READY FOR A SUMPTUOUS MEAL?

Back to blogging!...Banana Walnut Muffin (Egg less)

2010-09-08T14:04:00.000-07:00

Almost a year break from blogging...Time flies really fast indeed....A rollercoaster ride like pregnancy & childbirth is the reason for the hiatus from my blogging.....'Aal Iz Well' now...I'm now blessed with the most precious gift ever- my cute little 9 month old baby boy. Cooking has been a big challenge these days given the very little time I have in hand right now. Nevertheless, the alarm in the tummy clock never fails to buzz, so I have been managing to cook against all odds.
So I realized that if I put in a little extra effort to take pictures of what I cook & post the recipes, may be I can keep my blog going. So I start out with something which is not my usual forte in cooking i.e.baking. I had some bananas which were really ripe and so decided to bake eggless Banana Walnut Muffin.I was inspired by Saffron huts wonderful recipe for this and made a small change to the kind of flour used.The highlights to this muffin is I have used 50% whole wheat flour and 50% AP flour. Well, no one could tell the difference 'coz it tasted really delicious.. Try it out and u would know.....

Ingredients:
All Purpose(AP) flour- 3/4 cup
Whole wheat flour(I used Pillsbury atta)- 3/4 cup
Butter- 1/3 cup(unsalted)
Sugar-3/4 cup
bananas- 4 ripe
baking soda- 1 tsp
baking powder- 1tsp
salt-1/2 tsp
chopped walnuts/raisins
Method:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Mash the bananas really well.mix it with sugar and melted butter.
In the meantime use a flour sifter to mix all the dry ingredients together.Add this to the mashed banana and mix everything together really well. Fill the muffin pan with paper cups & pour this batter to 3/4th of each muffin slot. Add some chopped walnuts/raisins on top of each of this & bake for about 20 mins or when a fork comes out clean.Let it cool a bit and then serve. I made 12 regular size muffins with this proportion.
Enjoy the yumm yumm muffin!

Sprouts Pulav

2009-08-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

Sprouts is one of the richest source of protein and I got the idea of making Pulav with it from my sis Reva who is a big fan of sprouts.This is also a kid friendly dish and a clever way to introduce sprouts into their diet.You can use store bought sprouts or home made ones.....I used home made sprouts. Here is the quick method to make sprouts at home followed by the recipe for Sprouts Pulav..Enjoy!
To make Sprouts:
Wash nicely & then soak Whole Green Moong dhal in water on day 1. The next day i.e day 2, drain all the water and leave the moong closed in a container for the entire day. You will see that the moong has begun to sprout nicely on day 3. You can refrigerate this sprouted moong and use it upto a week easily. It can be added to Salads, soups, Kurma or rice.
Sprouts Pulav:
Ingredients:
Basmati Rice- 1 Cup
Onion- 1 thinly sliced
Green chilly- 3 slit
Sprouts- 2 cups
Red bell pepper- chopped- 2 tbsp (optional)
Coconut milk- 1 cup
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Salt to taste
To make into paste:
Ginger- 1 inch piece
Garlic- 2 pods
Cinnamon- 1 small stick
clove- 1

To Temper:
Bay leaf- 2
Cloves-2
Cinnamon- 1 stick
cardamom- 2

Method:
Wash and Soak the basmati rice for 10 mins. Drain the excess water and keep it aside.
Heat oil + 1 tsp of ghee and add the tempering items.When the nice aroma of masala rises, add the slit green chilly and sliced onions and saute them nicely. Now add the masala paste and saute well until the raw smell goes away. Then add the sprouts and saute nicely until it mixes well with the masala. Now add the chopped red bell pepper(this is optional, I added it to make it colorful). Then add the washed basmati rice to this masala and mix well. Sprinkle a tsp of garam masala powder, salt to taste and transfer this to a rice cooker. Add a cup of coconut milk + a cup of water(I used rice to water ratio as 1:2, use appropriate ratio based on kind of rice used). Cook for 20 mins or until rice is cooked well. Garnish with roasted cashews and serve with raita & chips.
Yumm yumm Sprouts Pulav is ready!

Sweet Corn Soup

2009-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to be back to blogging after my couple of months break....Sweet corn soup is one of the easiest and healthiest soups to make....Corn is a complex carbohydrate loaded with vitamins, minerals, folic acid and high in fiber content.....you can use either canned corn or frozen corn for this recipe...ok, here goes the simple recipe for Sweet corn soup.
Ingredients:
Frozen or canned sweet corn- 1 cup
Finely Chopped green beans, carrot & corn kernels- 3 tbsp
Green(Spring) onion- 2 or 3
salt to taste
Black pepper powder to taste
Oil- 1 tsp

Method:
Finely chop the bulb of green onion and keep the green leaves aside for garnishing. Saute the chopped bulb of onion in a tsp of oil and then add the finely chopped green beans, carrot and a tbsp of corn. Sprinkle some salt and saute this slightly. In the meantime, blend a cup of corn in a mixer and add it to the sauted veggies. (I blend a cup of corn to get the thick stock, this way I avoid adding corn flour to the soup ) Add some water, salt and black pepper powder to taste. Let this boil for 4-5 mins. Garnish with the chopped leaves of the green onions and serve with some garlic bread.

Small break !!

2009-03-27T18:45:00.000-07:00

I will be on vacation to India to attend my dearest sis's wedding, so will be taking a short break from blogging....Check out my blog again in May for more recipes.take care till then.....!

Stop Plagiarism!

2009-03-21T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was soo shocked to know that some of the pictures from food blogs have been copied and claimed as theirs...one such stolen picture was Mahimaa's. As a fellow blogger, I would like to express my support to Mahimaa and all other bloggers affected by this and also would like to strongly condemn this kind of plagiarism...it takes a lot of time and effort to think of a recipe, cook it, take pictures, and then post it......it is such a shame to take credit for someone else's hard work and time!

Karadayan Nonbu Adai

2009-03-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Karadyan Nombu is observed in the last few hours of the tamil month of maasi before the birth of the month panguni. On this day married women observe fast and pray to Goddess for the long life & prosperity of their husband and young girls pray to be blessed with a good husband. It is believed that it is on this day that Savithri saved her husband Satyavan from Yama. The offering for Goddess on this day is called Nombu adai and there are two kinds of it - one is spicy Upu (meaning salt) adai and the other one is sweet adai made with jaggery called Velam(means jaggery) adai. These two adais are placed on a banana leaf with butter, fruits, beetel leaf and the sacred thread called 'nombu saradu'. After offering this to the Goddess by saying
"Urugatha Venayam oru Adayum naan Tharuven, Oru kaalum en kanavar enai piriyathu irukanum" which means I'm offering you unmelted butter and nombu adai, please bless me with a long married life with my dear husband and we should never part,after saying this the woman would tie the nombu saradu(sacred thread) around her neck.
Moving to the US has not changed my belief and liking for these rituals even a bit..infact I see all the more reason to do it here without fail, to remember our wonderful culture and try to continue the family tradition.
Luckily I got some fresh banana leaves from Food 4 less and I used canned black eye peas which saves some time in soaking and cooking the beans.....So here goes the recipe for Nombu Adai. BTW I usually call my mom to check with her for the recipe until I came across the very clear recipe by Menutoday. I followed her recipe step by step. I'm going to make a note of it here for my future reference.
Nombu Adai (salt)
Ingredients:
Rice flour- 1 cup
water- 1.5 cups
Boiled black eye peas-4-5 tbsp
coconut pieces or shredded- 2 tbsp
salt to taste
For tempering:
Oil- 2 tsp
curry leaves- few
Green chilly- 2or 3
red cilly-2
Hing
mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal- 1 tsp
Ginger finely chopped-1 tsp
Method:
Temper the above items in oil and then add the water. when the water boils, add the coconut pieces, salt and black eye peas. Add the rice flour when the water boils nicely and mix without lumps. cover and cook for 2-3 mins. then transfer it to a bowl and let it cool.(cover it with a wet cloth to retain the moisture). After this cools down, knead it nicely and(if need be sprinkle water) and make small ball of it, flatten it, make a hole in the centre and steam it until it gets a nice shiny finish.
Serve with butter.
Nombu Adai(sweet)
Rice flour- 1 cup
Water- 1.75 cups
Jaggery- 1 cup
cardamom powder- a pinch
Boiled Black eye peas- 4-5 tbsp
coconut pieces or shredded- 2 tbsp
ghee-1 tbsp
Method:
Dry roast the rice flour to a slight brown colour
Mix the jaggery and water and let this boil well. Now add the coconut and black eye peas. Then add the roasted rice flour and mix without forming any lumps. cover and cook for 2-3 mins. Then turn off the stove, add the cardamom powder, ghee and mix well. Cover with a wet cloth and keep it. Once cooled, knead it well, take a small ball of it, flatten it, make a hole in the centre
and steam it until it looks shiny.
Serve with butter.

