My Cookbook

Coriander Rice

2011-03-10T16:57:00.004-05:00

Got this simple but wonderful recipe from my friend Jayanthi. Perfect for lunchbox.

Ingredients

Rice( basmati/sona masoori)- 2 cups

coriander leaves- 1 bunch

green chillies- 4 or acc to taste

coconut (grated)- 1 1/2 tbsp

onion- 1 large chopped into thin slices

salt to taste

For seasoning

oil- 2 tbsp or acc to taste

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

channa dal- 1 tsp

jeera-1/2 tsp

red chillies-2

ginger- a small pice chopped finely

curryleaves- a few

asafoetida- little

Method

Cut the stems from the coriander bunch, wash well and chop them roughly .

Grind coriander leaves, coconut and green chillies to coarse paste.

Cook rice seperately.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, channa dal, jeera, red chillies, asafoetida, ginger and curry leaves.

Add onion slices and saute until it turns transparent. Then add the ground paste and salt. Fry for some time till the raw smell disappears.

Add cooked rice to it and serve hot with raita.

Note:

U can add green peas or lima beans in the coriander rice.

Banana bread

2011-02-24T14:02:00.005-05:00

Ingredients

Wheat flour- 1 cup

All purpose flour- 1 cup

butter-1/2 cup

sugar-1 cup

baking powder- 1 tsp

baking soda-1 tsp

bananas (well ripened)-3

walnuts -1/2 cup chopped

eggs-2

salt-1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
Bring the butter and eggs to room temperature.
Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time to the butter, sugar mixture and beat well.
Mash the bananas seperately and add vanilla essence and sour cream to it .
In another bowl ,sift together the wheat flour, all purpose flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ones and fold in the chopped walnuts. Mix gently and pour the batter in the greased loaf pans.
Bake for 50 minutes or until the toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.
note:
I have used equal amts of wheat and all purpose flour. You can use wheat flour alone if u are health conscious or make it the regular way with all purpose flour only.

Mixed vegetable chutney

2011-02-09T14:24:00.007-05:00

I got this recipe from my friend Radha. It tastes great with Idly and dosa. Goes well with rice too.

Ingredients

onion-1

Zuchini-1

capsicum- 1

Red pepper- 1/2

carrot-1

brinjal -1 medium sized or 2 small

urad dal-1 tbsp

channa dal- 1 tbsp

salt to taste

red chillies- 5 or acc to taste

tamarind - a small piece

oil- 2bsp

coriander leaves- a few

curry leaves - a few

Method

chop all the vegetables into cubes.

Heat oil in a pan and add channa dal, urad dal, curryleaves. When the dals become golden brown add the chopped onions. Saute for a couple of minutes till it becomes transparent and then add all of the veggies along with tamarind and chillies.

Saute for some time till the veggies soften. Add the coriander leaves finally and remove from fire .

Grind them when cool and serve with idly or dosa.

Gobi Manchurian -dry

2011-01-07T09:25:00.009-05:00

Ingredients

For deep frying

cauliflower-1 , cut into small florets

allpurpose flour/ maida-6 tbsp

cornstarch-4 tbsp

chilli powder- 1 tsp or to taste

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

For the sauce

oil-1 1/2 tbsp

yellow onion(medium size)-1 chopped finely

green onions- 1 bunch,chopped (the base white part and top green part seperately)

ginger- a small piece, chopped finely

green chilli- 1 chopped finely

garlic- 5 cloves, chopped finely

corn starch-1 tbsp

chilli sauce-1-2 tsp acc to taste

tomato sauce-1tbsp or to taste

soy sauce-1 tbsp or to taste

salt to taste

Method

Mix all purpose flour/maida ,cornstarch ,chilli powder and salt in a bowl and a little water to make a thick paste (bhajji consistency).

Wash cauliflower florets and add it to the paste. mix it well so that the florets are coated well with the paste.

Deep fry the florets in oil and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onions and the base part of the green onions. fry for some time and add the chopped ginger , garlic and green chilli pieces.Add salt to taste.

Saute for a minute and add the chilli sauce, tomato sauce and soysauce.

Mix the cornflour with water and add it the mixture.Simmer the flame and when the sauce thickens add the deep fried cauliflower florets.

Mix well so that the florets are covered well with the sauce. sprinkle the chopped green part of the spring onions and serve hot.

