Coconut Rice (South Indian)

This is a very simple and easy to prepare dish. It is my entry to this month's AFAM hosted by Suganya of Tasty palettes.

Ingredients

Raw/Basmathi rice- 1 cup

coconut grated- 3/4 or 1 cup

oil- 1 tbsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Split urad dal- 1/2 tsp

channa dal- 1 tsp

curry leaves- 1 sprig

red chillies- 4

cashew nuts(optional)- a few

peanuts (optional)- a few

asafoetida-a pinch

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

salt to taste

Method

Cook rice until done. Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds, cashewnuts, peanuts, channa dal, urad dal,curry leaves, red chillies, asafoetida and then finally the coconut.Fry for a couple of minutes(the colour of the coconut should not turn brown while frying) and then add to the cooked rice.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

onion pakoda

Onion pakoda is one of the popular street side snacks in Tamilnadu. I have tried making these pakodas sometime back but it didn't come out well. It turned out to be very hard. My husband loves these pakodas and so when i came across them in Sumi's blog last week, I thought should give it a try. I completely followed her recipe(except that I added hot oil, coriander leaves and saunf) along with her tips .It really turned out nice and crispy... This recipe from Sumi's kitchen is my contribution to the MBP 'Street food ' started by 'coffee of spicecafe' and hosted by 'Sia of Monsoon spice'.

Its Completely Sumi's Recipe and Iam just posting it for my own records.

Ingredients

Gram flour/besan- 1 cup

rice flour- 1 cup

cooking soda- 1/4 tsp

red onions- 2 medium/large chopped into thin strips

green chillies- 2 chopped finely

garlic- 3 cloves- crushed

ginger- a small piece - crushed

cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

saunf- 1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 1 tsp

curry leaves- a few chopped

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

hot oil-3 tsp

oil for deep frying

salt to taste

Method

Take all the ingredients except oil, in a bowl and mix well with hands . Heat oil in a kadai and when hot add 3 tsp of that to the besan mixture. mix well and divide the mixture into 4 or 5 portions.Take one portion into a plate.Sprinkle very little water and then mix it slightly with your hand.Be careful not to sprinkle very little water as the mixture should not become soggy.

Take some mixture , press it with ur hands and drop it in hot oil. Take it out when they are slightly golden brown and drain the excess oil by placing it in a paper towel. continue with the other portions too. Serve hot with tea.

Store the rest in air tight container.

Sumi's tip:

If you add/sprinkle water to the whole batch, the flour will soak up the water and the pakodas will not be crispy.So always do it in small batches.

Stuffed masala kulchas

“Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.” Got another award and thanks Jayasree for passing this Award to me.

I would like to pass on this award to

Kribha and

sra

Stuffed masala kulcha was adapted from sanjeev kapoor's collection of recipes. Tried kulcha for the first time and it really turned out very soft . This is my contribution to Srivalli's Roti mela. Ingredients

For the Dough

maida- 3 cups

curd-1/4 cup

warm milk- 3/4 cup

yeast - 1 1/2 tsp

sugar- 1tsp

baking powder- 1/2 tsp

butter- 2 tbsps

salt - 1 tsp or acc to taste

oil

For the Filling

potatoes- 2 medium, boiled and grated
paneer-100 gms, grated

onion-1 chopped finely

green chillies- 2 chopped finely

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

lemon juice(optional)- little

salt to taste

Method

Mix yeast and sugar in lukewarm milk.Cover with a lid and keep aside for 1/2 an hour or until it becomes frothy.

Mix maida, baking powder and salt. Add butter and curds to it and mix well.

Now add the activated yeast mixture and make a soft dough. Leave it covered for 4 hours.

After 4 hrs the dough would have doubled in size. Add 1 tbsp of oil and knead it well for 10 minutes.

Mix all the ingredients for the filling.

Divide the dough into equal sized balls , Take one , roll it into a small circle and place 1 or 2 tsp of the filling in the center. Bring the edges together and seal them . Dust with flour and roll out into 1/2" thick parathas.

Place it on a heated tava and cook on both sides by brushing with a little oil.

Serve hot with chole , raita or any curry.