Jiffy cooking & Planning of Menus for all occasions at home.

Kadai Stir-fry Pulao - call this emergency pulao!

Cooked Basmathi - 2 cups

Onion - 1, chopped

Tomato - 1 medium, chopped

Capsicum chopped - 2-3 tbsp

Boiled mixed vegetables - 1 cup

Dhaniya powder - 1 tsp

Jeera powder - ½ tsp

Garam masala powder - ¼ tsp

Cashews, broken - 2 tbsp

Grind to a paste:

Red chillies - 2,3

Garlic - 5,6 pcs

Jeera - ½ tsp

Hing

Butter - 1 tbsp + oil - 1 tbsp

Heat butter & oil & add all ingredientsa given, in the same order, except rice.

After adding the paste, sauté well & add rice.

Mix well, adding salt & simmer for 3-4 mts.

Garnish with coriander leaves & serve hot with any raitha.

 

Dear SB,
Yes, make it last thing at night. It will last. I am shifting this to the query thread.
Love,
Chithra.

 

Jiffy Carrot Saadam - cook this in 10 mts flat!

Cooked, grainy rice - 2 cups

Powder:

Cinnamon 1cm, cloves 2, cardamom 2

Buy fresh carrot & grate.

Heat 2 tbsp oil & temper:

Bay leaf - 1

Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp

Thinly sliced onions - ½ tbsp

Red chillies, broken - 2,3

Slit green chillies - 2, 3

Grated carrot - 1 cup (or more)

The made powder

Salt

Cover & cook till carrots become soft.

Switch off & open.

Add rice & 1 tbsp ghee.

Mix well & add 1-2 tsp lime juice.

Garnish with coriander leaves & serve with chips or raitha.

 

Jiffy Morkuzambu - learnt this from Cheeniya’s mother!

Fresh curds - 1 cup (lightly beaten)

Salt

Grind together:

Chopped coriander leaves - ½ cup

Green chillies - 1 or 2

To temper:

Oil - 1 tsp

Mustard seeds - ½ tsp

Add ground paste & salt to lightly beaten curds & salt.

Temper.

Goes with chips or any roast or any kalanda sadham.

 

Jiffy Pakora - spare just 15 mts, not more!!

I made this last evening in the Food processor. You can do without it also! But, the mincing blade of the FB does wonders for this.

Ripe tomatoes - 2 medium, cut

Green chillies - 4,5

Coriander leaves - 2-3 tbsp

Mince the above three as fine as possible.

Now add

Grated paneer - ½ cup

Ajwain (omum) - ½ tsp

Salt,

Sodabicarb - 1/8 tsp

And run the mincer again.

Now add besan in tablespoons to get a batter of idli dough consistency.

Do not add water at all - the amount of besan depends on how well, the mixture is minced.

Heat oil in a kadai.

In medium heat, drop tablespoons of the batter & deep fry.

If the oil is very hot, the colour becomes very dark outside & inside cooking is not complete.

This makes a very tasty snack with tomato sauce.

Keep the oil in kadai & light tthe gas - the dough takes just 5 mts, if you keep all the ingredients ready.

 

Jiffy Sago Upma - delicious quick breakfast!

Use good quality sago & not the variety which crumbles in water.

Sago - 1 cup

Besan - 2 tsp (or powdered fried gram)

Cut into juliennes or this strips:

Calsicum - 1, medium size

Carrot - 1, medium size

Ginger - 1 “

Green chillies - 3,4 or to tasdte

Salt

To garnish:

Gratd coconut - 2 tbsp

& chopped coriander - 2 tbsp

To temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Hing - ½ tsp

Pour boiling water over sago till it is completely & well immersed.

Keep covered for 15 mts.

Drain & wash under cold water, twice.

Strain away all the water.

Smear besan over it and keep.

Heat oil & temper as given.

Then add juliennes & fry for 3-4 mts till they become soft.

Add sago + salt.

Mix well, cook for 2 mts on Hi flame, stirring.

Simmer & cook for 5 mts.

Garnish & serve hot.

 

Jiffy Cheese Pakora - best blended in the Food Processor.

Use the mincing blade & blend:

Green chillies - 3,4 (or to taste)

Chopped coriander leaves - 3 tbs 9optional)

Grated cheese - 50 ms

Next, add;

Maida – ½ cup

Salt – very little because cheese contains cheese

Cooking soda - ½ of 1/8<SUP>th</SUP> spoon

Water is best added In spoons to get thick idli batter consistency.

As soon as you start mixing the above, heat oil in a kadai.

When hot, drop spoonfuls with wet hand into oil.

Deep fry till done.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Without coriander leaves, it tastes equally good.

 

Instant Sambar - Dhal incorporated, please!

This looks like an answer to a “harried” housewife who wants to make sambar in 10 mts flat, when there is no cooked dhal ready.
This powder can be stocked and sambar made:
With tamarind + tomatoes
With tamarind alone
With tomatoes alone
With or without onions.

The proportion is 1 tbsp powder for every cup (200ml) of water – can be a mixture of tamarind paste + water.
Salt need not be added separately, except when boiling the vegetables to be added.
Boil vegetables separately with very little salt, add powder & tamarind water, stir till it boils, simmer for 5 mts & the sambar is ready.
Add coriander leaves, temper in oil – mustard seeds, red chillies (optional) & curry leaves OR mustard seeds and 3 in 1 powder.
Fry lightly on a dry kadai, each of the following separately:

Tur dhal - 1 ½ cups

Dhaniya - ¾ cup

Gram dhal, raw rice, salt - each ¼ cup

Pepper, methi & mustard seeds - each 1 tsp

In ½ tsp oil, fry on a low fire:

Red chilli powder - ¼ cup

Haldi & hing - 1 tsp each

Mix all fried ingredients & powder finr in the mixi. Sieve with a rava sieve. Sore airtight & use.
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Jiffy Khus khus Podi & Sadam

Khus khus - ½ cup

Red chillies - 5-6

Gram dhal - 1 tbsp

Grated coconut - ¼ cup

Salt

In a dry kadai, roast khus khus on a low fire till light brown and add salt.

Remove the same & add 2 drops of oil.

Fry red chillies and gram dhal till well roasted.

Fry coconut in a tava in 2 drops of oil, on a low fire, till light brown and crisp.
Cool all ingredients and powder in a mixi.
Mix with hot rice and temper mustard seeds in 2 tsp ghee.
Serve with chips.