Roma's Space

Here is an ultimate way to unwind whenever you are bored or even want to create something yummy to entice your kid into eating it.

Vegetable carving goes back to good old days when a boat used to be made out of a cucumber to keep lord Krishna’s idol during Janmashtmi or to the grinning pumpkins that were and still are so popular during Halloween. With changing trends, vegetable carving today has become an art in itself. When you order salads at those fancy places you must have come across some interesting things made out of the fruits and vegetables.

Here is a garden I carved for myself. Gosh! It was very difficult to take a picture right before my baby crashed into it. She couldnt keep herself from eating the cucumber chains I had made for the garden fence.

So next time your child refuses to eat salad this is possibly one option you can try.

Garden Fresh Flowers

In the figure you see :
Tomato basket which contains cauliflower florets, spring onion buds and mint leaves plucked freshly from my garden. To make the cauliflowers edible you need to blanch them in water and season them with oil, salt and pepper. Now these baskets will serve as an attractive salad for a dinner party. (The ones in the picture are raw)

Cucumber fence has been made by peel stripping layers of the outer skin of a cucumber and shelling out the seeds using a mellon baller. Finally, slices have been cut out of this cucumber. A small slit was made on one side of the ring and these rings have been interlocked to form a chain.

Flowers have been made by slicing out petals from the tail end of a radish and a carrot. A tiny piece of tomato has been placed in the middle of the flower. The stem has been made using spring onions. The entire flower is held together by a toothpick.

Watermelon has been made by peel stripping the tail end of a cucumber. The seeds were then removed and a small ball of carrot was placed within. Tiny pieces of tomato were placed around the carrot to make it resemble a watermelon.

The Garden lawn has been made using a cabbage leaf and a few spring onions have been placed by the side for added greenery.

This salad is completely edible ( except for the toothpicks , of course! )

And now for something Fishy…

This fish was made in 10 mins flat. I had a radish which was almost in the shape of a fish. I just peeled it and kept a few ribbons aside to make the tail. I used a zester to make the fish scales and put a clove for the eye. Then I used a scissors to make a V-cut at the ends of the ribbons and attached them to the fish with the help of a toothpick. As you can see this fish is a strict vegetarian. Its eating a radish leaf for lunch

This carving was so easy to make. Next time I throw a party I am sure I can make a few fishes out of carrots and radishes and keep them with the salad. That way I can tell my friends that I have made fish for them and I would love to see the stunned look on their face since they all know that I am a vegetarian.

This is my entry to the Vegetable Carving Event which I’m hosting this month.

As a teenager I remember eating these delicious healthy honey cakes that my mom used to get from a ‘Dieter’s Bakery’ on commercial street. Unfortunately, the shop closed after a few years and I did not know where to go then on for cakes that were actually good for health and liked by all.

Here is a version of the honey cake that I tried a few days ago. It isnt as delicious as the ones I used to have earlier but never the less its a start.

Update :

Kaila tried this recipe out. Here is her experience. She has used an excellent variation of adding nutmeg to the cake giving it a great flavor and aroma. One thing I forgot to mention in my notes is that brown sugar is much sweeter than the other sugars I have eaten so far. So in case you substitute the sweetening agent with anything else please increase the quantity. Thanks Kaila for bringing this to notice. I have added this to my notes.

Ingredients :

• 3/4 cup wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons butter (low cholesterol, unsalted)
• 2 teaspoons malai (milk cream)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• milk 1/2 cup ( to make a dropping consistency )
• Pinch of fruit salt, baking powder and salt
• Few drops of vanilla essence

Procedure :

1. Mix the dry ingredients well.
2. Beat butter with sugar till light and fluffy.
3. Add the wheat flour mixture to this little by little.
4. Add milk cream, vanilla essence and mix well.
5. Now add milk and beat well. The milk should be just enough to make the batter drop off the spoon.
6. Grease and dust cake molds. Pour the batter into the molds and bake at 200 Deg C for 15 mins.

Please NOTE :

1. This cake is quite filling. Its better to make it in molds smaller than the ones shown in the picture.
2. I found brown sugar to be much sweeter than other sugars. So in case you substitute the sweetening agent from brown sugar to anything else like white sugar, jaggery, etc; please increase the quantity.

People can have hour-long discussions on the topic of dieting. I feel all of us have tried to shed that excess weight at some point in life. Being a foodie I have always found it very difficult to keep away from yummy food. At the same time, I have been advised to lose weight by the doctors due to high cholesterol. So once a week what I do is, I just eat something that will taste as good as the yummy stuff others eat and at the same time has a calorie count that keeps me happy. Hopefully, my cholesterol level and weight will come down. My husband is not going to get my cholesterol checked for the next one year, in case its normal least I start binging again!

