Triple Decker Fruit Salad

Fruits are the best source of good health. It is always recommended to eat at least one fruit a day. I am a very poor fruit eater and so is my hubby. But I made it a point to eat fruits every day during my pregnancy (however, with some difficulty). People who are bored to eat fruits as such can try starting with a fruit salad, a fruit chat or a fruit juice or a fruit mocktail. However, these can never match the health that is rendered by eating fruits naturally. I am sure, a fruit salad once in a while can actually hep you start eating fruits regularly.

I had tried this triple decker fruit salad many years ago from a cookery show. It is such a wonderful desert which everyone, right from children to old people, will love to have. This can be made purely by your imagination; so I am not giving exact measurements of the ingredients. Here we go for the recipe!

Ingredients:

Mixed cut fruits - Banana, mango, grapes, pineapple, apple, watermelon
Dry fruits - Dates, raisins, cashews, apricots, fig
Fresh or processed cherries
Gelatin crystals (Strawberry or raspberry flavour to give a bright red colour)
Custard powder (Vanilla flavour)
Fresh cream
Milk
Sugar
Wafer to decorate

Method:

• Prepare the jelly and also the custard with milk and sugar as per instructions given on the pack and let it set and refrigerate for an hour.
• Take a transparent glass and first layer it with the custard.
• Then add the mixed fruits one by one in layers (I just used banana and mango).
• Then layer it with the red coloured jelly.
• Add some fresh cream atop this. Add the cut dry fruits (I added dates).
• Finally crown it with a cherry. Decorate it with a wafer.
• Serve as such or you may serve it chilled.

Variations:

• You can add vanilla ice cream, choco chips, choco shavings and also top up with a little chocolate sauce along with the cream.
• If adding ice cream, do not add cream.
• You can include more fruits and more layers of custard and jelly, in which case you would need a tall glass.

Potato Pulav/Easy Potato Pulav

I am a big fan of pulavs. Any pulav or one-pot biryani is always my favourite and is in my wishlist even when I to restaurants. I would strongly recommend to make any kind of pulav with basmati rice as it imparts a nice flavour and aroma to the dish. This potato pulav is my very own recipe!!! Yes, this recipe I dint even plan for. It just occurred to me as I was mulling over as to what to make for dinner. I just had potatoes and some frozen peas. I had not planned anything for dinner. I just went in to the kitchen and started off with whatever was available, and finally came out with this tasty pulav. I had no plans of posting this one. So I did not take stepwise pictures.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1 and 1/2 cups
Potatoes (finely diced into cubes) - 2 nos
Onion (chopped into thin strips) - 1 no
Frozen peas - a fistful (optional)
Green chillies (slit vertically) - 2 nos
Bay leaf - 1
Star anise, cinnamon - 1 each
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Shahi pulao masala (store-bought) - 2 tsps
Ghee and/or oil - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves - for garnishing
Salt to taste

Method:

• Soak the basmati rice for 15 to 30 minutes. Wash, drain and then keep aside.
• Switch on an electric cooker,  and in the vessel pour some oil and/or ghee and add the cinnamon, start anise and bay leaf. Then add the onions and the green chillies and stir fry for a minute or till the onions become golden brown.
• Then add the shahi pulao masala (I used Catch) and mix well.
• Add the soaked basmati rice and a little ghee on top and mix for about half-a-minute.
• Pour 1 and 1/2 times of water to that of rice; 1 cup of rice is to 1 and 1/2 cups of water.
• Add salt at this stage and close the lid of the cooker and let it get cooked.
• Meanwhile, in a separate pan add oil and splutter some jeera. Add the cubed potatoes and add salt and turmeric powder. Let this get fried/roasted well (Just like potato curry).
• Finally add the chilly powder and mix well.
• When the rice is done, add the peas and the roasted potato to the rice and mix gently so as to not break the rice.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with any raitha or just plain curds. It tastes heavenly.

Chole Masala/Channa Masala/Side Dish for Poori

Chole masala or channa masala is a healthy, tasty and filling side dish, usually taken with Batura or 'Chola Poori' as it is known in South India. It is an easy-to-make dish if you have the channa soaked well. This is made with the white channa or Kabuli channa with which we make sundal. You can also make this with some left over sundal!

I made this for poori when we had guests at home. It came out really tasty. I used the basics from Manjula's kitchen and made some variations to it. This went well with the pooris.

Ingredients:

• Kabuli channa - 50 g or 1/2 cup
• Tomatoes pureed - 2 to 3 nos
• Onion finely chopped - 1 big
• Chilly powder - 1 to 2 tsp
• Dhania powder -  3 tsp
• Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Green chillies - 2 slit
• Besan flour - 1 tbsp
• Ghee/oil - 1 tbsp
• Coriander leaves - for garnishing
• Salt to taste

 Method:

• Soak the Kabuli channa overnight for about 12 hours. Pressure cook the soaked channa with water and salt along with a teabag for 3 to 4 whistles. The addition of the teabag is to give colour to the channa.

• In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat oil and/or ghee and add the besan flour and stir well. This is to give good thickness and consistency to the gravy. This also enhances the flavour. Then add slit green chillies and onions and stir fry for sometime.

• Then add the tomato puree and fry till it comes to a boil and leaves the sides of the pan. Add the powders one by one and mix well. Add water if necessary and salt to taste.

• Finally add the cooked channa and give it a boil. Adjust water accordingly. Garnish with coriander leaves. While serving you can add a dash of lemon juice if desired.

•  Serve hot with bautra, poori, chapathi or rice.