside.
3. In the same pan, add another 2 tsp of ghee and add rava and fry till rava starts turning colour . Then add the pineapple pieces and water to the rava and mix well so that no lumps are formed.
4. Once the rava is cooked and the water is fully absorbed, add sugar and stir . Keep stirring continuously.
5. Then add fried cashew and raisins and ghee and mix well till the whole mixture becomes thick and starts coming together. Turn off the stove.
6. Garnish with pineapple pieces, cashews and raisins. Serve warm.

Note:
- Add sugar only after the rava is fully cooked.

Peas Pulao

Ingredients:

1. Basmati Rice- 1 cup
2. Peas - 1/2 cup
3. Onion - 1 medium , sliced thinly
4. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
5. Water  - 2 cups
6. Salt to taste

For seasoning

Oil/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cinnamon - 1' stick
Cloves - 2-3
Cardamom - 1
Star Anise - 1
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Method:

1. Wash and soak basmati rice in water for about 30 min.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan , and add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, star anise and cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds starts to splutter, add onion.
3. Fry till onion turns brown. Now add ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute .
4. Now add peas and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the soaked basmati rice, water and salt. Transfer it into a pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles.
6. Once the pressure is released and the rice is cooked, fluff it with a fork.Serve hot.

Homemade ghee

Method:

1. Keep the butter at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Heat the butter in a heavy bottom vessel in medium to low flame. Once the butter has melted completely, it will start boiling . Keep stirring in between to avoid burning.
3. Then the butter will be frothy and yellowish in colour.
4. Slowly the colour will change to light brown . Then add few curry leaves or rock salt and switch off the flame. Curry leaves and rock salt help the residue in settling down.
5. Now filter the ghee to a container without the residue.

Semiya Upma

Ingredients:

Semiya/Vermicilli - 1 cup
Vegetables - 1/2 cup, chopped (You can use carrot, beans, peas ,corn)
Green chillies  - 1-2 , slit length-wise
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly - 1 or 2, broken into 2 or 3 pieces
Curry leaves - 7-8 leaves
Coconut - 1/4 cup
Water - 2 cups
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Take a heavy bottom pan and roast the semiya till it turns to golden brown. Keep aside.
2. Bring the same pan to heat and add oil , mustard seeds, urad dal and red chillies. Once the mustard seeds starts to splutter, add the curry leaves and  chopped onion and fry till it turns colour .
3. Now add all the vegetables and green chillies. Fry for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the roasted semiya. Mix and fry for a minute. Now add water and salt. Cover and cook till all the water is absorbed and semiya is soft and done.
5. Add coconut and mix.
6. Serve hot.