lazy cooks macaroni salad

Hi folks.....finally time to put the recipe of the macaroni salad........quite simply because this time I remembered to take the pics ..........this miserable heat is kinda evaporating my brain cells!

This is a lovely summer salad,even my dear husband who likes only really hot and spicy dishes...likes this....its actually a complete meal in itself.......paired with a cool fizzy drink...perfect!
macaroni -2 pkts(I used 1 shell and 1 elbow pkt)
1 big mango(chopped-diced)
1 cup corn(cooked)
1 cup diced cucumber
1/2 cup diced cheese(cheddar)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup of hung curd/quark(take approx. 2 cups of curd...put this in a muslin cloth and hang for an hour....you'd be left with 1/2 cup of hung curd.........can also be called quark)
2 tablespoons mayonaise(I used eggless)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of Italian sesaoning
1 tblsp of honey(optional)
METHOD
1.In a huge pan of boiling salted water,cut open and topple the contents of the two pkts(Of pasta).Cook till al dente,(should not be mushy....your pasta should have a bite in it),drain,and rinse in cold water.
2.Take the mayo,hung curd,salt,pepper , italian seasoningand honey...mix it well.
3.Take the macaroni,mango,cucumber,onion, cheese,corn....toss the dressing into it,taste and now refrigerate till its nice and cold.........perfect to have for lunch on a hot sunny day.

On a completely unrelated note.......does anyone know how to reduce blood sugar in dogs,my poor Casper has been detected with diabetes,and its a bit of a mystery out here..the docs want to put him on insulin....I've got a week left to get his blood sugar down(I'd asked for 2 weeks to work some magic),I've got this chap eating lauki(bottle gourd),paneer,and baba ramdev meds..........does anyone know anything else that might help reduce the blood sugar?

lazy cooks everything innit cookies

You know those annoying people who keep cooing to their dogs,talking to them and then telling folks that the animal understands every word.The kind of people who call their pets "baby" and "dumpling".......the kind of people who give you dirty looks when you give dirty looks to dogs.........well I'M one of those!The only reason that I don't have one of my dogs as my profile pic...is ..because I'm SURE  some smartass is going to comment that they always knew I was a bitch!So to prevent unplesantness..the pic remains mine! But....my precious ones do manage to come into the frame now and again.
Sometime back I mentioned that Caspar (my white spaniel)had been put on a diet by the vet........anyway a couple of months down and our friend weighs the same ..if not just a wee bit more......Since our man couldn't have the regular cookies...I made these "healthy" ones for him n me!My kids stick to their chocolate chip and variations of chocolate chip....these were made for my baby n me!
INGRDS
1 cup wholewheat flour(atta)
1 cup oats
1 cup dates-chopped
1/2 cup milk pdr
1/2 cup grated coconut.
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
100 gms butter
1 egg
1 tsp cinnamon pdr
1 tsp flaxseed pdr(optional)
METHOD
1.With an electric beater,beat the butter and sugar till soft and fluffy....add the egg...now topple everything else into the bowl.Beat till mixed.
2.Butter a baking tray,put spoonfulls of the mix,press down lightly with a fork.
3.Bake in a preheated 190deg oven for 12-15 mins.
4.Enjoy!
NOTE
This is not my own invention ....this is from an old magazine....and its really good....IT IS NOT A DOG BISCUIT.Its a regular cookie..:) 

lazy cooks mango cupcakes

Hi guys.....we're drowning in mangoes..which is a good thing....I think it would be a very rare,thin person who doesn't like the king(why not queen?)of fruits.The mango is going in everything,salads,pasta(yes!..recipe soon),desserts,drinks and cake .I made cupcakes...but you can bake this like a regular cake(I just happen to LOVE cupcakes)
INGRDS
1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking pdr
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mango puree
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM
whipping cream-1 cup
mango puree-1/2 cup
METHOD
1.Sieve the flour with the baking soda,baking pdr and salt.
2.Beat the oil,sugar ,eggs,vanilla essence and mango puree together(I used my handy blender)........pour this onto the dry ingrds...mix...then either pour into a prepared pan(buttered first,then dusted with flour)...or put the cupcake wrappers in the muffin pan...and fill each cupcake wrapper till 3/4th full.
3.Bake at 180 deg ,for 20-25 mins(cupcake time...........a cake will take longer)..till a skewer comes out clean(stick a skewer into the cupcake,and if it comes out clean ..the cake is done)
4.Take them out of the oven...and let them cool.
FROSTING
Whip the cream till soft peaks form(about 7 mins with an electric beater),now mix in the mango puree.Put into an icing bag fitted with a star nozzle and ice the mango beauties.
IMPORTANT

