Futura Hard Anodized Pressure Cooker

I got a Futura hard anodized pressure cooker as a house warming gift. My friend got it for me from India. Unfortunately, part of the handle was broken in the transportation process but the rest of the cooker was intact.

The cooker looks gorgeous and can pack quite a good amount of food. I no longer have to make several batches when I have a party with the 9 L capacity cooker. The cooker easily cooks food for a dozen guests. It cleans up quite easy and so far I have had no problem.

For those who are used to judging the cooking time by the number of whistles, this is a totally different experience. You need to set the timer on and accurately judge the time required to cook food. It is a trial and error process. I used the recipes in the guide book as an indication of the amount of time required. That said, if we got the time right, food came out perfectly each and every time.

Although the cooking time after the pressure is built up is very less, a few minutes for most dishes, you need to let the cooker cool off totally since during the cooling process the food cooks further and if you do not want to allow for this time you will need to adjust the time on the stove accordingly.

All in all, it is a good buy if you are willing to learn a new way of using pressure cookers.


http://www.hawkinscookers.com/1.1.2.futuraHA.asp

Futura Deep Fry Pan (Kadhai)

I got this kadhai as a housewarming gift. I bought the 2.75 L Deep Fry Pan (Kadhai) with a stainless steel cover. The first time I used it, everything stuck and my vadas came apart. However, after 2 to 3 uses I can now use the kadhai comfortably. It is useful for sabzis and deep frying and it does allow one to cook large batches at a go. After, the initial hard start it has served me well. As far as cleaning goes, the kadhai is not as easy to clean as my tadka pan was and has several black spots. I end up using stainless steel scrubbers to clean the outside and many times the inside.

I have a mixed feeling about this kadhai. It looks beautiful and serves the purpose.

http://www.hawkinscookers.com/2.1.4.futura_deep_fry_pans.asp

Futura Hard Anodized Tava

I asked my friend to get this tava and it was a huge mistake. Until now I have not figured out how to make it work without anything sticking, no matter how much oil is put on tava, from rotis, dosas to vegetable cutlets. I will stay away from Futura hard anodized tavas in future.

http://www.hawkinscookers.com/2.1.1.futura_tava.asp

Futura Non Stick Dosa Tava

When we lived in India, my dream was to set up my kitchen with Futura cookware. It all looked so beautiful. I got the Futura non-stick dosa tava as a gift from my friend and it works well as it should. I use it mainly for making dosas although I have used it a couple of times for making rotis as well. It is quite good and the dosa does not stick, there is very less oil required and the dosa spreads beautifully. I would definitely recommend buying it.

For a list of the Futura tavas, please visit http://www.hawkinscookers.com/2.1.1.futura_tava.asp

Cuisinart DLC-8S 11-Cup Pro Custom 11 Food Processor by Cuisinart

I used the Usha food processor in India and found it very useful for chopping intensive dishes such as the biryani and several other north indian dishes. My Usha food processor also had ice crushing and juicer attachments in addition to the chopping, slicing, whipping and dough kneading attachments.


We did not have space in our earlier apartment for a food processor and its attachments and once we moved into our new home, there was space in the pantry for my food processor :). I bought the Cuisinart food processor based on recommendation from my friend and since I anyways was a fan of food processors, I did not need much convincing.

As with any food processor, it takes practice to get it right. Of course, you wont get it as symmetrical as you would if you chopped by hand, but it gets the work done. My main use of the food processor is for slicing onions, chopping cabbage, chopping onions and tomatoes and mincing, chopping, pureeing onions, tomatoes, and spinach. I have used it for kneading atta, sometimes it comes out fine and sometimes it doesn't. I have not yet perfected the art of getting perfect dough in a food processor.

There are attachments for whipping, chopping, 2 attachments for slicing and 1 attachment for grating.

I found it cheaper on Macy's when there was a sale compared to Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-DLC-8S-Custom-11-Cup-Processor/dp/B00004S9EJ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1367359684&sr=8-14&keywords=food+processor

I also bought the blade and disc holder which allows everything to be stored neatly and compactly. I definitely recommend the holder.


http://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-BDH-2-Blade-Disc-Holder/dp/B00004S9BY/ref=pd_sim_k_1

The disc holder takes the same amount of space as the food processor. Overall, I am quite happy with the food processor and definitely recommend it.

Preethi Eco-Plus Mixer Grinder

We got this as a gift for our house warming. It is a mixer grinder that is known to be good for grinding indian foods. Unfortunately for me the American mixer grinders could not do the job good enough. So my friend got me this mixer grinder. We use it mainly for grinding spices, making coconut chutney and ginger-garlic paste.

