Veg Chow mein Noodles ~ A Popular Indo-Chinese Dish

Indo Chinese Food is very popular in India. It is basically a fusion cuisine. Veg Chow mein is perhaps one of the most popular Indo Chinese dishes. From road side carts to posh restaurants, this humble noodles finds a place in many menus.

When ever, I prepare this dish, the first person who comes to my mind is my little sister, she loves this dish. DH likes it too. When I am not in a mood for elaborate cooking, I resort to making it. It is easy, yummy and filling too. Only task that can be cumbersome about making this dish is the way the veggies are sliced. It can take a lot of time if you are cooking for a lot of people, but for the two of us, it is not much work. Lets hop of to the recipe now-

Veg Chow mein Noodles

150 gm Chow mein Noodles
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp chilli sauce( add more if you like it spicier).
1 tbsp vinegar
Salt and black pepper to taste
1" inch ginger grated
2 cloves garlic chopped

Julienne cut vegetables (Amount may vary, I generally add about 1/4 cup of each)
Onions
Bell peppers (I used red, green and yellow)
Carrots
Cabbage
Beans
Thinly sliced baby corn
Peas

Spring Onions for garnish (That you had grown on your window sill)

Process:

1. Cook the noodles as per the instructions given on the box. Make sure you cook it upto 80%. When it is sautéed with veggies, it will cook further.
2. Heat oil in a pan. When heated add the sliced onions. Fry them till they are slightly translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté it for 30 seconds. Now add the carrots, beans and baby corn. Add salt and stir. Cover it and cook for 2-3 minutes, so that the carrots, beans and baby corn are tender. Now add the cabbage, bell peppers and peas. Stir and add some more salt and pepper.
3. Now add the cooked noodles and give it a nice stir. Add the soya sauce, chilli sauce, vinegar. Give it a good stir. Check seasoning. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Cook for another 3-4 minutes and take it off gas.
4. Serve it hot with Sweet chili sauce or ketchup or both! Enjoy!

We had it with Chilled Sweet Lime Soda..

Note: You can also add tofu or paneer pieces.

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Powerscourt Gardens Pictures ~ For Saturday Snapshot

This week for Saturday Snapshot I am sharing a few pictures from our visit to Powerscourt Gardens last week. I will elaborate about the trip later, for now enjoy the pictures. I had shared a few pictures of Roses from the Rose Garden there for Wordless Wednesday. Do check them as well!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.

 On the way..

 Lake at the Italian Garden..

 Dolphin pond..

 Lovely Lotus!

Italian Garden

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Roses!

Linking it to Wordless Wednesday

[From the Rose Garden at Powerscourt Gardens, Wicklow, Ireland]

Growing Spring Onions On Your Window Sill - Easy and Economic

Growing Spring Onions on window sill is one of the many things I have got to know because of Pinterest.   
If you are not on Pinterest yet then you are missing quite a lot of fun ideas and things. Do join in.

Growing spring onions at home is easy, economical and the best part is you don't need anything fancy. Just a glass jar and water and good amount of sunshine.

I use spring onions quite often, be it for garnishing or in Indo Chinese dishes or in stir fries, I need it often. So, when I saw this simple trick of growing it at home, I decided to try it straight away. I am growing my own spring onion for quite some months now and I am absolutely delighted to see them grow. It comes in real handy when you need just a sprig for garnish dishes.
 

 Next time you buy spring onions make sure you do not throw the white root part away. All you have to do it take a glass, add half a cup of water, take the spring onion roots (snip off the green part completely, we just need the white part with the roots) and put them in the water.

 Make sure the water doesn't submerge it completely, the top ends need to get some air! Keep it on your window sill that gets good sunshine and watch it grow to its fully glory in just a week.
Add and change water is 2-3 days. Snip off the greens and keep the whites in water and it will grow again.

Note: I have realized that after 5-6 growth, the greens come out very thin. So, I usually discard them after 5-6 times and start over again with new roots.

Isn't that easy?

Do try it yourself and let me know how it works for you.

Do you have any other such tips? Will love to hear.

Thanks for stopping by! Cheers!

Homemade Blueberry Jam

I am not really a jam person. There are only a few times when I actually had jam on toasted bread. I specially don't like the store bought jelly like set jams. No, they are not for me. The first time I actually liked having jam was when I bought a bottle of blueberry jam from IKEA. Since then I started enjoying it with Crepes, Scones and on Crispbreads.. But, I really never thought of making it at home.

Recently when I saw these berries on sale, I thought to try making jam at home. I have seen many fellow bloggers swearing how homemade jam is so much better and that one would never buy a bottle again, once they have tasted the homemade jam. I know now what they mean.

Home made jams are so much more flavorful and it is so easy to make them at home. But, one should be always cautious while storing them. Properly sterilized jars can increase their life and you can enjoy them longer. The lemon juice used in the recipe gives it a bit of tanginess in addition to helping it set. Lemon juice had a high pectin content which helps jams in setting.

Ingredients:

1 cup Blueberries, rinsed and dried
1/2 cup sugar (if you like your jam sweeter add more, up to another 1/2 cup)
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon rind

Process:

1. In a large deep pan, add the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest. Bring it to a boil.
2. In 5 minutes or so, the berries will burst and give out it juice and the mixture will become liquid. Turn the heat to medium.
3. Continue heating for another 10-12 minutes. The mixture will thicken. Heat for another 5 minutes if you like it thicker. It will get thicker as it cools.
4. Take it off heat and let it cool completely before storing it in a sterilized jar. It should keep well for month in refrigerator.


Enjoy it on toasts, pancakes, crepes, scones etc

Note: Using the same recipe you can make jam of any berries or mixed berry jam.

Linking it to Jagruti's Super Food~Super Power Event

Thank you for stopping by! Cheers!