Keep refrigerated.........unless you're somewhere..where the temp is around 7 degrees...then you can leave it outside....if you are in a place thats so cool can I visit you?..huh...can I?...I'm kinda roasting in this place!   

lazy cooks mustard fish

Hi there!.....has this ever happened to you?a song or tune gets stuck in your head,keeps going round and round and you can do nothing about it!it might be something that you might not even like!..but  it remains stuck like a bad tape recorder...the jingle that remained stuck in my head was.....hold your breath...tobu cyles!if you were a wee thing in the 80's or early 90's you won't even remember it....there was a bunch of kids on their ..what else?..tobu cycles..and the jingle playing at the back.If this was something that I really loved,it was a different thing....but I don't even like the jingle..why on earth is it going on in my head??

Along with "tobu cycles" playing in my head..I made mustard fish.I have no bengali blood in my veins...and am  not related to any bengali either...but I make this pretty often..learnt this from my mom,the only touch that I added was the crushed garlic(mom doesn't add any)

INGRDS

1 kg of boneless fish(you can def use fish with bones..I just find it extremely painful!)

1 full pod of garlic(crushed)
1 green chilli
3 big tomatoes chopped fine

some cilantro chopped fine

soak and then grind-1 tablespoon of khus khus(poppy seeds)+1 1/2 tsps of mustard seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds

salt to taste,1/2 tsp turmeric pdr,1/2 tsp chilli pdr,1 tablespoon corriander seeds powder...make a paste of this with water(about 1/2 cup water) 

mustard oil-as required

METHOD

1.Marinate the fish in a little salt+turmeric pdr+chilli pdr,at least for half an hour.
2.Heat mustard oil in a wok/kadhai.....deep fry the marinated pcs.Drain on an absorbent towel.
3.In another wok/kadhai,add about a tablespoon of  mustard oil...once it heats up..addthe nigella seeds,the garlic and green chilli.....fry for a few mins..then add the chopped tomatoes.now add the spices(which we've made a paste of in water).cook this till you see oil leaving the masala.(about 7 mins or so).Add 1 cup of water,let it come to a boil.
4.Once the gravy has bubbled away,add the khus khus-mustard seeds paste.I add the cilantro at this stage too,reserving a little for the garnish.Taste the seasoning.
5.Add the fried fish to this.Serve hot with plain bolied rice.Its yum!I just realised something....have you noticed how bengali girls are so beautiful...its because they eat fish...all those omega 3's working! 
sending this to Akila's event.

lazy cooks orange cake with sticky marmalade glaze

Hi guys....howz the heat treating you?Its become unbearably hot out here...and to top it all I'm playing "college student".I have to go to Jammu which is 60 kms from here.....the distance is not much...but the terrain is mountainous ....and I travel by rickety buses,which are, at times,driven by suicidal drivers......so I travel for 2-2 1/2 hours,attend practical classes for 3 hours,then get back to Udhampur.By the time I get back I'm incapable of liftingeven a pencil.This is going to continue till the 12th of June(I'm bunking today....YAY!)...so guys I'll be posting the recipes(mango cake,focaccia,coookies)post that and visiting all your blogs after the 12th of June.......unless I skip another day (which is veeeeeeerrrryy possible!)or I simply drop out of the course which is also very possible!
This is ,sadly ,the only photograph that was worth putting up(can you imagine the state of the rest of them).....but beauty is only skin deep..remember that.The cake is really nice.Its the regular pound cake, modified.You can also juice and zest fresh oranges..I just took the easy way out...I used tetrapack juice and maramalade.
INGRDS
2 cups flour
2tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup orange juice
1 tblsp orange marmalade
a couple of drops of orange colour(optional)
1 tsp of orange essence
GLAZE
4 tblsp orange marmalade
1/2 cup orange juice
METHOD
1.Sieve the flour,baking pdr and salt.
2.Beat the butter and sugar till light and fluffy,add the eggs..one by one..beat well.Now would be the time to add the essence and colour(if adding)
3.Alternate the flour and juice into the butter mix.....lastly add the orange marmalade.....pour into a prepared tin(greased and dusted with flour.......I'm not big on lining tins with butter paper...but if that what you like then please stick to that)
4.Bake in a preheated oven at 180degC for 35-40 mins(till a skewer comes out clean)
5.Take it out of the oven,once it cools down,take it out onto a seerving plate.Poke holes (with a skewer)all over the cake.Now pour the hot glaze(I used a spoon)over the cake.The cake is ready.
GLAZE
Put the orange marmalade and juice in a pan and heat till the marmalade melts(you need to keep stirring)......glaze ready!
NOTE