Carrot Halwa

2009-03-05T18:58:00.001-08:00

This is a relatively healthier sweet than the others filled with ghee. I just used 2 tbsp of ghee, organic carrots, some milk, sugar and it took me only about 20 mins to make it. So here is the simple recipe for Carrot Halwa.
Ingredients:
Carrot- grated- 2 cups
Milk- 2 cups
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Nuts- cashews/raisins- 2 tbsp
ghee- 2 tbsp
Method:
Heat ghee in a wide skillet or pan and roast the nuts slightly. Keep the nuts aside. In the same ghee, add the grated carrot. Saute it in medium flame till the carrots changes color and get cooked. In the meantime, take 2 cups of milk and boil it nicely. add this milk to the carrot and continue to cook the carrots in the milk. It will take 6-7 mins for all the milk to get absorbed and the carrot becomes thick. At this stage add the sugar. The sugar will ooze out more water now.. so continue to cook until the halwa gets thick and leaves the sides of the pan. Add the cardamom powder,mix well & add the nuts and serve.

Vegetable Fried Rice

2009-02-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

This is the Indo-Chinese version of vegetable fried rice which is pretty simple to make. This tastes well with some indo-chinese side dish like manchurian or even just ketchup.So here goes the recipe...
Ingredients:
Basmati rice- 1 cup
Vegetables- Green onions, Carrot, beans, cabbage,
green pepper, cauliflower- 2 cups- finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Green chilly-2 slit lengthwise
Salt & pepper to taste
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Method:
Cook the basmati rice such that the grains are separate and cool it in a plate. In a wok, heat some oil and when hot add ginger garlic paste, saute for a min, then add the green chilly and chopped bulb of green onion(spring onion). Now add all the chopped veggies except for the green pepper & cabbage. Sprinkle some salt and cook the vegetables lightly....they should be crisp and not mushy.Finally add the soy sauce, pepper, cabbage and green pepper & saute for another min. Now add the rice, salt to taste,mix well & cook for another min. Finally add the leaves of chopped green onions and serve hot.

Pongal & Vadai- Go hand in hand!

2009-02-19T09:07:00.001-08:00

This is one combo which is a big favorite for a lot of people in South India, especially in Tamilnadu. Most of us make just the vadai or pongal but the combo of these two, served with some sambar & chutney will give you a feeling as though you are eating in one of the restaurants in India. And once in a while when nostalgic of home, it definitely would be nice to make these things as weekend brunch and enjoy them.
I have always wanted to know how to make pongal that is close to temple style pongal. And the best pongal I have had so far is my sis Karthika's pongal. So, I got the recipe from her and made pongal which tasted very much like temple pongal. So here goes the recipe for Pongal & Vadai.
Pongal:
Ingredients:
1.Rice- 1 cup
2.Moong dhal- 3/4 cup
3.Water- 5 cups (for rice ratio is 1:3.5, for dhal 1:2)
4.Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
5.Asafoetida- a pinch
6.cumin seeds- 1 tsp
7.Black Pepper-1 tsp
8.Ginger- small piece- chopped
9. pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
10. Salt to taste
For tempering:
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Cashewsnuts- 10
Curry leaves- few
Black pepper- 1tsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Method:
Wash rice and moong dhal nicely. Pressure cook ingredients 1 thro 10 for 4-5 whistels. When pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and mash the pongal slightly with the back of a ladle. (Note: If the pongal is too thick, add some (boiled) hot water to adjust the consistency. especially when the pongal cools down, it can get thick). Temper the ingredients listed above in ghee and add to the pongal and mix well.
Vadai:
Ingredients:
Urad dhal(whole)- 1 cup
Green chilly-4
Salt to taste
Onion- chopped - 1 (optional)
curry leaves - few
Asafoetida- a pinch
oil for deep frying
Method:
Soak the dhal for about an hour and then grind it with green chilly, very little water & salt. (Sprinkle water as needed, if more water is added you wont be able to get the vadai shape). If u have a grinder, use that instead of mixie but mixie can be used too. And remember to add the salt at the end while grinding the batter for vadai. In the meantime heat some oil in a deep frying pan. To the batter, add curry leaves, hing and onion(optional) & mix it well. When oil is hot, take some batter and place it on a banana leaf or ziploc plastic sheet, flatten it with slightly wet hands, make a hole in the centre and take it from the sheet & slowly drop it in the oil. cook on both sides in medium flame until crisp & light brown. drain in a paper towel and serve hot.

This is my entry for Asvadha's Made for Each Other event.

Mango Kootan(Kuzhambu)

2009-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Maam pazham(Mango) kootan is my hubby's all time favorite and a Kerala dish which I learned from my MIL. It is very simple to make and tastes kind of close to morkozhambu only that this is a bit more sweet. It is not common to find good ripe mangoes here in the US, so I just try to get the best I can and then add a pinch of jaggery for the sweetness. So, here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
Mango- 1 big ripe
Coconut- 1 cup
fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
red chilly- 2or 3
Salt to taste
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
jaggery- a small piece
Buttermilk- 1.5 cups (little more if needed)
For Tempering:
coconut oil- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
curry leaves- few
Fenugreek- 1/2 tsp(optional)
Method:
Cut the mango into big chunks and boil with some water, jaggery, turmeric & salt until the pieces are cooked. In the meantime, saute fenugreek seeds(1tsp) with red chilly in a tsp of oil and then grind this with a cup of coconut. Add this coconut paste to the cooked mango chunks and cook for another 3-4 mins. Then finally add 1.5 cups buttermilk( you could add a little more if needed) and then within a min switch off the flame.Then temper mustard seeds, curry leaves in coconut oil and add to the Kootan. Serve hot with rice and papad.

Sombu(Fennel seeds) chutney

2009-02-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

This is a unique chutney that I learned from my friend Kavi from MI. Though the base is the usual onion & tomato, it gets its name bcos of the flavor of fennel seeds. This is very simple to make and tastes excellent with Dosa or idly. As you all probably know, Fennel aids in digestion and has a lot of medicinal value.
Ingredients:
Fennel seeds- 2 tbsp
Onion- 1 big
Tomato-2
Urad dhal- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Red chilly -3 or 4
Salt
Asafoetida- a pinch
curry leaves- few (optional)
coconut- 1 tbsp
oil
Method:
Heat oil in a skillet and temper with Fennel seeds, Urad dhal, mustard seeds, red chilly and curry leaves. when the mustard crackles, add the chopped onion and saute nicely and then add the tomato and saute until it turns mushy.Sprinkle salt to taste, a pinch of asafoetida and a tbsp of coconut powder at the end.let this cool nicely and then grind it in a mixer. Serve with Dosa or Idly.

Cereal Mixture

2009-02-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by Mahimaa's Chivda , made some modifications to it and ended up with this Cereal Mixture. This is a very healthy snack which can be prepared at home in no time. I just used the cereals I had at home...you can modify it per ur taste...Also this can be stored easily upto 2-3 weeks in an air tight container..soo here goes the recipe.
Ingredients:
Cereal- 4 cups (based on how much u want to make at one time)
I used a mixture of honey bunches of oats, cheerios & rice krispies.
Nuts- cashews, peanuts, raisins, almonds, etc (per ur choice)
Curry leaves- 2 strings
Asafoetida- 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
chilly powder & salt to taste
oil- 1 tbsp

Method:
Heat oil in a wok, and temper with mustard seeds. Then add the curry leaves, asafoetida, salt, chilly powder & the nuts and roast the nuts slightly. Now add the cereals and mix it thoroughly until it gets coated with the spices. Adjust the salt, Chilly powder & asafoetida per ur taste.( I added more asafoetida in mine to get the south indian mixture taste)....let it cool down and then store it in an airtight container. A quick healthy snack is ready....enjoy!

Methi Matar Masala

2009-02-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I came across the delicious recipe for Methi Matar Malai at Mahimaa's blog. I made few changes to it by adding tomatoes, using cinnamon stick, cloves for tempering and I didn't have half & half so just added 2% milk instead. Since I didn't add any cream, I just wanted to drop the 'malai' part from the name and just called it Methi Matar Masala. Thanks a lot Mahimaa for the wonderful recipe.
It tasted sooo good with chapathis and definitely is a great way to eat Methi.
Ingredients:
Methi- 1 bunch (1 cup)
Frozen green peas- 1 cup
Grated ginger & garlic- 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Garam masala powder- 1 tbsp
Coriander powder- 1 tbsp
Green chilly- 1
Onion- chopped-1
Tomato- 1
Salt to taste
yogurt- 1 tbsp
2% milk -1/2 cup
Kasoori methi (Dried Fenugreek) leaves- 1 tsp
For tempering:
Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves- 2
Oil
Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add the tempering items. When the cumin seeds begin to crackle add the chopped onions, green chilly & ginger garlic paste and saute till onion turns light golden brown. Now add the methi leaves and saute well. Then add the frozen green peas, salt,turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder & garam masala powder. Saute for 1-2 mins and then add the 1tbsp of yogurt. Add some water and cook for a min. Now add the 1/2 cup 2% milk and slow cook for 5 more mins. You will get a creamy gravy at this stage. In the end add some crushed Kasoori methi and serve hot with chapathis.

