*For All My Blogger Friends

I know that I have not been regular since I came back but thanks to my blogger friends who with their awards and wonderful comments motivate and encourage me to be regular enough in the blogging world. I have so much to share with you all but something or the other keeps coming in between. Anyways a big thanks to all those bloggers who appreciate me and my work by showering me with awards.

My friends Arundhati of Gourmet Affair and Ramya of Memory archieved passed me this Hard Working Food Blogger award- Thanks a ton,I will definitely try to be more hardworking and be regular :)

My another good friend Ivy of Kopiaste passed me the Yum-Yum Blog award. I really appreciate it.
I also got the lovely Butterfly Award from Sudeshna of Bengalicuisine and Kitchen Flavours .

Here are some rules for the Butterfly award.

1. Add the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who gave you the award.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs of your choice.
4. Don’t forget to add links to those blogs in yours.
5. Also leave a message for your nominees in their blogs, informing them about the award.

I know its a rule to pass the Butterfly award to 10 bloggers, but I would really like to pass the above awards to all my fellow bloggers with their lovely blogs. You all deserve these awards..

*Happy Diwali And Prosperous New YearTo You All

Hi friends,Diwali is a festival of lights and happiness.On this auspicious occasion I wish you all a very Happy Diwali and a Great New Year.May all your dreams come true and may God bless you all.

Have a wonderful Diwali.....Enjoy!!

*Celebrating my 50th post with Bread Pizza

Yeeeeee!!!!!! My 50th post

(Image source:Google images)

Hi friends, sorry I couldn't post any recipes since last week.There was some problem with my laptop. I am so happy and excited,this is my 50th post. This is just a beginning for me , hope to get your love and support in the future also. I want to share many more recipes and food tips with you all.

Celebrating my 50th post with a wonderful, yummy recipe my mom makes. It is a favorite at my place. This recipe is a different version of a pizza,you can say a low fat version as it does not have any cheese.Weight conscious people,you can eat this dish without any guilt. You will love this sweet and spicy combination.

Bread Pizza

I have seen and heard about many bread pizza recipes, this is a bit different from those.So lets give this recipe a try.

Ingredients:

• Bread (of your choice) - 4 slices
• Onion- 1 medium ,finely chopped
• Capsicum- 1 medium, finely chopped
• Tomato (optional) - 1 medium, finely chopped
• Tomato Ketchup
• Butter ( low-fat)/Ghee (for toasting bread)

For Chutney:

• Cilantro(Coriander) - 1 bunch (use the stems also)
• Mint leaves - 8-10 no.
• Ginger - 1 small piece
• Green chillies - 2, small
• Lime juice- 2 tsp
• Salt to taste

To garnish:

• Fine sev

Method:

For chutney:

• Clean the coriander.Peel ginger and remove stems from green chillies .Wash all these ingredients thoroughly.
• 
  
• Grind these along with the remaining ingredients into a smooth paste in a food processor.
• 
  
• Store in a bowl.

For pizza:

• Apply a tbsp. of chutney,then a tbsp. of ketchup on a slice of bread. (The amount of chutney and ketchup can vary as per your taste.)
• 
  
• Heat a girdle or tawa and toast the bread slice,chutney side up with little butter till the downside becomes brownish and little crispy.
• 
  
• Top the toasted bread slice with little chopped onion,capsicum and tomato.
• 
  
• Garnish it with sev and serve hot.

Serves 2

Note: Start making the pizza when you are about to serve or else it will become soft and soggy.

I am sending this recipe to the WYF: Party Food event hosted by easycrafts of Simple Indian food blog.

*Semolina(Sooji/Rava) Sheera

Semolina(Sooji/Rava) Sheera

Semolina sheera is a favorite in our Indian households,mostly prepared during festivals and puja. But for those who love it,they don't need to wait for either of these to eat it...... :) Such is the case in my house,my hubby likes this sheera very much. So Rava sheera is made more often compared to any other sweet.

It is basically made from semolina and milk. Its a bit heavy because of the added ghee,but sometimes you should just forget about your weight and enjoy such delicacies...hehehe!!! So what are we waiting for,lets get to work.

Ingredients :

• Semolina (Sooji/Rava) - 2 cups
  Ghee - 3 tbsp
  Sugar - 2 cups
  Milk - 2 cups
• Water- 1 cup
  Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
  Cashewnuts -1 tbsp

Method:

• Take Ghee in a non stick pan and add Semolina to it. Roast until semolina turns golden brown. (Take care not to burn semolina).
• 
  
• Continue for 2-3 minutes on a low flame.
• 
  
• Remove the roasted semolina in a plate.

In the same pan roast the cashewnuts and keep them aside.

Now take milk and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil.Add cardamom powder and keep it on a low flame.

Slowly add semolina to the above milk mixture, stir the mixture well with a spatula and avoid any lump formation.

Add the cashews to this mixture and cook it till the ghee separates from the semolina.