It works so beautifully and definitely worth buying it. It is amazing how wonderful cooking becomes with the right appliances.

http://compare.ebay.com/like/251211931082?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

Ultra Perfect + 2.00 Litre Wet Grinder

A friend gifted us this grinder as a gift and it is so totally worth it. We use this grinder for grinding idli-dosa batter. I am yet to try it out for vadas. The grinder also has a kneading attachment and I am yet to try it out.

http://www.bombaylimited.net/blc/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=54#axzz2Rz038DRa


The grinder works beautifully although you do have to ensure that you keep getting the batter off the sides once in a while to ensure that this batter is ground smoothly. It is quite a task to take off the batter from the grinding stones, I usually use my hands to do the same. My friend told me that there used to be an attachment to remove the batter but with the newer model, they do not give it anymore.

It is important to clean the grinder stones and the grinder immediately because the batter dries up and gets difficult to clean. I find using a brush quite effective. I can easily grind 6 cups of rice/dal and that is quite some quantity. I haven't tried more than that. I usually let the batter ferment in the bowl itself.

Oxo Containers

When we moved to our home, I realized we needed air-tight containers. We saw the OXO 6 piece set at 29.99$ at Costco. I bought 4 and wish I had bought more. I use these containers to store lentils, rice, flour, vermicelli and spaghetti and they stay fresh and have not had any problems with insects.

http://reviews.costco.com/2070/11491617/oxo-oxo-6-piece-bulk-foods-pop-containers-reviews/reviews.htm

Unfortunately, the same configuration is no longer available although there are others available for a much higher price. I would definitely recommend OXO.

In-drawer spice rack set

One of my major quips when we stayed in a 1-BHK apartment was to have to rummage through the cabinets for the once in a while used spices. When we moved to a home and I could afford to allot one drawer to spices, I opted for the in-drawer spice rack. This has been such a good buy and I love to be able to reach out for my spices in a jiffy. I put two of these in my drawer.

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/spiceStorage?productId=10010320

We realized that we also needed the spice funnel when we found it difficult to pour spices down the bottle.

We bought only the spice funnel from container store and has served us really well.

http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10000896&N=&Nao=20&Ntt=667090

Since the bottles are too narrow to get a teaspoon in, I bought an adjustable measuring spoon in stainless steel and it turned out really useful. I can't seem to find the link to it online though.

Bobby Flay 11-piece hard anodized cookware set

Our friends gave us this set as a gift and it is absolutely awesome. It is so easy to clean up and 4 months later still looks like new. Cooking is an absolute pleasure. I have prepared all types of indian curries, biryanis, rice and soup. The steamer pan doubles as a colander when I need one. Definitely recommended.

http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-958220/bobby-flay-11-pc-hard-anodized-cookware-set.jsp

Paneer Kurma

Ingredients:

Paneer 1/4 kg cut into very small pieces

Onions - 3

Tomatoes - 3

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Kitchen king powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves

Coconut paste - 1/4 cup

Cream 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Chop all the vegetables

2. Take a pan and add 2 tbsp oil. Add onions and saute. Add the tomatoes, ginger garlic paste. Add all the dry masala powders, paneer cubes, coconut paste and cook for a while.

3. Add coriander leaves and cream. Serve hot.

Anjali Medu vada maker

TGI Fridays, Plano, TX

My advisor took me out for a treat to this restaurant and it's good. The service and ambiance were good. We liked the food too.

They are located at:

901 N Central Expy
Plano
(972) 578-1557

Chili's, Plano, TX

This particular restaurant is near to our home. We tried it after we moved to our new home. The food is ok, we find the Chili's on Coit Road in Dallas much better in terms of taste. Their service is fine and the menu is a standard menu across all chili's. My favorites are the south western egg rolls, chicken fajita and chicken quesadilla.

3601 N. Central Expy
Plano, TX 75023-6906

(phone) 972-881-9100

Ziyaafat, Plano, TX

We bought a Google offers for this restaurant and went there on a weekend and they mentioned that the offers is valid only on weekdays even though no such condition was present on the offer. They agreed to honor the offer. My husband offered to come back later on a weekday and  we went a couple of times after that. The food is decent but the prices are a little too high for our budget, costs around 40 dollars for 2 entrees and an appetizer. The moorgh hara masala is my favorite. Their naans were also soft and nice.

They are located at:
1301 Custer Rd  Plano, TX 75075

(972) 881-4302

Panda Express, Plano, TX

Panda Express is a fast food chinese restaurant that is very near our home. It is our place to go to for the quick meals and serves relatively decent food. I like their Black Pepper Chicken, Kung Pao chicken and chicken egg rolls.

