Paneer Parathas

I love stuffed parathas and so I prepare it often with different stuffings. There is another convenience in making stuffed parathas. You don’t need to make any gravy or curries for this as we do for the regular chappathi. U just can have it with raita or pickle.

Ingredients

Wheat flour-2 cups
Paneer- 1 cup grated
Onion-1 chopped finely
Coriander leaves-2 tsp chopped finely
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Chilli powder- ¾ tsp or acc to taste
Green chilli- 1 cut finely
Garam masala- ½ tsp
Salt to taste
oil

Method

Add salt and water to the wheatflour and knead to a soft and smooth regular chappathi dough.
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add the onions and green chillies. When the onions turn transparent add the turmeric, chilli and the garam masala powders. Saute for a minute and then add the grated paneer. Fry for 2 minutes and finally add salt and coriander leaves.

There are 2 ways by which u can do stuffing..
1) Take a medium sized ball(slightly bigger than golf ball) from the dough and roll it into a thick chappathi(4” approx). Keep the filling in the center and fold the sides of the chappathi towards centre. Press in the middle slightly and dust with plain flour. Roll out into chappathis(6” approx) slowly without giving much pressure.

2) Take a medium sized ball and divide into two. Make small chappathis . keep the filling in one chappathi and close it with another. Dust with flour and Roll out into chappathis without giving any pressure .

Heat tawa and then place the chappathis and drizzle oil on the sides. Turn over and cook till it is golden brown. Serve hot with raita of ur choice and pickles.(u can apply butter on top if u like )

Kozhukattai

Today is vinayaka chaturthi and it is celebrated all over India in a grand manner. In my house When I was a kid , we buy a ganesha idol made of clay. I remember the beautiful,colourful umbrella which comes with the idol.
We decorate our house with kolams, we tie mavilai and thoranam to the entrance of the house and the puja room.
Kozhukattai(modak) is the favourite dish of Lord Vinayaka. So my Mom makes different varieties of kozhukattai and sundal which we offer during the puja.
The third day after making a puja we immerse the idol in well. This is an interesting event and me, my sister and brother will be waiting to do this. In those days we had a well in our house and so we immersed the idol there. But nowadays there is only borewell in every house in chennai and so we take the idol to the temple.
Festivals do make us remember of our childhood days.

Kozhukattai(1)

This is yet another recipe I learnt from my MIL.She makes this once in a month for every ‘Sangadahara Chaturthi’.

Ingredients

Riceflour-1 cup
Coconut grated -2cups
Jaggery- slightly less than ½ cup
Milk- ½ cup
Ghee- 1tsp
Cardomom powder- ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Oil- 4 tsp

Method

Mix ½ cup of milk , 1 ½ cups of water to the rice flour, ghee and a pinch of salt together. Heat the batter in a pan (preferably non stick) and keep stirring without any lumps, till it forms a dough consistency.
When it is cooled add 4 tsp oil to that and knead it into a soft dough.Make small balls out of this.
Now for the filling mix the jaggery, coconut and cardomom powder in a pan and heat it. After 6 to 8 minutes if u take some in ur hands u will be able to roll out balls. Remove from heat now and when cooled make small balls(smaller than the rice flour balls).

Kozhukattais can be made in two ways.
a) For ball shaped: press the rice flour ball in the middle and make a cup . keep the coconut ball inside this and close it.

b) For flat shaped: Place a plastic sheet on top and bottom of the riceflour ball and press with a small plate or bowl(round and flat). Place the filling and close it. Seal the edges and mark lines with a fork.

Steam the kozhukattais in pressure cooker using idli plates.

Kozhukattai(2)

My Mom makes this type of kozhukattai very well.This is the first time Iam trying this .

Ingredients

Riceflour-1cup
Jaggery- ¾ cup
Coconut grated- 4tsp
Cardamom powder- ¼ tsp

Method

Add ¼ cup of water to the jaggery in a non stick pan and bring to boil. Add the other ingredients to it. When it forms a ball like dough without sticking to the sides, remove from heat.
When cooled make small balls. Place them in ur hands and close ur fists to get the desired shape. steam them in idli plates for 10 mins(like idlis).