Serve in a bowl.You can decorate it as per your liking.

Serves: 4

This recipe is making its way to 4 events:

Yummy Festival Feasts - Diwali hosted by Pallavi of All Thingz Yummy .

JFI - Festival Treats hosted by Srivalli of Cooking 4 All Seasons.

The Saas, Bahu Aur Sensex Contest hosted by Nags of Edible Garden.You can check the movie website here.

Satisfy your sweet tooth event hosted by Sudeshna of Here I cook blog.

*Potato (Aloo) Fry...

Today's recipe is Potato(Aloo) Fry. This is a very tasty and quick to make recipe. Serve it with chapati,paratha or just enjoy it with rice and dal,its simply amazing. I just love it!!!!

Potatoes.......who doesn't like them???? They are one of the widely used vegetable all over the world. They can be boiled, baked, fried, and micro waved, steamed, roasted, mashed, and placed in salads, with or without the peel.

Friends,check out this cool "Potato Song" video I found in Youtube :

The potato is thought to be just a high source of calories and that it is fattening .This is not true. You will surprised to know that it is almost fat-free. In fact the addition of high calorie toppings like butter,sour cream,mayonnaise dressing,etc make the potato recipe fattening. It has many nutritional advantages.

Here are some facts we should know about potatoes:

• Potatoes contain a number of important vitamins and minerals. A medium potato (150g/5.3 oz) with the skin provides 27 mg vitamin C (45% of the Daily Value (DV)), 620 mg of potassium (18% of DV), 0.2 mg vitamin B6(10% of DV) and trace amounts of thiamin,riboflavin,folate, niacin,magnesium,phosphorus,iron and zinc.
• Moreover, the fiber content of a potato with skin (2 grams) equals that of many whole grain breads,pastas and cereals.

• Potatoes also contain an assortment of phytochemicals,such as carotenoids and polyphenols.


• The notion that “all of the potato’s nutrients” are found in the skin is an urban legend. While the skin does contain approximately half of the total dietary fiber, more than 50% of the nutrients are found within the potato itself. The cooking method used can significantly impact the nutrient availability of the potato.
• (Source: Wikipedia)

Check some interesting facts about potatoes here .

Ingredients:

• Potato- 2 big
• Olive oil - 3 tsp
• Mustard seeds- 2 tsp
  Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
  Asafoetida (hing)-A pinch
  Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
  Red chilli powder- 2 tsp
  Lime juice -1 tsp
  Salt to taste

Method:

• Peel the potatoes and cut them into long slices.
• 
  *Add about 3 tsp of salt to the potato slices,mix well and keep aside for about 30-45 mins.
• Then squeeze the slices to remove all the water.


• Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves,cumin and mustard seeds.Once they crackle,add the potato slices and mix well.


• Cook till the potato slices become crispy and light brownish.


• Then add turmeric and red chilli powder and lime juice.Mix and cook for about 2 mins,then switch off the flame.


• Serve hot with Roti,paratha or rice and dal.

Serves: 2-3

• * Addition of salt helps in removal of water from the potatoes and make the recipe crispy.Use this method to make potato chips.

I am sending this recipe to the 'Monthly Mingle-Sensational Sides' event hosted by Ruth of Ruth's kitchen Experiments and started by Meeta of What's for lunch, Honey?

*Thank You Friends..........

Thank You Friends

I am so happy to get some new awards from my blogger friends. I feel so good that even though I was on a break,my friends remembered me and showered me some wonderful awards.I am so sorry that I am posting about them so late.Thanks you all a lot..

Farida of Farida's Cookbook has passed me the 'Arte y Pico' Award.Thanks for this lovely award.

I pass this award to

• Ivy
• Srilekha
• Mansi
• Sripriya
• Ramya

Swapna of Crafts and Cooking has given me the 'Blogging Forever Friend' award. Thank you swapna for making my day...

This lovely award goes to

• Asha
  Aparna
• Aartee
  Aditi
• Cham

Aartee of Nalabhagam and Aditi from My Kitchen Stories have passed me this beautiful 'Wylde Woman Award'. Thank you both and you have lovely blogs out there.

The rules of this award are:

1.You can give it to one or one hundred or any number in between - it’s up to you. Make sure you link to their site in your post

2. Link back to this blog site http://tammyvitale.typepad.com/.Tammy can go visit all these wonderful men and women and remember the Purpose of the Award: To send love and acknowledgment to men and women, who brighten your day, teach you new things and live their lives fully with generosity and joy.

My friend Aditi has also passed me the 'Friendship Award'.May our friendship grow in the coming years..I also got the 'Friendship Award' from Vaidehi of Chakali.

I pass both of these awards to

• Cham
  Madhuram
• Farida
• Sangeeth
• Sireesha
• Sunshinemom

Aparna from Three mangoes passed me this wonderful postcard.I am so happy to receive this postcard.