They are located at:

1121 E Spring Creek Pkwy
Plano, TX
(972) 422-2846

Bundoo Khan, Plano, TX

This is a place we discovered last year thanks to our friends. They serve a limited menu of barbecue items and chicken biryani. Their food is always great and freshly cooked. This is not a place for those who expect to get served within half an hour. It takes at least 45 minutes plus to get food. They are short staffed most of the time. We work around this by ordering food half an hour earlier and then leave for the restaurant and either do a to go or ask to be served there. The food is definitely tasty and worth the wait if you can afford it.

They are located at:

3033 W Parker Rd
Ste 214
Plano, TX 75023

Thai Box, Allen, TX

This is a favorite haunt of ours located at 190 E Stacy Rd, Ste 1410
Allen, TX 75002. I especially love their lychee smoothie, fried rice and yellow curry. Definitely worth a visit!

Paneer Chilly

The paneer chilly recipe from this website turned out quite good :http://cookingmarvel.in/chinese/paneer_chilly.html


INGREDIENTS

Cornflour	1 tbsp.	Tomato sauce	2 tsp.
Maida	1 tsp.	Green chilly (cut into thin & long strips)	5
Salt	1 tsp.	Garlic Cloves (optional)	5
Paneer	125 gm	Ajinomoto	tsp.
Vinegar	1 tsp.	Sugar	tsp.
Soya sauce	2 tsp	Black pepper	tsp.
Chilly sauce	1 tbsp.	Oil for deep frying

METHOD

Make a thin paste of Maida, Cornflour and 1/2 tsp of salt. Cut paneer into small square pieces. Dip them in the paste and fry to a golden brown color. Heat 2 tbsp. of oil. Fry green chilly and garlic. Put salt, sugar, black pepper, ajinomoto, chilly sauce, tomato sauce, soya sauce, vinegar and 2 tbsp. of water. Cook for half a minute. Add Paneer. Mix it well. Serve hot.

Serves: 2-3 adults

Sambar

This was the first recipe I tried for Sambhar and I love the recipe primarily because it turns out like the sambhar in the Bangalore restaurants.

I got it from the following website:
http://cookingmarvel.in/south/sambar.html

INGREDIENTS

Arhar Dal	300 gms	Dry red chilly (sabut)	4
Onion (roughly chopped)	3	Kari Patta	6-7
Tomato (roughly chopped)	250 gms	Asafetida (heeng)	A pinch
Ghiya (roughly chopped)	Kg	Red chilly powder	1 tsp
Fresh coconut (grated)	1 cup	Sugar	1 tsp
Tamarind Water	1 cup	Haldi	tsp
Sambar Masala *	4 tsp	Coriander leaves (finely chopped)	A few
Mustard Seeds (moti)	1 tsp	Oil for Tadka	1 tbsp

* You may buy Sambar Masala from the market or click the above link for excellent homemade masala.

METHOD

Heat the pressure cooker. Roast the dal to golden brown color without using oil. Soak it in water for one hour. Add onion, tomato and ghiya to it. Add Haldi and salt to taste. Cook it in pressure cooker. After one whistle, simmer it for 10 minutes. Switch off the gas. Add sambar masala, grated coconut and chopped coriander to the Tamarind water. Put it into sambar. Prepare tadka by heating oil in a small karahi. Add heeng, mustard seed, red chilly (dry), kari patta, sugar, red chilly powder and little water. Add this also to sambar. Boil this preparation in cooker/pateela for 5-10 minutes. Serve hot.

NOTE

Prepare Tamarind Water by soaking tamarind (imli) in water for 1 hour. Then mash it and strain it.

Serves: about 15 adults

Lemon Rice

Another recipe that turns out good. I do adjust the lemon I put into the rice since my husband dislikes sour food. The papad gives a really awesome taste. I got it from the following website: http://cookingmarvel.in/south/lemon_rice.html

INGREDIENTS

Rice	2 cups	Kari Patta	8-10
Salt	To taste	Mustard Seeds (moti)	tsp
Haldi	tsp	Dry Red Chilly (sabut)	3-4
Lemon	1	Oil for Tadka	2 tbsp
Chana Dal and Urad Dal	1 tsp each	Papad	2

METHOD

Boil rice in the normal way. Heat oil in a kadahi. Add mustard seeds, kari patta, chana dal, urad dal and sabut red chilly. Break papad into small pieces and fry it in the tadka for 30 seconds. Add lemon juice, salt and haldi. Finally, add boiled rice and mix it well. Serve hot.