Blueberry Muffins

2009-07-10T09:36:00.006-04:00

Ingredients

All purpose flour- 2 1/2 cups

sugar- 1 or 1 1/4 cup

baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
baking soda- 1 tsp
salt- 1/8 tsp

blueberries(fresh or frozen)- 1 1/2 cups

butter- 1/4 cup

eggs- 2

oil- 1/4 cup

milk- 3/4 cup

yogurt- 1/4 cup

vanilla essence- 1 - 2 tsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease the muffin tray.

Powder the sugar and sift it along with flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Bring the butter to room temperature and whisk it well . Add eggs to it and whisk again. Add oil, milk , yogurt, and vanilla essence to it and whisk everything well. You can use the hand mixer at low level too.

Toss the blueberries with a tbsp of flour ( so that the bluberries do not sink at the bottom of the muffins) and set aside.

Mix the flour mixture to the wet mixture with a rubber spatula. Do not whisk or beat the mixture at this stage as the muffins would turn out harder. Just mix them gently and fold in the blueberries. Be careful not to squish them.

Fill in the batter to the greased muffin pan until 3/4 th .

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean.

Cool them in wire racks.

note

I used 1 cup of sugar ,but felt the sweet content was less and so next time i would surely go for 1 1/4 cups.

Ven Pongal

2009-06-15T22:32:00.005-04:00

Ingredients

Rice- 1 cup

split/yellow moong dal- 1/2 cup

cashews-a few broken into small pieces or halved

cumin-seeds- 1tsp

pepper- 1 tsp

green chillies- 1slited

ginger - a small piece chopped finely

asafoetida- a couple of pinches

curry leaves- a few

salt to taste

oil-1tbsp

ghee- 1 tbsp

Method

Dry roast the dal lightly for a couple of minutes till a nice aroma comes and set aside. Be careful not to turn it brown.

Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker and when hot add the cashews,pepper, cumin, ginger,green chilli ,curry leaves and asafoetida. Keep in a low flame and make sure nothing gets burnt.

Add the dal and the washed rice to it and then add 4 cups of water . Check salt and pressure cook it. ( As we add more water for this , most of the time the water overflows . To avoid this I follow this method: partly cover with a lid, turn on high flame and let it boil. After some time when the rice , dal and water are in even consistency ,close with a lid. When steam comes add weight and simmer for 15 minutes.)

When the steam subsides completely,open the cooker and mix it well so that it gets mashed lightly.

Serve hot with sambar or coconut chutney.

Note

You can pressure cook the dal and rice and then do the seasonings finally too.

Vegetable Upma

2009-06-05T14:33:00.004-04:00

Ingredients

rava- 2 cups

onion- 1 chopped finely

tomato- 1 chopped finely

green chillies-2 slitted

ginger- 1 small piece chopped finely

carrot-1 chopped finely

beans- 6-8 chopped finely

peas- 1/2 cup

capsicum-1/4 chopped finely

potato-1 chopped finely

cooked channa- 1/4 cup

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp or less

chilli powder- 1/4 tsp or acc to taste

garam masala powder- 1/4 tsp

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

salt to taste

Seasonings

oil- 2 to 3 tbsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

channa dal- 1/2 tsp

cashews halved- 5

asafoetida- little

curry leaves- a few

Method

Dry roast the rava in a heavy bottomed pan for a couple of minutes till the raw smell disappears.

Transfer the rava in a different plate and keep aside.

Heat oil in the same pan and add mustard seeds, cashews, channa dal, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida one by one.

When the cashews turn golden brown , add the chopped onions, green chillies and ginger. Then add the chopped tomatoes, fry for some time and then add all the chopped veggies .

Saute for sometime and add salt, turmeric, chilli , garam masala powders and 1/2 cup of water to it.

Simmer the flame and close the pan with a lid .When all the veggies are cooked, add 2 cups of water and the roasted rava (1:1 ratio). Mix well and close with the lid for a minute. Upma is ready now... serve hot with chutney or pickle.

Bombay Sweet Toast

2009-05-04T14:32:00.006-04:00

Sorry for not posting for a long time... Will try to post atleast a few recipes in a month.

This is a very simple , yet tasty recipe...loved to share with you all.

Ingredients

Round Rusks- 10

milk- 2 cup

sugar-3 tbsp or to taste

ghee- 1/4 cup or to taste

Method

Boil the milk in a wide vessel. Add sugar to it and mix well.

Dip the rusks one by one for a couple of seconds and keep seperately in a plate.

Heat the tava and arrange 3 to 4 rusks in it. Melt ghee and add it liberally to the sides and the centre. Flip it over add little ghee and cook till golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot for an evening snack. Kids will love it!!!