Vegetable Soup

2009-02-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

This is one of the easiest soups to make and can be prepared with any vegetables that u have readily available at home. I just made a quick sandwich by using left over cauliflower & peas sabji that I had made for dinner the previous night to serve with the soup. This soup has garlic, onion, veggies & legumes which makes it a wholesome meal. I used MTR rasam powder to make the soup in Indian style but this can be substituted with some Italian seasoning too. And I used 1/2 can of diced tomatoes and water for the broth and this can be substituted with any other broth too.So here goes the recipe for simple vegetable soup.
Ingredients:
Onion- 1
Garlic- 2 chopped finely
Tomato-2 chopped or 1/2 can of diced tomatoes
Vegetables- 2 cups-carrots, beans, celery, zucchini, spinach, spring onion, cabbage(any of these)
Kidney Beans or Chick peas or any kind of Bean- 1/2 cup
Oil-1 tsp (just enough to saute onion & garlic)
MTR rasam powder- 1 tbsp
salt & pepper - to taste
Water- as required
Method:
Take a pressure cooker or stock pot. Add just a teaspoon of oil and saute onion & garlic for a quick min. Sprinkle some water if needed. Add all the veggies, kidney beans and saute for another min .Now add the can of diced tomatoes & required water. Add the MTR rasam powder, salt & pepper and slow cook for 15 mins in the stock pot or for 3 whistles in the pressure cooker.
Serve hot with a sandwich or a slice of garlic bread. Although I made this soup in a jiffy it tasted heavenly in the cold weather and really different with the MTR rasam powder as seasoning.

Rava Kesari

2009-01-30T19:58:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I posted on my blog.....in the meantime I received comments from a lot of people...Thanks to everybody for stopping by my blog and posting ur valuable comments....Rava Kesari is one of the easiest sweets that we make in South India. I had prepared this for my hubby's B'day on Jan 15th but got a chance only now to sit down and make a note of the recipe. This can be prepared in just 10-15 mins.
Ingredients:
Rava/Sooji- 1 cup
Water- 3 cups
Sugar- 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder-1 tsp
Ghee- 2 tbsp
Kesari color powder or orange food color- a pinch
For Garnishing:
Cashews/Raisins
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Method:
Roast the rava in a tbsp of ghee until nice aroma comes.In the meantime boil the required qty of water and pour it to the roasted rava. Add the food color, cover & cook the rava. Now add the sugar and mix well without forming any lumps. Cook for few more mins until the Kesari thickens and doesn't stick to the pan. Add 1 more tbsp of ghee and add cardamom powder. Garnish the Kesari with some cashews and raisins slightly roasted in a tbsp of ghee.

Thiruvathirai Kali

2009-01-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

Thiruvathirai or Arudhura Dharisanam fell on Saturday, Jan 10 this year....it is the Thiruvathirai star day in the auspicious tamil month of Maarghazhi when the saivites from Tamilnadu worship Lord Shiva by observing fast and offering Thiruvathirai kali and ezhu (7) thaan (vegetable) Kozhambu(also called thalagam) as neividiyam. It is believed to be the Birthday of Lord Shiva and Lord Nataraja comes in a grand procession blessing all his devotees on this day in Chidambaram, the city of the dancing diety. As I was really sick since last week, I couldn't make the kozhambu this time but was happy that I could make atleast the Kali for nevidiyam. My mom always observed all these occasions without fail and still does till today.....to continue the beautiful tradition I always try my best to follow these too, yet another way to remember our beautiful roots ....So here goes the recipe for Thiruvathirai Kali.
Ingredients:
Raw rice- 1 cup
Moong dhal- 2 tsp
water- 3 cups
Jaggery- 1 cup
cardamom- 1 tsp
ghee- 1tbsp
cashews & raisins- 1tbsp
Method:
Wash the rice & moong dhal and dry it on a paper towel. After drying this, now roast this in a dry pan(no oil) until the rice turns slight red. cool and powder this to rava (sooji) consistency in a mixer. In a pan, dissolve the jaggery in water and let it boil, at the this stage add the powdered rice and mix well without forming lumps.cover and cook for few mins. then open the lid and cook until it thickens. Turn off the flame & add cardamom powder and mix well. Garnish with cashews & raisins roasted in a tbsp of ghee.

Basundhi

2009-01-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Happy New Year to you all!
It's been a really long time since I prepared any sweet at home and with the birth of the new year, I wanted to start with something sweet......so here goes my recipe for Basundhi.......This was indeed a time consuming process but at the end was worth all the effort bcos my hubby dear loved it thoroughly and even said it tasted absolutely like Adyar Ananda Bhavan's basundhi:)

Ingredients:
Milk-1 litre
Sugar- 1cup
cardamom powder-1 tsp
Saffron(optional)- I didn't have any saffron so I skipped it
Pistachios- chopped- 1 tbsp (for garnishing)

Bring milk to a rolling boil in a wide non stick pan. Then turn down the heat to medium flame and slowly cook the milk by constantly stirring it. The milk has to reduce to half of the original quantity. This can take about 45mins- 1 hr. Do not cook in high flame as milk will stick to the pan and get brown. At this stage add the sugar and keep cooking in slow/medium flame until the milk gets really thick. Now add the cardamom powder and mix well and turn off the heat. Garnish with chopped pistachios. Refrigerate and serve chill.

Aloo methi

2008-12-15T18:08:00.000-08:00

I had bought a bunch of Methi leaves from the indian grocery store and was wondering what I could make different with it & when I saw some potatoes sitting in my vegetable basket, in a minute I decided to make Aloo methi....Methi has a lot of medicinal value as a lot of you know....it is especially great for diabetic people.
Ingredients:
Methi- 1 bunch
Potatoes- 2
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Ginger/garlic grated- 1 tbsp
Green chilly- 1
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Red chilly powder- 1 tbsp
Dhania jeera powder- 1 tbsp
Hing- a pinch
Salt
Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp

Method:
Pluck just the leaves of methi and leave the thicker stem behind. Wash the methi leaves about 3 times nicely and then chop them & keep it aside. Heat oil in a skillet, temper with cumin seeds and then add finely chopped onion, ginger/garlic, green chilly & saute them nicely......then add chopped tomatoes & saute until soft...now add the potatoes(skin peeled & diced to cubes)...sprinkle some water, cover & cook for 3-4 mins until potato is slightly cooked(don't overcook the potatoes). Now add the chopped methi leaves, Turmeric powder,Red chilly powder,
Dhania jeera powder, Hing- a pinch & Salt to taste.Mix nicely and sprinkle water if needed and cover & cook for another 4-5 mins until it gets cooked. Again, potato should be cooked well at this stage but not overcooked or mashed.
Serve Aloo methi with roti or rice.
Note:
To avoid the bitter taste of methi, I found a great tip from showmethecurry.com after chopping the leaves, sprinkle some salt, ,mix it well and keep it aside for 10 mins. Then before adding the methi squeeze out all the water from it and just add the leaves. This will take away all the bitterness from the methi.

Nei Appam

2008-12-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Karthigai Deepam to you all!
Karthigai deepam is celebrated all over Tamilnadu on the full moon day of Krithika star in the Tamil month of Krithigai....Today is the day when Lord Shiva appeared in the form of a huge jyothi taking a mountain form at Tiruvanamalai...it is also the day when Goddess Parvathi united the six forms of Lord Muruga into one with six faces and hence is very auspicious for Lord Muruga.
The traditional neivediyam for this includes pori urundai, appam, paal payasam, etc.....For this karthigai Deepam, I decided to make Nei appam which I learnt from my MIL recently .....so here goes the recipe
Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1 cup soaked in water for about an hour and a half
Jaggery-3/4 cup
Banana- 1
cardamom powder-1 tsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp
coconut- 1 tsp
Ghee & oil for deep frying
Method:
Grind the soaked rice with very very little water to a thick batter.Then add the jaggery, banana & coconut and grind it to a smooth thick batter.
then mix in the cardamom powder, a tsp of ghee & baking soda. Since we are adding baking soda we need not wait for this batter to ferment. fill the holes in the paniyaram pan with oil + a drop of ghee in each.Now take a ladle full of batter and pour into the paniyaram pan.
Flip to the other side and cook till both sides are brown.

Yummy soft Nei appams are ready....

Note: I have used only 1-2 drops of ghee while deep frying and the rest is canola oil for health reasons...I can't bring myself to deep fry it all in ghee entirely..but it tasted equally good.

This is my submission for the EFM-Sweet event conducted by Srilekha.

Palak Dhal

2008-12-10T13:09:00.000-08:00

I had some fresh organic spinach(Palak) in my fridge which was calling out to me.....I wanted to make some side dish using spinach which would go well with chapathi.....so I came up with my own simple recipe for Palak dhal using moong dhal and pearl onions (just for a change against the usual onions) and it turned out excellent......one thing I need to share here with the readers, my mom always used to make spinach for lunch and never for dinner...not sure why, but I have also heard from a lot of other people too that it is best to eat spinach during daytime or in other words avoid it at dinner time......
Ingredients:
Spinach- 1 bunch
Moong dhal- 1/2 cup
Pearl onions- 4 or 5 (cut each into half)
Tomato- 1 small
Ginger/Garlic (grated)- 1 tbsp
turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Chilly powder- 1 tsp
garam masala powder- 1 tsp
hing- a pinch
salt to taste
For tempering:
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Red chilly- 1
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Hing- a pinch
Oil- 1 tbsp
ghee- 1/2 tsp

Method:
Pressure cook the moong dhal along with a pinch of turmeric & hing and keep it aside.
Temper the above mentioned items in hot oil (I also added very little (abt 1/2 tsp) ghee to give a nice flavor)....when the mustard seeds splutter, add the pearl onions & grated ginger garlic and saute till the onion turns golden brown....then add the tomatoes & saute till tomato becomes pulpy...now add the chopped spinach & saute till the spinach shrinks. Now add the mashed cooked moong dhal, turmeric powder, red chilly powder, salt, hing & garam masala powder. add some water so that it doesn't get too thick.Cook for 2-3 mins and serve hot with roti or rice.

