Tomato Raitha


My aunt V has contributed this recipe and it is one of my favorite dishes from my grand mom's kitchen. 

Ingredients
2 Ripe tomatoes
2 Green chilies
1 Table spoon Chopped Coriander
1 Table spoon of mustard seeds
2 table spoons of oil
2 cups yogurt
Salt to taste

Preparation
Wash and cut tomatoes into cubes of 1 inch
Wash and Slit green chilies into halves
Wash and chop coriander
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and wait until it pops. Then add chilies, cut tomatoes and half of the chopped coriander and fry until the tomatoes soften and skin starts to peel. Allow this to cool and then add yogurt, salt and the remaining chopped coriander. This is good with rice or as a side dish with rotis, Rice and rasam, sambar etc.

Raitha with a slight variation can be prepared using mashed potatoes. Instead of tomato, boil and peel potatoes and mash them and keep it ready. Follow the same procedure as above and fry the mashed potatoes for a minute.

PBJ, Mushroom and Orange



Today's Lunch...

Peanut Butter and Homemade Apricot Jam sandwich cut with a sandwich slicer
Sauteed Mushroom
Mandarin Orange slices sprinkled with Raisins
Provolone Cheese slices cut into hearts with a cookie cutter
Heart shaped cookies

How did it do?

Not bad. Only some of the mushroom and orange slices came back.

Lessons Learnt

Use bigger sized bread slices when cutting sandwich with a sandwich slicer.
Putting raisins on top of acidic fruits is not a good idea, as the juice from the fruit causes the raisin skin to change color and peel off.

Mini Idlis, Baby Carrots and Plum



Today's Lunch...

Mini Idlis
Peanut Chutney
Baby Carrots and Ranch Dipping
Sliced Plum
Cashew and Pistachio Roll


How did it do?

Good! Peanut chutney was not eaten as she decided to eat the idlis without a dip. Just 3 baby carrots came back from a full serving, so I am really happy! I am beginning to believe presentation really does matter!


Cheese Quesadillas



Today's lunch...

Cheese Quesadillas made with Whole wheat and corn tortillas and mozarella cheese.
Sauteed Baby potato, baby corn and cherry tomato with Indian seasoning.
Raspberries with a hint of sugar.
Corn Tortilla chips.

How did it do? -  Not too good. The quesadillas and chips were all gone. The raspberries were in a soup of water because of the sugar. It was not a good idea to do that for the lunch box. (She usually eats them at home that way) The vegetables were untouched. Apparently the kid sitting next to her was very curious about what it was and when A said its potato, the girl said she can see blue feathers on it. A thought she was saying that because of the mustard seeds and felt embarrassed to eat it! We had a good talk about this once she got home, lets see how tomorrow's lunch does.

Whats for Lunch?


A started Big Kids' School today and that meant I was entering a new phase of packing school lunches. I  thought it would be fun to post pictures of the lunches everyday, since I am putting some thought into packing them. These will also help me a few years later when Av is ready for school. 



Today's lunch...
Butterfly shaped Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Flower shaped cucumber slices
Grapes
Heart shaped sugar cookies.

How did it do? -  Came back empty!