Best out of waste - Sling bag

I had named this blog as foodncreation because I had thought of sharing some of my creative things too along with food recipes. Although it took me some time to start,but I thought nevertheless make the beginning now. I had been in doing these since long,have made Ac covers from my daughter's raincoat,washing machine cover from my old bedcovers and many more such things. Basic idea is to make something new from discarded material. It not only satisfies my creative instincts but surprises my family as well. 

I have been using handbags since long,I guess we all girls must have started using by the age of 10 yrs. Now I am in love with sling bags and prefer them more than my handbags,main reason is that I don't have to keep holding and adjusting my bag while moving around,either travelling or visiting anywhere. It's really comfortable and hassle free. 

So here it is,I have this old handbag whose handle had worn off long back but the main bag is in good condition. I had got its handle changed from a cobbler some time back,but it had worn off v soon,as a result it was lying idle in almirah. There was an old laptop bag which had worn off,but it's handle was in good condition. The red earrings are also 7 yrs old,but I have not used them much as they are quite heavy to wear. While buying, I just wanted to match it with my dress which I was wearing for my dance programme. The bead necklace is my daughter's when she was 4 yrs old,some of the beads has faded and is now quite small for her to wear. I used all these to make my new sling bag which looks quite impressive and sturdy to use.

I have stitched the beads and earrings and not pasted with adhesive,so that they stay on for a longer time. 

There is my final product,hope you all like my new posts and enjoy them reading as well :-)

Beans kabab

Nowadays visiting vegetable market has become quite an experience for me. In summers it's only the Ac hyper markets are the only resort for me,since summers are terrible in Northern India.But ever since rainy season has arrived weekly vegetable shopping is a very exciting feeling for me. Vegetables are fresh and variety is to spoil for. 

Although I have named it as beans kabab,but these are those flat beans which are called "gawarfali" in Hindi. Somehow I prefer this little bitter taste of gawarfali than the ordinary beans. I was actually aiming to make steamed kabab,but felt lazy and instead fried them with very less oil in a non-stick pan. You can make this with ordinary beans also if you like it.

I prefer making my own spice powders and paste,but recently was not getting ginger in my nearby shop. So out of compulsion went ahead and bought ginger garlic paste. Right now,I am finding them so handy in making kababs and tikkis,even for tadka in dals,that from now on have decided to keep some stock always in the refrigerator,although for curries and gravies I prefer my good old way of peeling,chopping and preparing paste.

I made this recipe this rakhi for the evening tea.

Ingredients

1. Beans - 100 gms(finely chopped)

2. Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp

3. Besan - 4tsp(for binding,alter as necessary)

4. Green chillies - 2 nos( finely chopped)

5. Cumin powder - 1 tsp(roasted and grounded)

6. Salt to taste

7. Mustard oil for pan frying.

8. Potato - 3nos(medium in size,boiled and mashed)

Method

Mix all the ingredients except oil in a mixing bowl. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan. Shape kababs out of the mix and pan fry them until golden brown. Initially cook in high flame and then in low flame so that they get cooked thoroughly. Enjoy with a hot cuppa of tea in this monsoon.

Potato basket with red spinach dip

Red spinach is one of those vegetables which most of us rarely like. So thought of making something interesting which would be healthy and serve as a good starter. In my previous posts I had served this with fried veggies but this time thought of using the same dip differently. Children will be tempted to eat it too,thus making mothers happy.

Ingredients for basket

1. Boiled and mashed potato - 1 cup

2. Butter - 4tsp( bring it to room temperature and then use)

3. Salt to taste

4. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp

5. Carrot strip to make the handles of the basket

Method

Mix butter,salt,pepper powder in potato. Shape them into a basket and bake for 10 to 12 mins at 200deg. The idea is the the basket should get slightly firm and light golden in colour.

For the red spinach dip,please refer my earlier post in the month of feb.

Now stuff the basket with the dip,carefully arrange the carrot strip to give a handle look in the basket as shown in the image and serve.

Dhaniya murg

It has been a long sabbatical of almost 2 months,since I last updated. Although I was still trying out various recipes,but was not able to upload them on the blog. As said,every moment and situations in life teach you or inspire you to do something new. So thought that from now will be writing something more,than only recipes for all my friends who check my blog. I could have done this earlier,but I somehow felt that it was okay that way. It's now that the urge of writing is more. Hope you all will like this change.

This recipe includes dhaniya in different forms,so the name.

Ingredients

1. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
2. Chopped coriander - 1/2 cup
3. Coriander powder - 1 tsp( dry roast coriander seeds and grind for best result)
4. Chicken - 500gms( chopped in medium size)
5. Garlic paste - 1tsp
6. Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
7. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Refined oil - 3 tbsp
10. Green chilly - 2 no(chopped)

Method

Heat oil in a pan,add cumin seeds,coriander seeds,green chilly and allow to crackle. Next add ginger garlic paste and fry till it changes colour. Add chicken,salt,coriander powder and stir fry,cooking in low flame for 15 to 20 mins covering it,till it is cooked completely. Once done add coriander leaves and stir fry for one more minute. Sprinkle juice of half lemon if required and serve hot with parantha or naan.