Bell pepper (capsicum) Rice

2009-02-23T13:50:00.006-05:00

Ingredients

Basmathi/Raw rice- 2 cups

1/2 of each green, yellow , red and orange bellpeppers

green bellpepper-2 small ,cut into thin slices

onion-1 cut into thin strips

ginger-a small piece chopped finely

Turmeric powder- 1 0r 2 pinch

salt to taste

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

To Grind

copra (dry coconut)-2 tsp

red chilli- 1

coriander seeds- 1 tsp

channa dal-1 tsp

urad dal- 1tsp

cinnamon- a small piece

cloves-2

saunf- 1/4 tsp

slightly dry roast the dals alone and grind all this into a coarse powder.

To Season

oil- 2tbsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

chana dal- 1/4 tsp

peanuts- a few

cashews - a few

curry leaves- a few

Method

Cook rice and set aside to cool down.

Heat oil in a pan and add all the items for seasoning. when the cashews and peanuts turn golden brown add chopped onions and ginger . Fry for sometime and when the onions become transparent add the sliced bellpeppers.

Fry for a couple of minutes in high heat and add the ground masala , salt and turmeric powder.

Fry till the oil comes out on top and then add the cooked Rice.

Mix well and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chips and raita.

note

Sometimes instead of dry roasting the dals , I add a tsp of idli podi and it sure enhances the taste.

Adai Dosa

2009-02-03T14:29:00.008-05:00

It's been a long time since my last post... I went to India for a few weeks , had been busy with other things for the past three months, and now Iam ready to start posting . Adai dosai is a popular tiffin in Tamilnadu and I hope You all like this simple yet tasty recipe.

Ingredients

Raw rice-1/2 cup

Boiled rice or Idly rice- 1/2 cup

channa dal - 1/2 cup

toor dal- 1/4 cup

urad dal- 1/4 cup

red chillies- 4 to 5 or acc to taste

onion-1 chopped finely ( u can use sambar onions too)

curry leaves- a few chopped finely

coconut- 2 tsps grated(optional)

asafoetida- a pinch

salt - to taste

garlic-1 small clove (optional)

Method

Wash and soak the rice and dals for 2 to 3 hours.

Grind it along with salt, asafoetida, coconut ,red chillies and salt into a coarse paste by adding little water.The batter should not be thin and should be thicker than the dosa batter.Add the onions and curry leaves to the batter and mix it well.

Heat the tava, pour a ladleful of the batter and spread it thick.Drizzle some oil on the sides and flip over when it is golden brown.

Serve hot with coconut chutney or avial.

Note:

If you want the adai to be more crispy add 3/4-1 cupof channa dal and 1-2 tbsp each of toor and urad dal.

If you want the adai to be more healthy , you can add more dals like masore and moong dals too.

You can cut the coconut into teeth like pieces and add to the batter along with onions(instead of grinding).

Mysurpa & Ribbon Pakoda - Happy Diwali

2008-10-25T23:06:00.008-04:00

WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DIWALI !!!!

Sree Krishna Mysurpa is very famous in Tamilnadu. Unlike the traditional mysurepauk which is porous and a bit hard, this one is soft and melts in ur mouth. I searched for the recipe of mysurpa in the net and Jayashree Govindarajan's recipe attracted me. It was really surprising that this recipe turned out great and melted in my mouth almost like SKS mysurpa. I completely followed her recipe. She had written in tamil and so Iam giving her recipe in English. Thanks Jayashree for the wonderful recipe. I hope you guys would love to try it out sometime.

Ingredients

Gramflour- 1 cup

sugar- 2 1/2 cups

ghee- 2 1/2 cups

Method

Sift the gram flour in a fine seive and dry roast in a pan for 2-3 minutes.

Melt the ghee and keep it ready.

Heat the sugar and water(just add enough water to cover the sugar) in a thick bottomed kadai or a non stick pan for a couple of minutes, until the sugar dissolves completely.

Now add the gram flour slowly in small amounts stirring continuosly so that no lumps are formed. (use a wire whisk if lumps are formed)

When the gram flour starts to boil start adding the ghee little by little.(u can add all the ghee in 4-5 batches). Make sure the flame is simmered and it is important to stir continuously.

After you finish adding all the ghee, continue stirring for some time until the mixture thickens and forms one huge lump without sticking to the sides of the pan. The mixture at this stage will start to become slightly porous and will be in light golden colour.