Weekend Brunch 3

2008-12-08T10:56:00.000-08:00

I was busy posting all other kinds of recipes that I almost forgot about the weekend brunches......So here I go with another weekend brunch recipe........Rice with Keerai (spinach) milagootal, maangai(raw mango) curry and vazhaikai(raw banana) curry. Keerai milagootal (also called poricha kootu in tamil) and mangai curry are famous dishes in Kerala which is also made in Tamilnadu under different names....Not sure why it is called milagootal(milagu means pepper) when the recipe doesn't really call for pepper in it........But driven by the name I do add 1/2 tsp of pepper bcos its anyways good for health.....my hubby loves keerai milagootal and I try to cook spinach every weekend......about vazhaikai (raw banana) even though it is has a lot of potassium, Vitamin B6, etc and is good for health, it takes time to digest and can sometimes lead to gastric issues.....so I would always recommend you use some ginger, hing or garlic(if u like it)......this definitely aids in digestion......and mango curry goes well even with plain curd rice, upma or chapathi and this can be stored in the refrigerator for upto a week like other home made pickles.
Keerai milagootal:
Spinach- 1 bunch
Tur dhal- 1/4 cup
moong dhal-1/2 cup
coconut- 2 tbsp
urad dhal- 1 tbsp
pepper- 1/2 tsp
red chilly- 3
Cumin seeds -1 tbsp
Rice flour- 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Hing- a pinch
salt
oil
Method:
Pressure cook the dhal with little turmeric powder, hing and mash it nicely & keep it aside. Cook the chopped spinach with little water, salt & a pinch of turmeric powder. Once the spinach is cooked well, slightly mash it with the back of the laddle and then add the mashed dhal to it. In the meantime in a drop of oil slightly roast the urad dhal(until golden brown), red chilly & pepper and grind it with coconut, cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp of rice flour. Add this paste to the spinach + dhal and add water if it is too thick & let this cook nicely for 5 mins. Then in a tsp of oil splutter mustard seeds & hing and finally add it to the spinach and serve with rice with a tbsp of ghee.
Vazhaikai (raw banana) curry:
Ingredients:
Raw banana- 1 big
Onion- 1/2 of big onion
Tomato- 1/2
sambar powder- 1 tbsp
turmeric powder- 1 tsp
Red chilly powder- 1 /2tsp
salt
Hing- 1 tsp

For tempering:
Channa dhal - 1 tbsp
Urad dhal- 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Curry leaves
Ginger/garlic grated- 1 tbsp
Method:
Slice the raw banana into circle or semi-circle pieces and put it in a bowl filled with water.
Add all the tempering items one by one to hot oil, then add the chopped onions, tomatoes & saute till the onion gets cooked. Now add the sliced raw banana pieces.
Add salt, sambar powder,turmeric powder, red chilly powder & hing. Sprinkle some water to help the raw banana get cooked and close the lid of the pan. After 2-3 mins, open the lid and see if the banana pieces are cooked. Then saute them for another 2-3 mins and then serve hot with rice.

Maangai(mango) curry:
Raw mango- 1
Red chilly powder- 2 tbsp( add to taste)
Salt- to taste
Asafoetida (Hing)- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
Oil- 2tbsp Method:
Chop the mango into small teeth like pieces and put it in a bowl along with required chilly powder and salt. In the meantime, temper the mustard seeds in hot oil, when the mustard seeds splutter add the hing also to the hot oil to get a nice aroma and pour this over the mango pieces in the bowl and mix nicely. give it 20-30 mins and then serve with rice. According to me, hing is a must in this recipe and is what gives the pickle a nice flavor.

Wacky Banana Cake

2008-12-04T20:45:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to Nandita of Saffrontrail for this wonderful recipe.click here to view her recipe...
I have followed the recipe exactly the same way...the only difference is I avoided the nuts...Also, instead of banana you could use apples or any other fruit and add nuts based on your choice......what I luv the most abt this recipe is, it is not only very very simple to make but also quite healthy since it has no eggs, no butter and has mostly whole wheat flour........I made this cake at the perfect time when three of my friend's little girls are celebrating their 1st birthday this month....ok so this simple healthy cake is for the three little angels Nadhi (Dec 5th), Anvita(Dec 6th) & Shakthi (Dec 10th).....Happy Happy B'day little ones.....I'm going to make a note of the recipe here for my future reference......
Ingredients:
1.Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
2. All purpose flour- 1/2 cup
3. Sugar- 3/4 cup (Powder this in mixie)
4. baking soda- 1 tsp
5. Salt- 1/2 tsp
6. Cinnamon powder- 1 tsp

7. White vinegar- 1 tbsp
8. Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
9. Canola oil- 5 tbsp
10. Cold water (not iced)- 1 cup

11. Banana or apple- sliced- 1
12. nuts- optional
Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and take ingredients 1 to 6 in a flour sifter and sift it into a 8x8 square baking pan ( After using this though, I thought it might be better to use a loaf pan to get more thickness/depth of the cake). Pour ingredients 7 to 10 and mix well without any lumps. Now add ingredients 11 & 12 and shake the pan to level off and sprinkle some cinnamon powder. Now bake in the oven for 30 mins or till done (when the top of the cake turns golden brown & a fork comes out clean). Cut into square pieces and serve warm.

White Kurma

2008-12-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

White Kurma with idiyappam is my all time favorite tiffin item that I usually order whenever I go to Saravana bhavan and Balaji bhavan in chennai......the specialty of this is the slight sweet taste of the coconut & cashews used......it can be had with idiyappam, chappathi, appam or even rice......so here goes the recipe for White Kurma....
Ingredients:
Onion- chopped- 1 big
Tomato- chopped- 1/2 tomato
vegetables- 2 cups-(cauliflower, peas, potato,carrot, beans)
chilly powder-1/2 tsp
Dhania powder- 1 tbsp
Green chilly- 3 or 4
coconut- 3 tbsp
cashewnuts- 4
Poppy seeds- 1 tbsp
coconut milk- 1 /2 cup
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
salt to taste

For tempering:
oil
Fennel seeds/ Saunf- 1 tbsp
Curry leaves- few
cinnamon stick- 1 piece

Method:
Add the saunf & cinnamon to hot oil and when nice aroma comes, add the curry leaves followed by chopped onions, green chilly and ginger/garlic paste. Saute' this nicely. then add chopped half a tomato(do not add more tomato in order to get the white color for the kurma). Then add the chopped vegetables, salt to taste, dhania powder & a pinch of chilly powder. cover and cook for 3-5 mins. In the meantime, make a paste of coconut, poppy seeds and cashwenuts & add to the cooked veggies. Cook this for about 2 mins. Then in the end add half a cup coconut milk and turn off the stove in a min. Garnish with cilantro leaves.
Yummy white kurma is ready!!!

Soraikkai(Bottlegourd) kadalaiparupu Kootu

2008-11-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

When I was looking for a different recipe for soraikai(Bottlegourd/Dhudhi) from my usual kootu recipe, I came across this really nice recipe in google video in the jaya tv cookery show suvayo suvai. Click here for the video. I'm going to make a note of that recipe here.....The variation I have made is to reduce the qty of coconut paste used. I just added a tbsp of coconut paste as against the 1/2 cup coconut paste in the recipe...
Ingredients:
1.Soraikai/Bottleguard- 2 cups
2.Channa dhal- 1/2 cup (soaked in water for half hour)
3.Onion- finely chopped- 1/2
4.Tomato-finely chopped- 1/2
5.Ginger/Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
6.Chilly powder- 1 tsp
7.Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
8.Dhania powder- 2 tbsp
9.Green chilly- 1 or 2 slit lengthwise
10.Curry leaves
11.Salt
12.Hing or Asafoetida- 1 tsp
13. coconut - 2 tbsp (grind it with some water to get the paste)
For Tempering:
oil
Mustard seeds-1 tbsp
Jeera seeds- 1 tsp
Red chilly- 1 or 2
Curry leaves- a few
Method:
Add ingredients 1 to 12 in a pressure cooker. Add some water until the veggies are immersed and pressure cook for 3 whistles and then reduce the flame and cook for 5 more mins. Once the pressure is released, open the pressure cooker and mash the veggies slightly with a ladle. Then in a wok heat the oil and add the tempering items and when the mustard splutter, add the veggies from the pressure cooker and cook for 2-3 mins. Then add the coconut paste and cook for another 2 mins and garnish with curry leaves , coriander leaves & serve with rice or roti.
My recipe for kootu usually doesn't have onion, tomato & garlic, but trust me this new way of making kootu was delicious and not to mention healthy too.