Also Check out the other versions of Kozhukattai

1.Akshayapaatram

2. Menutoday

Vinayaka Chaturthi Wishes

HAPPY VINAYAKA CHATURTHI

Rava Dosa

Rava dosa is a favourite recipe in our house. I make this once every two weeks. There are different versions in the measurements of riceflour, sooji and maida and I have tried many. Somehow I am comfortable with this version as it is quick and easy to make. It tastes delicious with sambar and chutney.This is my entry to Pavani's Weekend Breakfast Blogging Event .

Ingredients

Riceflour-1 cup
Rava or sooji- ½ cup
Maida- ¼ cup
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Green chillie-1 chopped finely
Pepper- a few
Curry leaves- a few
Ginger- a small piece chopped finely
Coriander leaves- a few chopped finely
Onion- ½ chopped finely
Oil and ghee

Method

Mix the rice flour, maida and rava and add water and salt to it. The batter should be watery and flowing. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, when it splutters add onions and other ingredients .Fry for 2 minutes till the onion turns transparent. Add this to the rava batter.
Heat the tawa (the tawa should be very hot while u are pouring the batter) and take one ladleful of batter and spread on the tawa starting from the sides and finishing off in the middle as rava dosa cannot be spreaded like ordinary dosa. Drizzle ½ tsp of oil and ¼ tsp of ghee on the sides. When it becomes golden brown turn it over.

Serve hot with sambar.

Note:

Make sure the batter is very thin(thinner than the dosa batter). If the batter becomes thick after making few dosas add little water to it.

Some people use equal amts of rice flour and sooji too.

Paneer Tikka Rolls - BFR #1

Blogger Friends recipes (BFR)#1

Trying out new recipes is one thing I always love to do.When I go thru the fellow bloggers blogs I used to bookmark some recipes which I find interesting, so that i can give it a try. I wanted to add those recipes ,which I tried ,to My CookBook.

I wanted to try Latha's (Masala Magic) paneer tikka rolls ever since I saw the recipe in her blog. Today for dinner I tried it and it was a big hit. It was very Delicious. As I didn’t have potato, which was in her recipe , I used some peas in the place of potato. I did seasoning with mustard seeds and curry leaves for the tikka curry too. These are the changes I did with her recipe.
Here goes the Recipe…

Blueberry Peach Smoothie

We took our 4 year old daughter Vidhya to the farm last week.
The farm had a blueberry & peach picking tour and a hay ride. A wagon filled with hay, tours the farm to pick the crops and brings us to the Animal barnyard. We had a good time picking blueberries and peaches while Vidhya enjoyed the animals in the barnyard.
We picked a lot of berries and peaches and so I thought of making a smoothie with it…



Ingredients

Ripe, juicy peaches-2
Blueberries- a handful
Banana- ½ (optional)
Honey- 1tsp
Rose syrup-1 tsp( which we use to make rose milk)
Sugar- 2 tsp or acc to taste
Milk-1 cup
Ice cubes- 5 cubes

Method

Wash , peel and cut the peaches. Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Serve chilled.

Note: It is optional to use banana , but banana gives a nice thick, creamy texture to the smoothie.

Paniyaram

Paniyaram is a sweet dish made with rawa. This sweet is made in our house on festivals like Tamil New year and Deepavali. U can try this snack anytime … I would like to share with u the recipe of paniyaram , which I made this weekend.



Ingredients

Rava or sooji- 1 cup
Maida-3/4 cup
Sugar-1cup
Elachi powder-1/4 tsp
Oil for deep frying

Method

Mix rawa with water(thick paste so that no water stands on top) for half an hour. Be careful to add very little water so that batter doesn't become too watery.Add sugar , maida and elachi powder to the rawa paste. Mix it well and add little water if necessary. The batter should be thick like vada batter.
Heat oil in kadai and pour the batter with a ladle( smaller than the one u use for dosa) one at a time. When it becomes light brown turn over.

Onion Chutney

Ingredients

Red onions- 3
Garlic- 5 cloves
Chilli powder- 1tsp or acc to taste
Tamarind- 1 inch piece(small)
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Split urad dal-1/4 tsp
Curry leaves – few
Oil- 4 tsp

Method

Peel, wash and cut the onions into cubes.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the onions and peeled garlic.
Fry in oil till onions turn golden brown. Remove from fire and cool.
Grind the onion mixture with tamarind, chilli powder and salt.
Heat the remaining oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds , urad dal and curry leaves. Add this to the ground onion paste.
Serve hot with idlis or dosas.