Its the right time and so remove from fire and quickly pour it on a greased plate. press with a flat bottomed bowl or a spatula evenly. Cut into rectangles or any desired stage when hot.

note

Try making this with pure ghee. If u feel 2 1/2 cups is too much of ghee, you can reduce to 2 cups.

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients

Rice flour -4 cups
chutney dal(roasted chana dal/daliya)- 1 cup
Asafoetida- 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
butter- 4 to 5 tsp
chillie powder-2 tsp or acc to taste
oil for deep frying

Method

Grind the chutneydal in the mixie and sieve it. Mix riceflour,dal powder, butter, chilli powder, salt, asafoetida and add enough water to make it into a soft dough. Heat oil in a pan and squeeze the dough from the murukku press(place the mould/plate used for ribbon pakoda) into big circles. Deep fry the pakodas , drain it in paper towel and store in airtight containers when cooled.

Happy to send these recipes to

JFI: Festival treats hosted by Srivalli
Sunday Snacks: Fry it hosted by SnackoRama
Yummy Festival Feasts hosted by Pallavi
Festive Food: Diwali hosted by Priti

Tomato Rice

2008-09-24T13:50:00.004-04:00

This is a simple but very tasty recipe from my friend Shakthi. Earlier,I prepare tomato rice in a different way, But after tasting it in her house I liked it a lot and now I prepare tomato rice only by this method. I love the simplicity and the mild flavors in this dish.

Ingredients

Rice(sonamasoori/basmathi) - 2 cups

onion-1 big chopped into thin slices

tomatoes -2 (medium or big)chopped finely

green chillies- 2 slitted

ginger- 1 small piece finely chopped

garlic-cloves finely chopped

ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 3/4 - 1 tsp or acc to taste

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

mint leaves- a few chopped finely

salt to taste

For seasoning

oil- 2 tbsp

cinnamon- 1 small piece(optional)

cloves- 2( optional)

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

saunf- 1/4 tsp

jeera- 1/4 tsp

method

Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add mustard seeds, split urad dal, jeera, saunf ,(cinnamon,cloves) and curry leaves.

Add the chopped onion ,ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry till the onions turn transparent. (If you are adding ginger garlic paste add it now and fry for a couple of minutes.)

Now add the chopped tomatoes ,salt and turmeric powder.

Fry till the tomatoes become mushy. Add chilli powder and the chopped coriander and mint leaves.

Fry for a minute and then add the washed rice. mix well and add 3 1/2 cups of water. Check salt and pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Serve hot with papad /chips/raita.

Paneer Butter Masala

2008-09-16T12:39:00.005-04:00

Ingredients

Paneer- 1 pack

Onions- 2 medium

Tomatoes-3 big

Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp

Cashews- 10 whole

Milk- 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tsp

Jeera powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Everest kitchen king masala- 1/2 tsp

Kasoori methi - 1/4 tsp

Oil+ butter -3 tbsp (1:2)

Cinnamon- 1 small piece

Cloves- 2

Cardomom-1

Coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Salt to taste

Method

Peel the onions and boil them in hot water for sometime until it becomes soft. When cooled ,grind it to a smooth paste. Blanch the tomatoes and puree them.

Heat oil and ghee in a pan and add cinnamon,cloves and cardomom. Add the ground onion paste and fry for some time. Then add the ginger, garlic paste and fry for some time.

Then add the tomato puree. fry till the oil seperates and then add turmeric, chilli, dhania and jeera powders.Grind the cashews into a fine paste and add to the masala.

Add the milk , cover with a lid and cook in a slow flame till the masalas are well cooked .

Chop the paneer into cubes or strips . Add this along with garam masala powder, kasoori methi,salt and kitchen king masala . cook for 5 - 10 minutes or till the oil comes on top.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with parathas/roti/naan.

Note:

You can grind the onions and tomatoes straightaway without cooking in water and blanching them too. But I do this because the onions would be cooked well and there will not be any raw smell. The gravy would be done quickly and the taste would be better too.

If u want more rich gravy u can add half and half or fresh cream instead of milk .

If u need more gravy for parties, u can grind 1-2 tsps of coconut along with cashews.

U can adjust the masalapowders and butter as per your taste.

U can fry the paneer in oil or use fried paneer and add them to the gravy too.

I thank easy crafts and Illatharasi for passing these awards to me( a couple of months before). Thanks guys!!