Ghee rice

2008-11-24T16:53:00.000-08:00

This is a very simple & easy to make rice item that can be done in a jiffy in the morning to pack for lunch. Some call this as Brinji rice too. This goes well with some nice spicy channa masala or any Kurma. Though this looks plain, trust me it tastes soooo rich & tasty
So here goes my recipe....
Ingredients:
Basmathi rice- 1 cup
Coconut milk-1 cup
Water-1/2 cup (I use 1:1.5 as ratio for rice to water,
so took 1 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup water)
Onion(thin sliced lengthwise)- 1
ginger/garlic paste- 1 tbsp
salt to taste
Ghee- 3 tbsp
Green chilly- 3

For tempering
cloves-2
cinnamon- 1 big stick
bay leaf
cardamom- 2
star anise- 2

Method:
Heat ghee/oil in a skillet add the whole masala(mentioned above) for tempering. when the nice aroma of the spices come add the green chilly, ginger/garlic paste & onion and saute' it. Sprinkle some salt to help the onions get cooked faster. make sure the onions don't turn brown as this will change the color of the rice. Now wash the rice and add to this and saute' for a min. Then transfer this to a rice cooker and add salt to taste, coconut milk and water and cook. Before serving add another spoon of ghee. ...This is ghee rice so you cannot avoid the ghee part unfortunately :)
Ghee rice is ready! See I told u it's real easy...isn't it?Do try it and let me know how it turns out.
This is my entry to Srivalli's Rice mela.

Based on the valuable suggestion received from Srivalli, I'm also sending my already posted old entry 'Poha' to the Rice mela event. Thanks Srivalli for the encouragement.

Vegetable Pakoda

2008-11-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

This last Friday evening I wanted to make a quick snack to serve with tea when my hubby dear got back from work......Onion pakoda was what came to my mind immediately..just to create a variation to that, I decided to make vegetable pakoda using just corn flour and a little maida.......this was done in about 20 mins.......real quick...and to my surprise it turned out sooooooooo well just like the crispy pakodas we get in India......so here goes the vegetable pakoda recipe.....enjoy with a cup of tea/coffee.
Ingredients:
Vegetables chopped- 2 cups (I used thinly sliced red onions, cabbage & cauliflower)
Corn flour- 4 or 5 tbsps
All purpose flour- 1 tbsp
baking soda- 1/2 tsp
chopped ginger- 1 tbsp
chilli powder-1 tbsp
salt to taste
curry leaves
cilantro leaves- 2 tbsp (chopped)
Green chilly- 1 or 2 chopped
Hing - a pinch
Oil
water to sprinkle
Method:
Put all the cut veggies in a bowl. Add all the above mentioned ingredients to it and sprinkle some water little by little to mix it(just enough water to help the flour and spices stick to the veggies).....it should not be diluted or too thin like baji flour.....in the meantime heat oil in a pan to deep fry the pakodas and add 1 tbsp of that hot oil to this pakoda flour mix(this makes the pakoda crispier).....once the oil is hot put in the pakodas slowly and when u drop it into the oil make sure you separate them with ur fingers so the pakodas will turn out crispier....keep in medium flame and cook until the pakodas turn light brown and crispy...Drain it in a paper towel and then serve hot.

Pav Bhaji

2008-11-12T11:28:00.001-08:00

Pav Bhaji is one of the most famous chaat items known to south indians.....I have always enjoyed watching the way they mash the bhaji usually outside the chaat shops on a big tawa and add some butter to it while serving.......lip smacking ah?.....I learnt the authentic recipe for Pav Bhaji from one of my roomies in Tampa, a girl from Bombay and it sure is the best recipe I have come across till now......pretty simple and a good change too from the usual rice varieties when u invite some people over ....I usually get the whole wheat dinner rolls or whole wheat hamburger buns for the Pav from the regular American grocery store and u can vary the proportion of potato as per ur taste,though it is usually made with potatoes, I just add half or 1 potato and add more of other veggies such as carrots, cauliflower .....soo here is the recipe for Pav bhaji..Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Potatoes- 1 big
carrots- 2
Gobi- 1 or 2 cups of florets
Green pepper (capsicum) - 1 big
frozen green peas- 1 small cup
Onion- 1 big
Tomato - 1 big
Tomato paste- 1 tbsp (optional)
Ginger & garlic paste or grated- 2 tsp
green chilly- very finely chopped-2
Red chilly powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric poweder- 1/2 tsp
Pav Bhaji masala powder(Any brand, I usually use EVEREST or BADSHAH)- 2 tbsp
Butter
Oil
Salt to taste
Cilantro leaves
For tempering:
Butter & oil -1 tbsp
Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp
Method:

Peel the skin of potato & carrot, dice them, add to a pressure cooker along with cauliflower florets, 2 tbsp of the cut onion & green pepper, a pinch of turmeric powder, a pinch of salt & hing(I add hing to everything specially when using potatoes it is a must). Just adding a piece of onion & green pepper while cooking the veggies will give a nice flavor to the bhaji. Pressure cook this for 4-5 whistles or until the veggies get cooked really well. Open the pressure cooker when ready & mash the vegetables with a potato masher &keep it aside.
Heat oil/butter in a skillet and season with cumin seeds. Then add finely chopped onion, ginger/garlic paste & green chilly and sauté until the raw smell of ginger/garlic goes away. Now goes the finely chopped tomatoes and tomato paste. I add tomato paste to get the texture & color. But if u don't have tomato paste you could used an extra tomato instead. Now goes the mashed veggies, finely chopped green pepper, green peas, salt to taste, red chilly powder, & 11/2 tbsp of Pav bhaji masala. Add 1 tsp of butter(if u wish ) at the this point too. Cook this for 2-3 mins. Add the other half tbsp of Pav bhaji masala powder at the end before turning off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with toasted Pav(toasted with butter), finely chopped onions and a piece of lemon.

Coconut Burfi

2008-10-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali!

Diwali and sweets are inseparable. So I made it a point to make one sweet atleast for this Diwali...Coconut burfi has always been one of my favorite sweet and I always asked my mom to make this for my b'day every year. So I called up my mom and asked her for the recipe and jumped right into it......With the 2 cups of frozen coconut used I got about 15 pieces of coconut burfi
Ingredients:
Shredded Coconut- 2 cups (I used frozen coconut)
sugar- 11/2 cups
Water- 3/4 cup
cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Roasted cashews- 1 tbsp
Ghee- 1 tsp

Add the sugar and water to a deep pan and heat it until the sugar syrup becomes thick and come to a one string consistency.(Simple way to check is to take a little bit of sugar syrup in the spatula, give it a few seconds to cool down, then touch it and try to pull it between two fingers. it should come like a string or thread). Then add the shredded thawed frozen coconut, cardamom powder and mix it to the sugar syrup. Cook it nicely until it thickens. It might take 10-15 mins. In the meantime, roast some broken cashews in a tbsp of ghee and add to the pan. Wait until it thickens nicely and it should leave the sides of the pan. At this point of time, transfer this to a plate greased with ghee. Flatten it with a spatula, then cut it into pieces with a clean knife. Wait until it cools down and then serve the coconut burfi.

Poha

2008-10-22T11:12:00.000-07:00

Poha called Avil in Tamilnadu, is a quick tiffin item to make. Poha is basically pressed rice so it is definitely filled with carbs and I personally have always found it to be very filling even with small proportion. Poha in Tamilnadu is usually made with lemon (Lemon avil) or tamarind (Puli Avil). But when I was looking for the north indian recipe of poha on the internet, I came across the recipe of TS for corn poha. Click here for her recipe. Of course I made some modifications to it by incorporating our south indian tempering items, using regular onions and by adding some raisins along with the cashews and peanuts.
Ingredients:
Poha(thick)- 2 cups
Onion- 1
Green chilly- 2 or 3 finely chopped
Frozen Corn or green peas- 2 or 3 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
salt
oil
Ghee- 1 tbsp
Asafoetida- pinch
lemon juice
coriander leaves

For Tempering:
Cumin seeds- 1 /2 tsp
Urad dhal- 1 tbsp
chana dhal- 1 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
curry leaves- few
cashews- few
peanuts- few
raisins- few

Add the cashews, peanuts and raisins to hot oil + 1/2 tbsp of ghee. when the cashews turn light brown add the other tempering items. When the mustard seeds splutter add the chopped onions + green chilly and saute until onion turns soft. In the meantime, wash the poha twice and drain the water & keep it aside.Now add the frozen corn or peas, turmeric, pinch of chilly powder, poha and salt to taste. Mix everything well and cook for 2-3 mins. Add a pinch of asafoetida, chopped coriander leaves, 1/2 tsp of ghee, squeeze some lemon juice and serve... I served it with some sev on top (I've heard that it is usually served with sev but this is optional of course)

Potato Stew

2008-10-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

This is a traditional Keralite dish that is usually served with Appam, Idiyappam or Dosa. I prepared this today with some frozen idiyappam that I had in my freezer. It is absolutely a heavy, creamy and high calorie food...so save it for a special weekend when u want to treat ur tastebuds....if u look at the picture posted here u would know what I mean....and it sure was a treat for us....
Ingredients:
Potato- 2
Green chilly- finely chopped 2 or 3
Ginger- finely chopped (1 tbsp)
Onion- 1 finely chopped
Curry leaves- few
Green peas- 1/4 cup (optional)
Coconut milk- 1 can
salt
Coconut oil- 1 tsp

Method:
Saute' chopped onion, green chilly, curry leaves and ginger in some canola oil and fry till onion gets soft..make sure the onions do not turn brown....u can sprinkle some water and salt to help the onion get cooked fast and not turn brown....In the meantime, peel the skin of the potatoes and chop into cubes and microwave for 10 mins... take 1/4 cup of coconut milk from the can dilute it with some water and add it to cooked onion. Also add the cooked potato, frozen peas(optional) salt to taste and let this boil in the diluted coconut milk for 5-7 mins. Then add the rest of the thick coconut milk(without diluting it) from the can and cook for 2 mins. Add a tsp of coconut oil and serve hot with Appam or Idiyappam.