Serves: 4-5 adults

Plain Upma

This is another recipe that works out very well that I have adapted into my day to day cooking. I got it from the following website: http://cookingmarvel.in/south/plain_upma.html

INGREDIENTS

Suji	300 gms
Water (in proportion to Suji)	3 times
Salt	To taste
Onion (in fine long cuts or chopped)	2
Green chilly (finely chopped)	2
Ginger (finely chopped)	1
Chana Dal	1 tsp
Urad Dal	1 tsp
Kari Patta	5-7
Mustard Seeds (moti)	1 tsp
Oil for tadka	2 tbsp
Lemon	1
Coriander Leaves (finely choppes)	A few

METHOD

Roast suji in kadahi without oil to light brown color. Boil water. Heat oil in a kadahi. Put tadka of mustard seeds, green chilly, ginger and kari patta. Add chana dal and urad dal and fry it in the tadka for 2 minutes. Add onion to it and fry it for 2 minutes. Add water, salt and lemon juice and wait for the water to boil. Slowly add roasted suji keeping the flame high, while stirring continuously and taking care not to form lumps. Within 2-3 minutes, the Upma should be ready. It should not be too dry nor too wet. Sprinkle coriander leaves.

Vegetable Upma

I tried this recipe out shortly after marriage and it came out so well. The upma turns out soft and yummy. This recipe was taken from the following website: http://cookingmarvel.in/south/vegetable_upma.html

INGREDIENTS

Suji	300 gms	Ginger (finely chopped)	1
Water (in proportion to Suji)	3 times	Chana Dal	1 tsp
Salt	To taste	Urad Dal	1 tsp
Onion (in fine long cuts or chopped)	2	Kari Patta	5-7
Carrot (finely chopped)	1 (big)	Mustard Seeds (moti)	1 tsp
French Beans (finely chopped)	4-5	Oil for tadka	2 tbsp
Peas (seeds)	50 gms	Lemon	1
Green chilly (finely chopped)	2	Coriander Leaves (finely choppes)	A few

METHOD

Roast suji in kadahi without oil to light brown color. Boil water. Heat oil in a kadahi. Put tadka of mustard seeds, green chilly, ginger and kari patta. Add chana dal and urad dal and fry it in the tadka for 2 minutes. Add onion, carrot, french beans and peas to it. Cover it with a lid and simmer it for 2-3 minutes till it gets half cooked. Add water, salt and lemon juice and wait for the water to boil. Slowly add roasted suji keeping the flame high, while stirring continuously and taking care not to form lumps. Within 2-3 minutes, the Upma should be ready. It should not be too dry or too wet. Sprinkle coriander leaves. 

Serves: 7-8 adults

Rasagulla Pudding

This is a simple and much loved dessert and a quick fix! I got the recipe from this website: http://www.cookingmarvel.in/desserts/rasgulla_pudding.html


INGREDIENTS

Rasgulla (medium)	12
Vanilla Icecream	500 gm
Milk Chocolate (grated)	3 tbsp

METHOD
Take half of the icecream in a serving bowl and beat for one minute. Squeeze the rasgullas completely and add to the above. Beat the rest of the ice cream and pour on it. Garnish with the grated chocolate and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Serve chilled.
Serves: 5-6 adults.

Spaghetti Bologonaise

Spaghetti bologonaise is an all time hit with my guests. I first tried it out 10 years back when I was newly married and this recipe is just perfect.

The recipe has been taken from this site: http://www.cookingmarvel.in/vegetable/spaghetti_bolognaise.html


INGREDIENTS
50 grams spaghetti; 1 cup boiled vegetables (beans, peas & carrots); 1/2 cup sliced capSicum; 1/2 cup spring onions; 1 cup grated cheese; 1/2 cup potatoes; 1/2 cup  maida; 2 tbsp paneer; 400 grams tomatoes; 3 pieces of garlic; 2 tsp red chilli powder; salt to taste; 2 tsp sugar; 6 tbsp tomato sauce; 2 tbsp ghee.

METHOD

For Spaghetti
Boil water in a pan. Add 1 tbsp oil, 1/2 tbsp salt and add spaghetti. Cook till done.

For the sauce
Take about 200 ml water in a vessel. Add the tomatoes, 3 pieces of chopped garlic, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp red chilli powder. Cook for 10-12 minutes. Cool. Crush in the mixie. Then strain in a strainer. It should be quite thick. In a kadai heat 2 tbsp ghee. Then fry capsicum slices and chopped spring onions. Add boiled vegetables (keep aside 1/4th cup for the preparation of vegetables balls). Saute for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the prepared sauce. Cook for 4-5 minutes.

For the vegetable balls
1 cup boiled potato mashed; salt to taste; 2 tablespoon paneer; seperated boiled vegetables; 2 tablespoon maida; Mix everthing and make small balls. Then dip in maida paste and deep fry either in ghee or oil. 
Assembling
Grease a oven tray lightly with ghee or butter. Warm the prepared sauce. Spread in the dish keeping aside a little to sprinkle on vegetables. Then spread the prepared spaghetti. Sprinkle grated cheese. Place the vegetables balls. Sprinkle the remaining sauce and grated cheese. Bake in pre-heated oven at 200 degree for 10- 15 minutes. 
Serves: 3-4 persons.