Back with Carrot Halwa

2008-09-08T14:18:00.002-04:00

Ingredients

Carrots- 6 cups grated finely

sugar- 2 1/2 to 3 cups - acc to taste

milk- 3 cups

khoya- 1/2 cup or acc to taste ,crumbled

ghee- 3 tbsp

cashews- a few chopped finely

cardomom powder- 1 tsp

Method

Heat ghee in a thick bottomed pan and add the finely grated carrots and carrots. Saute for a couple of minutes and add milk. Partly cover with a lid and let the carrots get cooked in the milk.

Add the sugar and after it dissolves completely add the khoya and cardomom powder. Remove from heat when it becomes thick.

note:

Grate the carrots very finely so that the carrots would cook very quickly . If the grated carrots are not very fine then you may need to add some more milk.

You can adjust khoya, sugar and milk as per your taste.

Blogging break!!!

2008-07-15T22:25:00.000-04:00

Coconut Rice (South Indian)

2008-06-30T16:20:00.005-04:00

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

2008-06-17T13:29:00.007-04:00

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

2008-06-06T13:27:00.009-04:00

“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.

A Meme, An Award and Pav bhaji

2008-05-20T11:23:00.015-04:00

A Meme
Jamie of Flavor Pantry has tagged me for the Top 10 pictures meme. Thanks Jamie and here are my Top ten pictures.
Rasmalai Veg Manchurian and Fried Rice

Paniyaram Gobi 65 Ragda patties Vegetable cutlets

Appam Thattai Pin Wheel Sandwiches
Banana Blossom Curry

An Award

I got the Yummy blog award from Shri of Eminent life. Thanks shri for the Award.

"Yummy Blog award was first conceptualized by Roopa of Kitchen Treats. Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with the most yummy recipes/photos."

Rules for the ‘Yummy Blog’ award Receiver:

The person who receives the award should display the “Yummy Blog !” logo on their blog and also the meaning of the award which is “Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos”. The receiver should also quote their favorite yummy-licious :) dessert(s) that they have prepared/eaten.

My Favourite desserts are

1)Rasmalai

2)Badam halwa

3)cashew katli

4)mysorepa

5)Gulabjamoon

I would like to pass on this award to Sia of Monsoon spice as she has got lovely recipes and photos in her blog.

Pav Bhaji

Ingredients

potatoes-3

carrot- chopped 1 cup

peas- 1 cup

cauliflower- a few florets

capsicum- 1 chopped finely

onions-2 medium chopped finely

tomatoes-3 big chopped finely or ground to paste

ginger- 1 " piece

garlic- 3 cloves

green chilli-1

chilli powder- 1/2 tsp or acc to taste

pav bhaji masala- 2 tsp(I use everest brand)

adjust chilli powder and pav bhaji masala according to taste.

butter- 1 tbsp or acc to taste

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

lemon- 1/2

oil- 2 tbsp or slightly less

salt to taste

Pav buns or dinner rolls

Method

For Bhaji

Pressure cook potatoes, carrot , peas and cauliflower . Drain water and mash slightly.

grind ginger , garlic and green chilli into a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pan and then add chopped onions. Fry till they become transparent and add ginger, garlic and green chilli paste. Fry for a couple of minutes and add the chopped or ground tomatoes. Fry till it becomes mushy and add the chopped capsicum pieces. Saute for sometime and then add the coarsely mashed vegetables.

Mix well and add the chilli powder and pavbhaji masala. sprinkle 1 tsp lemon juice(optional) and cook till oil comes on top.

Then finally add the butter and chopped coriander leaves.

For Pav

Slit open the buns and toast them with butter on both sides.

Serve with bhaji, lemon and onion wedges.

Senaikizhangu Kuzhambu ( A gravy with yam)

2008-05-07T22:18:00.005-04:00

Ingredients

senaikizhangu (elephant yam)- chopped into cubes ,1 cup

onions- 2 chopped finely

oil-2tbsp

To grind

ginger- 1" piece

garlic- 3-4 cloves

green chilli-1

cashews-5

khuskhus- 3/4 tsp

coriander seeds- 2 tsp

cumin seeds-1 tsp

coconut(grated)- 3 tsp

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste

garam masala powder-1/2 tsp

salt to taste

For garnishing

corainder and mint leaves- a few chopped finely

Method

Wash, peel the yam and chop it into cubes. (Elephant yam is not available in our area and so I buy it frozen, in which the vegetable has been already chopped into cubes). Grind all the above ingredients to a very fine paste by adding water.