Thayir(Curd) Vadai

2008-08-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

This is my mom's favorite snack item and is generally had as an accompaniment with the main course tiffin or as appetizer. I was thinking that this might be an elaborate procedure and never bothered to try it until I came across the recipe by Menutoday. Click here for her recipe. I followed the recipe exactly as she has explained. Thanks MT for yet another great recipe. I got to say I fell in luv with the pics of my curd vadai, so couldn't stop with just one pic. Oh well, u guys try this and let me know how it came out.

Minestrone soup

2008-08-20T23:20:00.000-07:00

Minestrone soup is the name given to the famous Italian soup which is cooked with vegetables, beans, and/or pasta. This can be made with any veggies available readily and is cooked by slowly simmering the veggies in the stock with garlic, Italian seasoning & basil. I generally use a can of diced tomatoes and add water for the veggie stock.I remember reading somewhere that people in Italy at one time believed that minestrone soup would cure most aches & pains. Oh well, all I can think of is with all those veggies & garlic, it definitely ought to be good for health:)
Ingredients:
Onion- 1 big
Chopped Garlic- 2 or 3 tbsp
Diced Tomatoes- 1 can
Chopped Vegetables- 3 cups (I used carrots, celery, green beans, zuchinni)a
Red kidney beans- 1/2 can
small sea shell pasta- 1/2 cups
Italian seasoning- 2 tbsp
Basil- 1 tbsp
Black pepper- 1 tbsp
Oil- 1 tsp

Saute Onion and garlic in 1 tsp of oil and then add all vegetables, saute lightly for a min (do not let the veggies turn brown), then add the canned diced tomatoes and enough water to form the stock. Add some salt, cover and cook in low flame. The vegetables have to be slowly simmered in the stock.This will easily take at least 10 mins. When vegetables are almost cooked, add the kidney beans, pasta & the spices (Italian seasoning, basil & pepper) and let this cook again for another 7-8 mins or until pasta is cooked. Use a deep pan like stock pot so that there is enough room for water to be added. Add more salt & pepper if needed at the time of serving depending on each one's taste.
Sprinkle some grated cheese if u like at the end. I don't care for cheese on my soup, so I skipped that.

Optional:
1. Any kind of stock (chicken or beef) can be used for this, even though this soup has mainly veggies. For this reason, I always ask the waitress in restaurants what kind of stock has been used in the soup since I'm a vegetarian.

Upma Kozhukattai

2008-08-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

This was my favorite tiffin item that my mom used to make very rarely. I knew that it involved washing the rice, drying it on a paper towel,dry grinding it etc. etc so I didn't have the patience to go through the elaborate procedure of making it until I came across the simpler recipe for this using Idly Rava(available in most indian stores) by Nandita of Saffrontrail. Click here for Nandita's recipe. I followed the recipe exactly the same way as she did.
Variations:
1. I have also seen some people soak 1 tbsp of tur dhal, jeera, red chilly,& pepper and grind and add it to the boiling water before adding the idly rava. This should taste good too.
2. I came across this other recipe for upma kozhukatai using oat grits by Lakshmik of Veggie cuisine which I'm yet to try but thought was a very good healthy choice.Click here for Lakshmik's recipe.

Gobi Manchurian

2008-07-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is an indo-chinese dish that is loved by a lot of people and it goes well chapathi or noodles or just as an appetizer. I have categorized this as an appetizer since I didn't make it too gravy.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower/Gobi- 2 cups (big size florets)
Onion- 1- chopped (to teeth size)
Green pepper-1/2 chopped(teeth size)
Green onions/spring onions- 3 or 4 bulbss
Greens of spring onions- for garnishing
Ginger/Garlic- 2 tbsp grated
Green chilly- 1 tbsp chopped (or Green chilly sauce 1 tbsp)
Tomato ketchup- 1/2 cup
Soy sauce
Corn flour- 2 tbsp
Maida/All purpose flour- 2 tbsp
chilli powder- 1 tbsp
salt
oil

Cut the cauliflower/Gobi into big florets and microwave for 2 mins in water with salt. Gobi shouldn't be overcooked.
Take out the cauliflower florets and let it drain on a paper towel.
Make a batter(like bajji batter consistency) of maida, cornflour, water, 1 tbsp of hot oil, chilli powder (1/2 tbsp) & salt. Dip the Gobi florets in this batter and deep fry and place it on a paper towel and let this cool.
In the meantime, in a skillet to hot oil add grated ginger/garlic, green chilly & chopped spring onion' bulbs. sauté for a min and then add chopped onions, add a pinch of salt and sauté this. then add all the sauces & tomato ketchup, a pinch of salt, chopped green pepper & chilli powder.Take 1 tbsp of corn flour and add a little water to it to make a paste and add this to the skillet. This will be absorbed by the saute'ed onions and would thicken the gravy. Now add the gobi florets and mix it well and sauté it for a min. Add more soy sauce if needed. Garnish with greens of spring onions.

Note :Adding hot oil to the batter makes the gobi crispier
It is important to cool the deep fried gobi before adding to the gravy. Otherwise it will get soggy.
A little bit of vinegar could be added along with the sauces. I skipped it bcos I didn't have it at home.

Veggie Noodles

2008-07-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

I choose the healthier multi grain Thin Spaghetti to make noodles instead of the usual noodle sticks which is usually made of refined all purpose flour. Muliti grain provides the necessary omega 3 for our body. And this comes out as tasty as the usual noodles.
Ingredients:
Thin spaghetti- 3 fistfuls
Onion, carrot, beans, carrot, green peppers, cabbage, cauliflower- thinly sliced
Green onions/Spring onions- 3 or 4 bulbs chopped
leaves of green onions- for garnishing
Green chilly- finely chopped- 2 tbsp
Ginger & Garlic- 1 tbsp grated
Soy sauce
Tomato sauce/ketchup
Boil the spaghetti in boiling water as per instructions on the package. Then strain the hot water, add cold water to the spaghetti, strain & keep it aside.
In a skillet, add chopped green chilly, ginger garlic to really hot oil and fry for abt 30 secs. Now add the chopped Onion, green onion bulbs and sauté. Then add the other vegetables (except for cabbage & green peppers) one by one . Sprinkle some salt to help cook the veggies and sauté it in high flame. The veggies have to be a bit crunchy.Now add the green pepper and sauté for a min. Now add the sauces, and then the cooked spaghetti and mix well. Now goes the cabbage and sauté till everything is mixed well, add extra soy sauce if needed and then garnish with the leaves/greens of the spring onions.
Serve hot!!! I served this with crunchy Gobi Manchurian...recipe for that will follow soon...

Rava Idly -Home Made!

2008-07-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

I used to buy the MTR Rava idly instant mix for a long time until I learnt that it might be cheaper & also easy to just make my own rava idly mix at home. Since then I have always made my own mix at home to make those soft fluffy rava idlies. I used the same ingredients that are used in the instant mix.
Ingredients:
Rava- 1 cup
Curd/Yogurt- 1.5 cups
baking soda- a pinch
salt
chopped coriander leaves- 1 tbsp
cashewnuts- 1 tbsp
channda dhal- 1 tbsp
Urad dhal- 1 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1 tbsp
Green chilly- 1 finely chopped
Ginger- 1 small piece- finely chopped
curry leaves- few- chopped
hing- a pinch
ghee- 1 tsp
oil

Method:
1. heat oil+ghee in a skillet and add cashewnuts, channda dhal,Urad dhal & mustard seeds for tempering.
when mustard seeds splutter, add chopped green chilly, ginger,curry leaves, and then the rava. roast this until a nice aroma of rava comes. Let this cool down.

In the meantime, beat the yogurt nicely in a bowl. Add salt, hing & chopped coriander leaves.

To this add the roasted rava mixture and mix nicely to get a thick idly batter. add very little water if the mix is too thick. Now add a pinch of baking soda and set it aside for 20- 30 mins.

Then steam the idlies for 10 mins and serve with chutney or saagu or just milagai podi.

Chilli Porotta

2008-07-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Chilli porotta is a spicy dish made with porotta torn into pieces and sautéed with green chilly & spices. I genereally use the frozen porotta we get here in the indian store, thaw it and then tear into pieces. The last time I luckily got frozen kothu porotta in the indian store so didn't have to do the tearing, but this is not common to find. Also, remember look for Porotta and not Paratha, though they sound the same they are totally different.
Ingredients:
Frozen Porotta- 1 pack or about 6-7 pieces
Onion-1 thinly sliced lengthwise
Tomato- 1
carrot- 1/2 thinly sliced lengthwise
Green pepper- 1 thinly sliced lengthwise
Cilantro leaves- few
Ginger & garlic- finely chopped 1 tbsp
Green chilli- 4
chilli powder- a pinch
Garam masala powder- 1 tsp
Turmeric powder- a pinch
salt
oil
For Tempering:
cumin seeds- 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds-1 tbsp

Tear the thawed porotta into thin pieces and set it aside
In a pan, add jeera & mustard to hot oil and when the mustard seeds splutter, add the ginger/garlic & green chilly and fry for a min.
Then add the cut onions and sauté really well. The add tomatoes until it gets mushy,followed by carrots and sauté until the carrot is soft.
Now add the green peppers and sauté it a bit. Green pepper has to be a bit crunchy.
Now add the torn porotta pieces and add all the 3 powders mentioned above, salt and mix well.
Cook for a couple of mins and then garnish with cilantro leaves.
Serve with onion raitha.