Red Bean Curry

I got this red bean from Korean market in NJ. I havent seen this fresh red beans in Indian stores.Back in India we make this curry using ‘butter beans’. Unlike this red bean it will be white in colour. It is used commonly in south part of Tamilnadu(Virudhunagar, Tuticorin etc). I have tried different varieties of beans to prepare this curry but only this red bean was similar to the taste of the butter beans. Here goes the recipe.

Ingredients

Red beans- 1 pack
Onions-1 finely chopped
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Coconut gratings- 3 tsp
Saunf-1/2 tsp to
Khus khus-3/4 tsp
Mustard seeds-little
Curry leaves – few
Oil-4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook the red beans with salt for 1 whistle.
Grind coconut , saunf and khus khus into a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add onions and curry leaves. Saute till turns transparent and add the ground paste and chilli powder.saute for a minute and then add the cooked beans. Add salt to taste and add ¼ cup of water. Cook till it becomes thick and dry.
Serve hot with rice and sambar.

Sakkarai Pongal

Happy Krishna Jayanthi!!!

Sri Krishna Jayanthi - also known as Gokulashtami or Janmashtami, is the birthday of Lord Krishna. In Tamilnadu the houses are decorated with Maavilai and thoranam(leaves from mango and palm trees). Patterns of small feet, drawn with rice flour are made, leading from the house entrance to the puja room, where the idol of Lord Krishna is kept. This symbolises the baby Krishna coming to his devotees' house to bless them and leaving behind his footsteps.Special dishes like murukku, seedai, vella seedai, thengozhal, payasam are all made and offered to the Lord. In the evening, usually a special pooja is done to mark the occasion and people ask one another "krishnar onga veetukku vandacha?" (Has Krishna come to your house?). Kids are also dressed up as Krishna and Radha (young Krishna's lady love at Brindavan).
Source- Chennai online



Ingredients

Raw Rice-1 cup
Moong dal-1tsp
Milk-1 cup
Jaggery grated-2 ½ cups
cashews-10
Raisins-10-15
Ghee-3 tbsp
Elachi powder- 1 tsp

Method

Pressure cook rice and moongdal with milk+water in the ratio of 1:4.
Add ½ cup of water to the jaggery and heat it. When the jagagery melts completely in water , remove from fire, filter it( to remove the dirt from jaggery) and add to the cooked rice. Stir for 3 mins so that the rice and the jaggery blend together.
Heat ghee in a pan and add cashews and raisins to it. Fry till it becomes golden brown and add to the pongal. Finally add elachi powder to it.

Pasta with tomatoes and green pepper

I saw this recipe in food network channel. I liked it , but I added the maggi masala powder for better taste. If u do not have maggi powder any curry powder is fine. Try this out and let me know.

Ingredients

Penne rigate pasta- 3 cups
Onions-1 chopped finely
Tomatoes- 1 chopped finely
Green bellpepper-1 chopped finely
Tomato sauce-4 tsp
Maggi masala powder- 1 pack
Salt to taste
Pepper- 1/4 tsp
Garlic-1 clove chopped finely
Oil- 1 tsp (extra virgin olive oil is better)

Method

Boil the pasta with salt . drain and rinse in cold water.
Heat 4 tsp of oil in a pan and add onions and garlic. Sauté till the onions become transparent and then add the bell pepper and tomatoes. Sauté for 2 minutes and then add the tomato sauce, salt , pepper and the maggi masala. Fry for a minute and then add the cooked pasta. Mix it well with the masala. The pasta is ready to eat.

Kheer

When I saw the ingredient for JFI event in vineela’s cuisine the first thing that came into my mind was ‘sweets’. Yes milk and milk products always remind me of sweets somehow.
Iam posting a simple but very tasty , easy to cook recipe of KHEER.
I learnt this recipe from one of my friend.One reason I like in this recipe is, it is made without ghee, but still tastes rich. Try out this and let me know.