Heat oil in a pan and add finely chopped onions( Using chopped sambar onions or shallots gives more taste). Fry for some time till the onions become transparent and add the ground masala and the vegetable. Saute for a minute and add 1 - 1 1/2 cups of water. simmer the flame and partly cover the pan with a lid. cook till the vegetable is cooked and the gravy becomes thick and oil comes on top . Garnish with very finely chopped coriander and mint leaves. Serve hot with rice.

note:

You can cook this using chicken , mutton or soya chunks(meal maker) too.

Paneer Rice

2008-04-22T11:49:00.005-04:00

Sorry folks! I was not able to post anything for almost a month as I was a bit busy with a few other things... Here is a simple recipe of paneer rice which I hope you would love to try.

Ingredients

Fried paneer cubes- 1 pack

curd-3/4 cup

Basmathi rice-2 1/2 cups

turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 11/2 tsp or acc to taste

coriander powder- 2 tsp

kasoori methi- 1tsp

ginger garlic paste- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp

garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Onions- 2 medium, sliced

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

mint leaves- a few chopped finely

salt to taste

yellow/orange food color- a pinch(optional)

For seasoning

oil- 2 tbsp

butter - 2 tbsp

bayleaves- a few

cinnamon- 1 stick

cloves- 2

cardomom- 1

star anise-2

saunf-1/4 tsp

Method

Soak the basmathi rice in water for 10 minutes.

In a bowl add curd , chilli powder, turmeric powder, corainder powder, kasoori methi, ginger garlic paste, salt and garam masala powder. whisk well , add the paneer pieces to it and keep aside for 2 hours.

Drain the water from the rice add 2 tsp of oil and microwave it for 2 - 3 minutes.

Heat butter + remaining oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves, cardomom, star anise, saunf,bayleaves and sliced onions. Fry for a some time till the onions turn transparent and then add the paneer with the curd. Fry for a couple of minutes in medium flame till the oil seperates and then add the chopped coriander and mint leaves. remove from fire.

Add rice and water in the ricecooker in the ratio of 1: 1 3/4 and add the prepared paneer masala to it. cook till done, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with raita.

note

You can deepfry onions and cashews till golden brown and garnish on top.

Masal Vadai

2008-03-19T15:24:00.004-04:00

Ingredients

Channa dal- 1 cup

red chillies- 2-3 or acc to taste

saunf- 1/2 tsp

hing- a pinch

onions- 1 chopped finely

curryleaves- a few,chopped finely

coriander leaves - a few chopped finely

oil for deep frying

salt to taste

Method

Soak channa dal in water for 2 hours. Grind dal along with red chillies, saunf , hing and salt to a very coarse paste.

Add chopped onions,curry leaves and coraiander leaves to the paste and mix well. Make small balls and flatten it with ur palm.

Heat oil and deep fry the vadais. Serve hot with or without coconut chutney.

Note:

You can use yellow split peas instead of chana dal. By using this dal the vadais turn out to be more crispy.

Methi Paratha and Capsicum Carrot Raita

2008-03-11T17:20:00.004-04:00

Methi Paratha

Ingredients

Methi leaves- 1 small bunch

wheat flour- 2 cups

cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

ajwain-1/4 tsp

besan- 2 tbsp

yogurt- 2 tbsp

turmeric powder-little

chilli powder-1/2 tsp

ginger garlic paste-1/2 tsp(optional)

garam masala- a pinch

salt to taste

oil

Method

Clean the leaves well and chop finely. Add all the ingredients except oil and using water knead well to form a dough. keep aside for 1/2 an hour to 1 hour.

Make golf sized balls out of it and roll it into parathas.

Cook until brown spots appear on both sides adding oil to the sides.

Capscicum and carrot raita

Ingredients

capsicum- 1 small chopped very finely

carrot -1 small chopped very finely(or grated)

green chilli- 1 chopped finely

yogurt- 1 cup

oil-1 tsp

turmeric powder- a pinch

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

coriander leaves - a few chopped

salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in a pan add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds,green chilli and curry leaves. Then add the carrot pieces (add it first if u have chopped and add it last if u have grated) , fry for a minute and then add the capsicum pieces. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes , add salt and turmeric powder and remove from fire. Add whipped yogurt when cooled and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve with methi paratha.