You will need to refrigerate the cake.........this heat is not good for anything left out on the table.Inc....I put up more pics....the colour in these is washed out due to the over efficient flash..please look at the first pic for the colour of the cake.
Like I mentioned earlier..I used a tetra pack juice and orange marmalade.....please feel free to zest and juice 2 oranges.
If you're still in the mood for something more orangy try out   lazycooks-orange-sponge-drops

lazy cooks mango ice cream

 



Hi guys..........here I go destroying all the good will  I garnered because of those two fat free posts.This is not fat free..by a long shot but it is velly..velly goood....and velly ..velly easy.It's ice cream the way my mom used to make it(before the ice cream maker) ....Actually its a kulfi masquerading as ice cream, but,since it was called ice cream when I was little....ice cream it is!

INGRDS

condensed milk-1 tin

1 lt milk
2 slices of white bread
2 cups mango pulp
METHOD
1.Put the milk to boil in as heavy bottomed pan,till it reduces to 1/2.Add the slices of bread and condensed milk...stir a bit,let it come to a rolling boil,then take it of the heat.
2.Puree the mango pulp ,when the milk mix is cool enough to put into the blender....blend with the mango pulp(you'd probably need to do this in batches...unless you have a really huge blender!)
3.Pour this creamy mess into a freezer safe bowl..with a tight fitting lid..and freeze.
4.It's ready to serve when it sets!
NOTE
1.See me trying to cut some calories!........if you want ,when you're pureeing the whole mix together.you can add a cup of cream..I didn't and it still tasted great.
2.If you want a few drops of colour can be added......I didn't add coz I  wanted this to be totally natural(OK...who am I kidding.....I forgot)
3.If you wait 24 hrs to serve this...then you'll need to put your bowl in the refrigertator for a bit to soften the ice cream.

a bowl of mango ice cream

All fellow food bloggers do read this.
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lazy cooks baked onion rings

Hi guys........guilt free onion rings.....did you ever think there could be something like it?..........wonder when someone is going to dream up a guilt free chocolate cake,with guilt free truffle icing topped with guilt free whipped cream....with the taste intact.The taste HAS to be the same.....till then we indulge in desserts and "guilt free" other stuff.

These got done because they have to go to Nupur's event...from-fried-to-favourite..suffice it to say..that they turned out pretty nice and I'm  a convert....I will def. making these as well as the baked samosas again

INGRDS
onion rings .....of 3 onions(I only took the outer rings...for symmetery)
2 tblsp cornflour
milk as reqd.
salt,pepper to taste
2 tblsp crushed corn flakes
olive oil to brush the tray


METHOD
1.Make a slurry of the cornflour,salt,pepper and milk.Dip the onion rings..individually in this..then roll/dust with the crushed cornflakes.Do not put the cornflakes into the cornflour to save time....it just doesn't work!
2.Brush a tray with olive oil,put these rings on it...bake at 190degC...for 20-25 mins(it'll depend on your oven)
3.Serve hot with ketchup.........we had it with pizza......and my kids put chaat masala on some of the rings!).Which ever way you would like to have this is good..........and fat free!