Poori & Kizhangu

2008-07-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

Poori:
Wheat Flour- 1 cup
Rava- 1 tbsp
salt
water to knead
oil

Mix all the above four ingredients and use water to knead it into a nice dough.The dough should not be too soft like chapathi. It has to be a bit firmer that that. I add rava to retain the fluffiness in the puris. I usually make the dough right before I fry them unlike chapathi where making the dough 2-3 hrs before making the chapathi helps. Take medium sized balls of dough and use a rolling pin to flatten them into small round puris. Now fry this in hot oil. Hot hot poori is ready!!

Potato/Kizhangu:
This potato masala is a traditional accompaniment to puris in Tamilnadu. I added carrots to my recipe because I didn't have enough potatoes at home that day:). But generally just cooked with potatoes only...

Ingredients:

Potato- 4

Onion- 1

Turmeric powder- 1 tbsp

Gram flour- 1 tbsp

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Green chillies- 3 or 4 finely chopped

Ginger- small piece finely chopped

Curry leaves- few

Cilantro leaves- few

Oil

Hing

Add the tempering items to hot oil and when the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onions and sauté the onions and add a tbsp of turmeric powder.

In the meantime boil the potatoes, peel the skin and dice the potato into medium sized pieces.

when the onion is sautéed really well, add the potato pieces, salt, water & hing and let this cook.

If the potato masala is too watery, take a tbsp of gram flour and dissolve it in water without lumps and add it to the masala and let it cook for another extra 2-3 mins.

Finally add chopped cilantro leaves and serve with the hot puris.

Mutter Paneer

2008-07-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Paneer – 200 gms

Green peas (frozen)- 1 cup

Onion- 1

Tomato- 2

Green chillies- 4

Cashewnuts- 5

Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp

Coriander powder-1 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1 tbsp

Chilli powder- 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder- ½ tbsp

Kasoori methi- crushed (1 tbsp)

Salt

For Tempering:

Cloves- 2

Cinnamon- 1 big stick

Cardamom- 1

Bayleaf-1

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Oil

Sauté sliced onions+ tomatoes+ green chillies+ ginger garlic paste+ cashews +turmeric powder really well.

Let this cool and then blend it to a fine paste.

In a pan, add the tempering items to hot oil & when you get the nice aroma of spices, add the blended paste.

Add Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Chilli powder & salt. Cook this is medium flame for about 5-7 mins.

After the 1^st boil, add the green peas & then finally cubed paneer, salt & cook on medium flame for about 2 mins & then cook on slow flame for another 5-7 mins.

Finally add crushed Kasoori methi & cream (optional- I didn’t add any cream, it was still good) & serve with chapathis.

Cracked wheat (Kothumai) Upma

2008-07-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

Samba wheat upma is a very healthy tiffin item that my mom used to make quite often in my house. Now I try to make it atleast once a week because of its nutritional value. For those of you trying to shed some pounds this might be a good choice.

Ingredients:

Cracked wheat -1 cup

Water- 2 ½ cups

Onion -1 big cut lengthwise

Lemon juice

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Green chillies- 2 or 3 finely chopped

Red chillies- 2

Ginger- small piece finely chopped

Garlic - small piece finely chopped(optional)

Curry leaves- few

Oil

Hing

In a pressure pan add the tempering items and when the mustard seeds splutter add the finely chopped onions & sauté till soft.

Now add the cracked wheat and sauté for 1 or 2 mins. To this add water, salt & hing and close the pressure pan & cook for 2 or 3 whistles.

After opening the pan, squeeze some lemon juice and serve.

Note:

Sour buttermilk could also be added instead of lemon juice

I pressure cooked it bcos I use the cracked wheat variety which are bigger wheat kernels, so it takes time to cook in open pan but if the smaller kind is used then this can be cooked in open pan like usual upma.

Rajma

2008-06-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

Rajma

Rajma/Kidney Beans- 1 Can

(or if using dry rajma 2 cups)

Onion- 1

Tomatoes- 2

Potato – 1 small

Ginger/Garlic grated- 2 tbsp

Green chilli- 3 or 4

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Dhania Jeera powder-1 Tbsp

Kitchen King Masala or Garam masala- 1 tbsp

Hing- a pinch

Salt

Oil

For Tempering

Cumin seeds- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp

Curry leaves- few (optional)

In a pressure pan, add the tempering items to oil and when the mustard seeds splutter add the curry leaves & the grated ginger/garlic.
Sauté these for a min, then add the onions (cut thin & lengthwise), slit green chillies and sauté it.
To this add the cut tomatoes and sauté it until the tomato gets mushy.
Now add the cut potato pieces. Sauté the potato for about 2-3 mins.
Now add turmeric, chilli powder, dhania jeera powder, kitchen king masala & salt.
To this add the rajma/ kidney beans (wash the canned kidney beans thoroughly before you add it), add a pinch of hing and add little water. Now pressure cook this for two whistles.
When the pressure is released, open the pan and mash the potato pieces with the back of your ladle. This is to get the thick consistency. Cook the rajma for another min or so and then add a teaspoon of ghee before turning off the flame.
Garnish with Cilantro leaves and serve with Chapathi or some jeera rice.

Weekend Brunch 2

2008-06-23T15:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend brunch was a simple rasam combo. I made tomato rasam, eriseri with vazhakai & Senai(Yam), cabbage curry(poriyal), appalam & curd.
Since the recipe for rasam & cabbage curry is known to most people, I'm just going to mention
the things that I do specially to make it tastier...
Rasam:
Along with the rasam powder, I also add some freshly ground spices such as pepper, cumin seeds & garlic ground in my mortar & pestle to get that nice aroma of spices.
Also when tempering make sure to add the hing in the oil or ghee + curry leaves used for tempering to get nice aroma.
Finely chopped stems of cilantro leaves could be added to the rasam. most people throw the stem of coriander away but it has a really good aroma.
Cabbage curry:
Since I had made eriseri with lots of coconut in it. I was a little bit guilty to add coconut again to my cabbage curry. So I decided to skip the coconut and instead add soaked moong dhal to the curry. All you got to do is soak 1 or 2 tbsp moong dhal for 5-10 mins and add it to the tempering items when the mustard seeds splutter. once u add the moong dhal, then add the cabbage and cook it. This gives a very good taste to the curry and is also good for health.
Eriseri:
I usually make mathan eriseri at home but wanted to try vazhaikai and Yam eriseri after seeing this recipe here on Menutoday's blog. Thanks MT for the recipe. I make mathan eriseri in the same way but just add few cumin seeds while grinding the coconut.

Pottu kadalai Chutney

2008-06-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Pottu kadalai Chutney:

Pottu kadalai/daliya- ½ cup

Green Chillies- 3

Red Chillies- 2

Salt

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 tsp

Curry leaves- few

Oil

Hing

Roast the dhalia slightly to get a nice aroma with red chillies and then grind it with green chillies & salt.

Add the tempering ingredients to some oil in a pan and pour it over the chutney. Add a pinch of hing to this.

Rava Kichadi

2008-06-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

Rava Kichadi:

Kichadi in Tamilnadu is the name given to the rava upma made with vegetables and a little turmeric powder to give the color. However, living with some roommates from other states, I learnt that Kichadi in a lot of other states in India is referred to the rice+dhal combo they make. Oh well, this kichadi recipe is a simple but really filling tiffin that I prepare very often.

Ingredients:

Rava- 1 cup

Water- 2 ½ cups

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Oil

Mixed vegetables- 1 cup

(Frozen should work)

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Cilantro leaves

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Green chillies- 2 or 3 finely chopped

Red chillies- 2

Ginger- small piece finely chopped

Curry leaves- few

Oil

Hing

Roast the rava in 1 tsp of ghee and keep it aside. Few curry leaves can be added to the rava while roasting for a nice aroma (Tip from my MIL)

In a wide saucepan, to hot oil add the tempering items and when the mustard seeds splutter add finely chopped ginger, garlic(optional- added to help digestion), curry leaves & green chili. Sauté for just a second before adding the thinly sliced onions. Now add 1 tsp of turmeric powder and sauté it till onion is soft. Now goes the chopped tomatoes. Cover & cook till tomato gets mushy, then add mixed vegetables & cook for 2 mins.

Now add the correct measure of water and salt. Let this boil.

When this starts boiling add the roasted rava and constantly stir it to avoid any lumps.

Now cover and cook for few more mins until rava gets cooked. Add a pinch of hing and garnish with cilantro leaves & roasted cashews (optional).

This can be served with just sugar & pickle.
I decided to make some dhalia (potukadalai) chutney and served with steamed nenthram pazham (banana) slices b’cos my hubby likes this combo.