Uthappam

2008-02-27T13:41:00.003-05:00

Ingredients

For Batter

Idli rice- 4 cups

Urad dal(whole)-1 cup

fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp

salt to taste

For Uthappam

Red onions- 2 chopped finely

tomatoes- 1 chopped finely

green chillie-1 chopped finely

ginger- a small piece chopped finely

coriander leaves - a few chopped finely

Method

Wash and soak the rice and and dal+fenugreek seperately for 4 hrs. Grind the dal first into a smooth paste by adding water little by little. Then grind the rice seperately into a fine paste. Mix the dal and the rice paste together , add salt and keep aside for 8 hrs or more, till the batter is fermented well. This is the basic dosa batter.

U can make uthappam with this basic dosa batter. But uthappams will taste best when the batter becomes a bit sour , that is after 2 or 3 days. So usually i make uthappams with the left over dosa batter.

Heat tava and spread little oil on it. Pour a ladleful of batter and spread the batter into a thick pancake with the ladle. Add little of the chopped veggies and drizzle a tsp of oil on the sides. When it is cooked on one side, carefully turn over and cook for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with idli podi or any chutney.

Stir Fried Vegetable Noodles

2008-02-14T12:39:00.004-05:00

Ingredients

Asian noodles- 1 pack

olive oil/or any oil of ur choice- 2 tbsps

soy sauce- 1-2 tsp

vinegar- 1 tsp

salt and pepper powder - acc to ur choice

garlic- 2 cloves finely chopped

onion- 1 small chopped into thin slices

carrot - 1 medium julienned

snow peas- 1/2 cup

green pepper-1 small julienned

yellow or red pepper- 1/2 small julienned

zucchini- 1/4 cup julienned

broccoli- 1/4 cup chopped into small florets

Method

Cook the noodles as per the package instructions.

Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic and onions. Saute for some time till the onions become transparent and then add the julienned vegetables. Stir fry in high flame for a few minutes. The vegetables should only be half cooked and should remain crisp . Now add the soy sauce, salt, pepper and vinegar. Then finally add the cooked noodles and mix it well . Noodles stir fry is ready to serve.

Ragda Patties

2008-02-05T14:02:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

For Patties

Large potatoes-3

Bread slices-2(optional)

salt to taste

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

oil- a few tsps

For Ragda

Whole yellow peas(soaked overnight)- 1 cup

onion-1 chopped finely

turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

coriander powder- 3/4 tsp

cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

green chilli-3-4

ginger and garlic- 1" pieces

For serving

Ingredients for Date chutney

Dates- 6

Extract form small lime sized tamarind

jaggery-2-3 tsp

chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

cumin powder-1/2 tsp

Ingredients for green chutney

mint leaves- 1/2 cup chopped finely

coriander leaves- 1 cup chopped finely

green chillies-6

lemon juice- 2 tsp

cumin- 1/4 tsp

rock salt-a pinch

Thin sev

finely chopped onion, tomato and corainder leaves- little

Method

Pressure cook the potaotes, peel the skin, mash well and add salt and turmeric powder. Wet the bread slices in water, squeeze it and add to the potatoes. mix everything well and make small patties. Heat little oil in a tawa and shallow fry the patties until golden brown on both sides. patties are ready

Heat oil in a pan/pressure pan and add the finely chopped onions. grind green chilli+ginger+garlic to a coarse paste and saute it along with onions. Add the soaked peas, all the powders and cook till they are soft and mushy. ragda is ready now.

soak the dates in hot water or boil it in water for 2 minutes. Grind the dates to a fine paste and add all the other ingredients in a pan and bring to boil. When the mixture becomes thick ,date chutney is ready

Grind all the ingredients together for the green chutney.

For serving, place one or two patties in a plate, pour a ladleful of ragda on top of it, add little of date and green chutneys, sprinkle sev on top and garnish with chopped onion, tomato and coriander bits.

Black bean salad

2008-01-23T13:29:00.000-05:00

I rarely make salads, though I know that they are very healthy. One of my friend had invited us for the thanksgiving dinner last year and this salad was one among the menu. I loved this salad as it was very attractive to see and it tasted great. I have made this thrice after having it in her house. Would really love to share it with u all.

Ingredients

Black bean- 1 cup

cucumber-1 small, chopped finely

onion- 1 small, chopped finely

tomato- 1 small, chopped finely

mango-1 big slice, chopped finely

coriander leaves- a few , chopped finely

green chillies-1 chopped finely

salt to taste

pepper powder- little

Method

Soak the black bean (if using fresh ones) overnight and cook till done (be careful not to overcook it). U can use the canned beans too and its very easy to make this salad with canned beans.

Add all the chopped veggies to the black bean and toss it up with salt and pepper. squeeze lemon juice and serve.