Ingredients

Whole Milk-6 cups
Sugar-3/4th cup
Basmathi rice-1/4th cup
Cashews-15 to 20
Raisins – a few
Coconut grated -2 tsp

Method

Boil the milk in a thick bottomed pan.(It is better not to do this in a non stick pan as milk becomes brown at the bottom of the pan ) if u do not have a thick bottomed pan use a pressure cooker.
Grind the basmathi rice in the mixer( do not grind it finely. Grind it very very coarsely. Just one turn of the mixer and that is enough. Basically the rice should be broken
Into two..)
Add the rice , cashews , raisins and coconut to the boiling milk.
Keep in a medium flame for 15 minutes,partly covered and stirring in between.
After 15 to 20 mins the milk would have become thick and rice would have been cooked. Check for it.
Finally add the sugar . keep in flame 3 to 5 mins till the sugar dissolves completely and remove from fire.
Cool it and refrigerate it.
Serve chilled.

Note:

Serve this chilled. This tastes yummy when it is cold than warm.
U can use condensed milk instead of sugar too..

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I don’t do that much of baking ,though I wish to. This cake is done using readymade cake mix. It is a very easy and quick to make
Cake. It tastes delicious too….

Ingredients

Betty crocker super moist cake mix(french vanilla)- 1 pkt
Pineapple slices- 1 tin
Cherries(fresh or tinned)- a few
I have used fresh ones . but the tinned ones are better
Eggs- 3
Oil- ¼ cup
Water- 1 ¼ cup
Butter- 1 tsp

Method

Prepare the cake batter as per the directions in the cake mix packet using eggs, oil and water.
In a cake pan smear butter and then arrange the pineapple rounds and cherries.
Pour the cake batter until ½ of the pan. Leave space for the cake to rise.
Bake the cake in a 350 degrees preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes.
When cool place a plate on the cake pan and turn it upside down.

Mixed Vegetable Kurma

This is a wonderful recipe I learnt from my MIL . Every Sunday morning my MIL would never forget to prepare Poori and mixed veg kurma. Before marriage I have had only poori kizhanghu( the usual aloo masala which comes with poori) . But when I tasted this kurma with poori I liked it too. I hope u will too…

Ingredients

French Beans- 10 cut finely
Carrot-1 cut finely
Potato-1 cut finely
Peas- ½ cup
(U can use frozen cut veggies too.If u are using so use 2 cups of mixed vegetables which is usually carrot,peas,beans and corn)

Onions-2 chopped finely
Tomato-1 big chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste- 3 tsp
Cinnamon- 1stick
Cloves- 4
Star anise-2
Garam masala powder- ½ tsp
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Salt to taste

To grind
Green chillies-4 to 5 or acc to taste
Coriander seeds- 1tsp
Jeera-1 tsp
Saunf or Aniseed- 1tsp
Cashews -6
Khus khus-1tsp
Coconut 4 to 5 tsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tsp finely chopped

Method
Heat 4 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee in a pressure cooker . Add cinnamon, cloves and star Anise. Then add the onions, saute for some time and add the ginger garlic paste. Fry for some time and add the tomatoes. Saute till the tomatoes become soft and add all the vegetables. Add salt garam masala and turmeric powder. Then add the ground masala and fry for some time .Add 1 glass of water and pressure cook. Simmer for 5 mins after the 1 st whistle. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with poori or chapathis or paranthas.

Palak Rice

Spinach is a rich source of iron. Hence I try to include it in our diet at least once in a week. Cooking spinach with dal always was boring and so I wanted to try something new. This recipe which I learnt from a friend is very tasty and different. It is very easy and quick to make too. Try this out and you will also like it.



Ingredients

Palak – 1 bunch
Cashews- 8 to 10 pieces
Coconut grated- 1 to 2 tsp
Green chillies-4 or acc to taste
Lemon -1
Coriander leaves(optional)- a few


Method

Wash the palak leaves and cut it.
In a pan just add the palak and sauté it for 2 to 3 mins. No need to add water.
Then grind it with cashews,coconut, green chillies, salt and corianderleaves(optional).Heat 4 tsp of oil in a pan , and fry the ground paste for a few mins. ( do not fry it for a very long time or cover it with lid as the colour may change). Mix this with already prepared plain rice.
Sprinkle lemon rice in the rice and serve hot

Raw Banana Varuval

Ingredients

Raw banana-2
Chilli powder-2 tsp
Coriander pwder-2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method

Peel the skin of the raw banana and cut into medium rounds(1/4 inch approx ) Boil water in a pan add the pieces and cook for 5 to 10 mins. The veg should not be over cooked.
Mix chilli powder, coriander powder and salt in a bowl and make a paste by adding water ( the paste should be thinner than the bhajji consistency)
Dip the cooked raw banana pieces into the paste. On a heated tawa add 1 tsp of oil and arrange the pieces. Drizzle oil on the sides and when the veg turns golden brown flip them and cook them until it is brown on the other side.
Serve hot with sambar and rice.