This is my entry to Lakshmi’s comic strip event,  ‘Weight Loss – Impossible‘ Thanks for introducing me to ToonDoo.

Please use the right scroll bar to see the complete comic strip!

Pudina leaves are used in a variety of dishes to give a minty taste. Specially, mock tails and other soft drinks that need that extra dash of freshness. I personally love Shikanji, a drink like jal-jeera made in North India to beat the heat.

There is this cute little pudina plant growing in my terrace garden. One month ago my husband was sorting out the pudina leaves when he suddenly ran to the terrace with a few stems in one hand and a digging tool in another. I was wondering what he was upto. He neatly potted the stems which had few roots. I was apprehensive about a plant growing out of it. After 2 days I noticed that the green stem had turned red. That was the first indication that the plant had caught roots. I was so happy to see the growth then on. The little stem soon became a heavily loaded plant. It was torn by my one year old baby girl ( she is not entirely to blame, I think the pigeons helped her ) Anyway, this plant is a survivor. Love having it in around, so refreshing to even look at.

For the herb mania, I decided to make Pudina Ke Gatte. I saw this recipe on a show called ‘Rasm-e-rasoi’ that comes at 12 noon on 9x TV. I really like the pudina twist given to the famous Rajasthani curry, Gatte ki Sabzi. Due to lack of fresh vegetables in the desert land, people in olden days came up with these innovative sabzis that could be had anytime with roti.

This dish is made patiently in stages, Boiling , Shallow frying and finally preparing the gravy. However, its worth the effort and time. It surely tastes different from the usual Gatte Ki Sabzi , thanks to the Pudina and mustard oil.

This is my entry to the Herb Mania organized by Ammalu’s Kitchen.

Ingredients :

For the Gatte

• 1 cup Pudina leaves, pureed
• 1 Green chilly, finely chopped
• 2 cups Besan
• 1/2 teaspoon Ajwain
• Salt

For the Gravy

• 1 cup Curd
• 1 tablespoon Besan
• Salt

For the tempering

• 1/2 cup Mustard Oil
• Pinch of Hing
• 1/2 teaspoon Red chilly powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Jeera powder

For the Garnish

• 1/2 teaspoon Chaat masala
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Procedure :

1. Make a dough out of the Gatte ingredients.
2. Make Rolls of the dough and place in boiling water for 5 – 7mins.
3. Take rolls out gently and allow them to cool.
4. Cut slices of Gatte from the rolls.
5. Heat mustard oil. Shallow fry Gatte and keep aside.
6. To remaining oil add hing, jeera powder and red chilly powder. Add the Gatte back and mix well.
7. Now beat the ingredients for the gravy in a cup with some water.
8. Add this paste to the mixture and let the gatte boil till the raw besan smell disappears from the gravy.
9. Garnish with Chaat masala, lime juice and coriander leaves.

Please NOTE :

The dough made for the Gatte should be slightly tighter than the one you make for rotis. At the same time, be careful not to let it become watery. If you feel its sticky , add some more gram flour and knead till its manageable.

I am a great fan of Chinese cuisine. I really dont know where to stop. Right from soups & starters to noodles & wontons, everything drives me nuts. Usually at restaurants I end up ordering from a standard set of dishes which I know will be enough for a whole meal. For instance, Triple fried rice, American Chopsuey and vegetable steamed rice. Why do I try to order one-meal dishes?? Thats because Hubby dear will order North-Indian food and smile at my Chinese. So here, I am pretty much on my own

Chilly Chow is another dish thats deliciously spicy and quite filling. This is my entry to Archana’s One Dish Meal Event. Its really a great idea of have a collection of recipes where a dish is sufficient for the entire meal. Some day when you return home exhausted after a long shopping spree this set of recipes will help. Thanks Archana, for hosting this event.

Madhuram of Eggless Cooking has given me a bear hug. Thanks so much Madhu, a big hug to you too.

I would like to pass this bear hug to Lakshmi of Taste of Mysore.

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of veggies (cabbage,carrot, spring onions
  fresh corn, red/green/yellow capsicums)
• 5 soya chunks soaked in warm water
• 2 tablespoons Tomato puree
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
• 2 teaspoons soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon tabasco sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornflour paste
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
• 2 cups of Noodles

Procedure :

1. Boil noodles with some salt and oil. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a wok. Saute vegetables on high flame starting with the bell peppers.
3. Now add soya chunks, tomato puree, salt, pepper and cook till the puree is done.
4. Add soya sauce, vinegar, tabasco sauce, some water and bring to boil.
5. Make a paste of cornflour in water and mix into the gravy to thicken it.
6. Place noodles on the serving plate. Pour vegetable gravy on top on it.
7. Garnish with Spring onions and serve hot.

Preparation time : 10 mins
Cooking Time : 10 mins
Number of people it serves : 2 gluts like me