Paasi parupu(Moong dhal) Sundal:

2008-06-20T11:51:00.001-07:00

Paasi parupu Sundal:

This is a good evening snack which is also a very healthy choice and very easy to make.

Ingredients:

Moong dhal/Paasi parupu- 1 cup

Green chilli- 3

Finely chopped Ginger- 1 tsp

Coconut- 1 tbsp

Lemon juice

Salt

For Tempering

Mustard seeds- 1 tbsp

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Red chilli- 1

Curry leaves- few

Hing- little

Wash the moong dhal nicely, add some water and then cook it in microwave for about 10 mins or till soft. Don’t cook it too mushy.

In a pan heat some oil, add the tempering items and when the mustard seeds splutter add the Green chilli & finely chopped Ginger- then add the cooked moong dhal (after taking all the excess cooked water). Now add salt, some more hing and cover & cook for 2 mins.

Finally add some grated coconut and turn off the flame. Squeeze some lemon before serving.

Instant Therattipaal

2008-06-18T20:04:00.001-07:00

Instant Therattipaal:

Sweetened Condensed milk- 1 can

Yogurt – 3 or 4 tbsp

Ghee – 1 tbsp(optional)

Empty the Sweetened condensed milk into a deep microwavable bowl and heat it in the microwave for 3 mins.

Take it out, add the yogurt & mix it well without any lumps. Ghee can be added at this stage but is optional.

Then again heat it in the microwave for another 4 or 5 mins.

If needed, increase the time by 30 sec until it thickens.

Yummy Therattipaal is ready.

Channa Masala

2008-06-18T18:54:00.000-07:00

Channa masala:

Channa/Chick peas- 1 Can

(or if using dry channa 2 cups)

Onion- 1

Tomatoes- 2

Ginger/Garlic grated- 2 tbsp

Green chilli- 3 or 4

Coconut- 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Fennel seeds- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Dhania Jeera powder-1 Tbsp

Channa masala powder or Garam masala- 1 tbsp

Hing- a pinch

Salt

Oil

For Tempering

Cloves- 2

Cinnamon- 1 big stick

Cardamom- 1

Bayleaf-1

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- few (optional)

In a pan roast the coconut, green chillis, cumin seeds and make it into a paste by adding 1 tsp of fennel seeds.
In a pressure pan, add the tempering items to oil and when the nice aroma of spices come, add the grated ginger+garlic and sauté it really well for a min, then add the onions(cut thin & lengthwise) and sauté it.
To this add the cut tomatoes and sauté it until the tomato gets mushy.
Now add the coconut paste and sauté it till oil floats on top.
Now add turmeric, chilli & dhania jeera powders & salt.
To this add the chick peas( wash the canned chick peas thoroughly before you add it), add a pinch of hing and add little water. Now pressure cook this for two whistles.
When the pressure is released, open the pan and mash few of the chick peas with the back of your ladle. This is to get the thick consistency. I do this so I can avoid adding potatoes to get the thickness. Cook the channa for another min or so and then sprinkle channa masala or garam masala before turning off the flame.
Garnish with Cilantro leaves and squeeze some lemon.

This can be served with Chapathi, Puri, or Idyappam

Vegetable Kurma

2008-06-17T10:29:00.001-07:00

Vegetable Kurma

This is a recipe from my friend Kavi from MI who makes delicious Kurma. This can be prepared using any vegetables. I had used carrots, broccoli & peas for the veggies.

Ingredients:

Onions-2

Tomatoes- 3

Ginger/Garlic grated- 1 tbsp

Vegetables- Beans, Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, potato, Peas (Any of these veggies should be fine)

Coconut- 2 or 3 tbsp

Khus Khus- 1 Tbsp

Green chillies- 3 or 4

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Dhania Jeera powder-1 Tbsp

Salt

Oil

For Tempering

Cloves- 2

Cinnamon- 1 big stick

Cardamom- 1

Bayleaf-1

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- few (optional)

Slightly roast the coconut, khuskhus, 1 tsp cumin seeds and green chilies and make it into a paste
In a pan add the tempering items to oil and when the nice aroma of the whole masala comes, add the grated ginger+garlic and sauté it really well for a min, then add the onions(cut thin & lengthwise) and sauté it.
To this add the cut tomatoes and sauté it until the tomato gets mushy.
Now add the coconut paste and sauté it till oil floats on top.
Now add turmeric, chilli & dhania jeera powders & salt.
To this add the pressure cooked (or cooked in microwave) veggies and add little water. Let this boil in medium flame until oil floats on top and the veggies get cooked in the gravy.
Now garnish with fresh cut coriander leaves.

This can be served with Chapathi, Puri, or Idyappam.

Note:

1. Any veggies can be used for this Kurma based on what is readily available.

2. I used grated ginger/garlic because my hubby doesn’t like the raw taste of ginger garlic paste. But ginger/garlic paste should work too.

Weekend Brunch 1

2008-06-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

Weekend Brunch: 1

We generally prefer to skip b’fast if we plan on eating a proper heavy meal for lunch or sometime skip lunch if we decide to have heavy bfast…in which case obviously we can’t wait until12.30 or 1 p.m so we tend to make it our brunch at abt 11….After the hectic move last weekend all we wanted to do this weekend was eat traditional lunch, watch TV and stay at home. The first thing that came to my mind when I thought about traditional lunch was my favorite combo of Rice, Vethakuzhambu, Keerai masiyal , Sutta appalam carrot salad & curd. My mom's Vethakuzhambu was a big hit among all our friends and was always their menu request when they visited us.

Vethakuzhambu:

Ingredients:

Veggies- Small(pearl onion or shallots) onion/onions, drumstick, ladies finger

Sambar powder

Tamarind paste- 1 ½ Tbsp

Jaggery small piece(optional)

Rice flour(optional)

Salt to taste

water

Sesame(Gingelly) oil

For Tempering:

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Urad dhal- 1 Tsp

Channa dhal- 1 Tsp

Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- few

Hing-Little

Heat gingelly oil(add more than usual oil for this) in a kadai or wok and add the tempering ingredients. Make sure the fenugreek seeds don’t turn too dark.
After the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, hing and then add small onions(I added a cup of peeled small(pearl) onions and also ½ big red onion thinly sliced.
Saute the onions nicely in the oil until they become soft and then add 2 ½ tbsp of Sambar powder and fry it slightly in the oil.
Then immediately pour the tamarind paste mixed in water and then add salt to taste. Let this boil/cook in medium flame til oil floats on top.
Add a piece of jaggery if tamarind is too sour when cooking. Also if the kuzhambu is too thin then mix 1 tbsp of rice flour in water and then add it to the kuzhambu and let it boil well.(This step is optional)
Do not forget to add that extra hing at last for that great aroma

Healthy note: Two finely chopped garlic could be added while tempering to get some more nutritional value

Keerai Masiyal:

This is the simplest and healthiest form to have Keerai(Spinach).

Ingredients:

Spinach(Keerai)- 1 bunch

¼ cup Moong dhal

Salt

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Red chillies- 2 or 3

Coconut oil- few drops

Oil- 1 tbsp

Hing

Add the washed moong dhal to a vessel and cook it with some water. Moong dhal gets cooked fast so I didn’t pressure cook it. In the meantime,

Wash the spinach thoroughly twice or thrice and then cut into small pieces

Add the cut spinach to the cooked moong dhal, add salt, hing and cook it

Cook until spinach is really soft, cool it and then mash it with the back of a ladle.

In a pan, temper all the above mentioned tempering ingredients and add it to the mashed spinach.

As always, add a pinch of hing at the end.

Carrot Salad:

This is a simple salad my mom used to make and we called it Carrot Thuruvina(grated) curry.

Ingredients:

Carrots- 2 or 3

Coconut- 1 tbsp

Salt

For Tempering:

Urad dhal- 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 Tbsp

Channa dhal- 1 tbsp

Jeera seeds -1 Tbsp

Green chillies- 2 or 3 finely chopped

Ginger- small piece finely chopped

Oil

Hing

For garnishing:

Cilantro leaves

Lemon juice

Wash and grate the carrot. Add salt to taste and then pour the tempered ingredients to this and mix well. Add finely cut cilantro leaves and some lemon juice to this.

Sutta appalam:

This is the healthier version of the usual deep fried appalams. All you need for this the regular appalam and roast it on both sides in a gas stove without burning it. I used the Iddiki to hold the appalam and roast it in the flame.

It will be tasty to have a little ghee in the middle of this roasted appalam (of course for kids)

The Secret Ingredient....

2008-06-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are familiar with my other blog, this one is to bring out the culinary side in me and share it with you all. When I was thinking about giving a title to this blog there were so many captions that came to my mind and finally decided to settle down with the "Ready for a Sumptuous Meal". As soon as I thought about the word Sumptuous then there was no second thought. This is bcos- 'Sumptuous' was the adjective that was used to describe the first ever meal(the veggie biriyani) I prepared in my initial experiments with cooking- the appreciation I received from my dearest Daddy.....It is that appreciation that has made me explore so much more about cooking. Though I always miss him, I keep in mind 'Atithi Devo Bhavah'(Visitor is god) when I cook for everybody and to make sure it reaches him, I add that little secret ingredient- LOVE.