Tomato kuzhambu

Kuzhambu is more used in Tamilnadu. It is not always dal based .It literally means thick liquid that has more than one ingredient. It is usually served with plain white rice. We in tamilnadu need a kuzhambu to mix it with plain rice. Here is one type of kuzhambu that u will love...



Ingredients

Ripe red tomatoes-4 chopped finely
Onions-1 cut into thin strips
Green chillie-1
Potato – 1 small cut into medium pieces
Drumstick- 3 small pieces(3 inches length) slit half
Curry leaves- a few
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Coconut milk- 4 to 5 tsp
To grind
Coconut-3 tsp
Red chillies-2 if long or acc to taste
Ginger- 1 small piece
Khus khus- ½ to 1 tsp
Jeera-1/2 to 1tsp
Coriander seeds-1 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add onions, green chillie& curryleaves. Saute till the onions become transparent and add the tomatoes. Saute till it becomes soft and add the ground masala. Add 1 glass of water . when it boils add the potato pieces and drumstick pieces. Cook in a medium flame covered. After 5 mins add the coconut milk. Cook till the vegetables are cooked and the oil seperates. Serve hot with rice.

Note: the kuzhambu should be in a loose gravy consistency. So if it becomes very thick add water to it.

About My Cook Book

Welcome to my site. I love to cook, I love to try new recipes and I love to eat different varieties of foods. I had no idea about these amazing food blogs until a couple of months before I came across ‘mahanandi’s blogspot when I was googling for a ‘capsicum curry’ recipe. This was my first visit to a food blog and it was incredible. I was very impressed by her website. Then for a whole week I was sitting in front of the computer and visiting the food blogs whenever I had time. I found it so interesting to see all your works and wanted to try one by myself. But I was not sure whether I can do it. The credit goes to my husband Sundar who encouraged me to get into blogging. So this was how I created my own blogspot.
I have been cooking after marriage( 6 years ) ,and learnt a lot from my mom, my aunt, my mother-in-law, friends, from the net , from you bloggers, of course with a personal touch of mine. I am a simple cook and I usually note down the recipes which I like in a diary- my cook book.
So I am presenting before you the recipes in my cooking. These are simple Indian recipes which I cook in my home everyday and I hope you all will try it too.
Thanks for stopping by and do visit often.
If you try out my recipes please leave a comment and I would appreciate it.

Healthy Tofu Podimas

In recent times consumption of soyfoods have increased steadily and people are becoming aware that soyprotein offers a good alternative to meat, poultry and animal based products . Tofu which is prepared from soymilk is rich in proteins has low calories, contains beneficial amounts of iron (especially important for women of child bearing age) and has no cholesterol(a risk factor for heart disease).
I wanted to include tofu in my cooking and heard thru my friends that tofu can be used in place of paneer. I made palak paneer using tofu . Though it came out well ,we did not like the taste of it. It was then one fine day I thought of grating the tofu and prepare it like egg podimas . U wont believe!! it looked just like egg scrambles and was good to eat also.
From that day tofu podimas has become a regular item in our house. I make this dish once in a week. Try this out and u will love it.



Ingredients

1 pack of firm tofu
onions- 1 large chopped finely
Tomato- 1/2 chopped finely
Green chillies-3 chopped finely
curry leaves- a few
coriander leaves- a few
pepper powder- less than 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Method

Heat 2 to 3 tsps oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add onions, green chillies and curryleaves. Fry till the onions become trans parent and add the tomatoes. saute till it becomes soft.
wash the tofu and grate it with a grater. u can straight away grate it to the cookingpan itself. cover it with a lid ,keep it in a slow flame and cook for 10 mins. No need to add water. Add salt and pepper powder. Garnish with coriander leaves. Tofu podimas is ready.