Congrats to all the award winners.Have a great day!!!

*Chinese Tortilla Samosa

Today I present you yet another quick and tasty recipe which you can make for parties or dinner and surely impress your family and guests. Moreover its very easy to make and it saves your time also. You must be wondering what is this dish??? So I wont make you wait any longer and tell you what are we going to make here today.

Chinese Tortilla Samosa

This recipe is called Chinese Tortilla Samosa. Samosa......well, who doesn't like them? It serves as a good accompaniment with tea or you can just eat it like that. Unlike our regular samosas with the potato filling, these samosas have a Chinese style filling...... and it tastes awesome!! It makes a wonderful appetizer and so easy to make that it saves you a lot of time.

Wait.....there's one more twist in the recipe. In these, I have used tortilla's as a cover or crust of the samosa rather than making them with all purpose flour(maida) which is again a tidious process. So you can avoid the all purpose flour (maida) and use ready made tortilla's which you get easily in the grocery stores. Nowadays you get so many different varieties of tortilla's...you can choose according to your liking. I used the regular tortilla's and believe me you cannot find any difference between the regular all purpose flour cover and tortilla cover.

So friends, what do you think about the idea of using a tortilla for the samosa cover? I love it ,it saves so much of my time and tastes awesome. I have used them in regular samosas also. Just give it a try and you will surely love idea. So let's start...

Ingredients:
For cover:

• Large Tortilla's (regular) - 3 no.s
  All purpose flour+ water paste (to seal)

For filling:

• Cabbage, shredded - 3/4th cup
• Carrot, shredded - 1/2th cup
• Capsicum, finely chopped - 1/2th cup
• Green/regular onion, finely chopped - 1/2 cup
• Boiled noodles- 1 cup
• Cilantro - 2 tbsp
• Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 2-3 tsp
• Tomato ketchup - 2 tsp
• Vinegar - 1 tsp
• Salt to taste

Oil - For frying

Method:

• Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl, except noodles and salt and mix well.

Add the noodles and salt (as per taste) and again mix well.

Keep the filling aside.

For samosas:

• If you have taken the tortilla's from the refrigerator,they tend to be hard. Heat them for a minute in the microwave with a wet cloth or tissue over it. This makes them softer.
• Fold the tortilla into half and cut it from the center. Now you get 2 halves.
• Again fold these two parts into half and cut them.In total now you get 4 pieces from a single large tortilla.
  
• Now you are ready to make the samosas.
• Take care to remove the water from the filling before filling it in the tortilla.


• Take one tortilla piece and make a cone as shown in the picture below.


• 




• Put the filling in it. (Don't put too much filling...see that it doesn't come out of the cone.)
  
• Apply the all purpose flour paste on the top flap and seal the samosa cover.


• Repeat it with all the tortilla covers.
  
• Deep fry them in oil and serve the crispy samosas hot with ketchup.


• 

*I tried to bake them but they did not turn so well,may be there's some problem with my oven. I think the baked one's will also taste good and they will be a much healthier option.

*I advice you to make the samosas when you are about to eat or serve them. If you make them many hours before,they tend to get soft,lose their crispiness.

Serves 4-6

This recipe is rushing to the WYF: Party Food event hosted by easycrafts of Simple Indian food blog.

*Soup for your good health....

Its so good to be blogging once again. Keeping in mind the saying "Health is Wealth",today I am posting a healthy soup recipe. This soup contains a combination of healthy vegetables which help to maintain the good health of your body as well as your heart. It is rich in fibre and many nutrients and one more thing.................it doesn't taste bad at all :D !!!!

Healthy soup

Ingredients:

• Beet - 1,medium (Dont remove the skin and don't discard the beet leaves,use them.They are also good for your health)
• Bottleguard- 1 cup (cut in big pieces)
• Spinach - 2 cups (Remember....spinach reduces to 1/3rd its quantity after cooking)
• Ginger- 1 small piece
• Garlic (optional)- 1 clove
• Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
• Salt - To taste

Click the vegetables to know more about them and their health benefits.

Method:

• Pressure cook the vegetables (Beet,bottlegourd and spinach) with very less water and let them cool.
• Remove the skin of beet and put the vegetables in the blender.


• Add salt, ginger and garlic pieces.Add water if required.
• Blend them thoroughly.
• Take in a bowl and add pepper powder while serving.

Serving 1-2

This recipe is my entry to the WYF - Salad/Starter/Soup event hosted by Easycrafts of Simple Indian Food blog.

I find this recipe very apt for the 'Eat Healthy Fight Diabetes' contest hosted by Sangeeth of Art of cooking indian food.So here it goes......

Note:

* I prefer to keep the soup oil free.You can season it with cumin and mustard seeds..

* Individuals with already existing and untreated kidney or gallbladder problems or those who have a tendency to develop kidney stones may want to avoid eating beet and spinach or take your doctors advice first.