U can increase or decrease the amount of veggies as per ur taste. U can use any variety of beans to make this salad and add veggies such as carrots ,coconut,peas , boiled peanuts etc according to ur taste.

Ulli Theeyal

2008-01-11T19:11:00.000-05:00

'Ulli' means onion in malayalam and 'Theeyal' means burnt food. The coconut should be fried well until brown in this dish. Theeyal is almost similar to Tamilnadu's kaara kuzhambu. We don't fry the coconut for kaara kuzhambu and we add vegetables like brinjal and drumsticks to it.
This is my contribution to the RCI: Kerala hosted by Jyothsna of Currybazaar and JFI:Onions hosted by Radhika of Radhi's Kitchen.

Ingredients

pearl onions- 30 -35 peeled and sliced
coconut- 1/2 cup
tomato- 1 small
coriander seeds- 2 tsp
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
chilli powder- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp or acc to taste
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
tamarind- lemon sized
oil-2 tbsp
salt to taste
For seasoning
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
split bengal gram- 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- a few
red chilli -1
methi seeds- slightly less than 1/4 tsp

Method

Soak the tamarind in water and extract the juice out of it.
Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add coriander seeds, cumin, 10 - 15 onions and coconut one by one and fry for a couple of minutes.
When cooled add this along with turmeric powder, chilli powder , tomato and grind to a fine paste.
Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the seasonings one by one.Then add the rest of the sliced pearl/sambar onions and fry till it turns transparent.
Now add the ground paste and the tamarind juice. Add 1 cup of water to it and when it boils simmer the flame and close partly with a lid. Keep on flame for 15 to 20 minutes till the gravy thickens and oil seperates.
Serve hot with rice.

Note
U can add coriander powder and cumin powder too instead of seeds.
U can add brinjals and bittergourd instead of onions.
Check Anita's Ulli theeyal too.

Plum/fruit cake

2007-12-31T13:01:00.000-05:00

Wish You all a very happy and prosperous NEW YEAR!!!!!

Back in India , during Christmas we used to receive plum cakes as gifts from our friends.Thought I would give it a try this year... Its the first time Iam baking this cake.... I followed the recipes of RP, and Mishmash and the cake turned out really great. Mishmash's recipe was classic and was very useful. Its completely their recipe and just for my own records I have blogged it.

Ingredients

All purpose flour- 1 cup

sugar- 1 cup

butter- 1 stick

dried fruits-(dates, raisins, dried cherries,plums,pears, prunes and apricots)- 1 cup

dried nuts-(almonds, cashews and walnuts) 1/2 cup

eggs-3

baking powder-1 tsp

baking soda-1/2 tsp

salt-1/4 tsp

vanilla extract -1 tsp

candied lemon and orange peels- 1tbsp

spice powder(cinnamon, nutmeg,clove and dry ginger)- 1 tsp(I used the ready made one)

Rum or Brandy- 1/2 cup or grape juice- 1/4 cup and orange juice- 1/4 cup
For caramelising

sugar-1/4 cup

water - 1tbsp + 1/2 cup

Method

Chop the dried fruits and soak them inRum /Brandy or grape and orange juice for a few hours.

Add 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp water in a sauce pan and allow it to boil. Do not stir it and after a few minutes ,the sugar syrup changes to a cherry wood coloured caramel.Remove the pan from fire immediately ,keep under sink and add 1/4 cup of water to it. Be very careful as the caramel is very hot and it may splash. Let it cool completely. Add the vanilla essence to it.

Powder the sugar, chop the nuts and bring the eggs and butter to room temperature.

Sift the flour, baking powder,baking soda and salt. Add the spice powder to it and mix well.

Seperate the egg whites and yolks. Beat the whites until soft peaks are formed. keep aside .

Beat the powdered sugar and butter in a mixing bowl till light and fluffy.Now add the egg yolks to it one by one and beat well until the mixture is creamy.

Add the sifted flour and the caramel to it and mix well. Add the beaten egg whites and fold them in gently .

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cake pans with parchment paper and butter and dust them.

Now its time to add the chopped nuts and the soaked dry fruits to the cake mixture. Fold them gently into the cake batter. Spoon them into the greased cake pans and bake them for 50 minutes to 1 hour. The cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.

Cool completely before storing it.

Rava Kesari

2007-12-17T13:02:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

Rava/sooji- 1 cup

Sugar- 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups

water- 1 1/2 cups

milk- 1/2 cup

ghee- 4 tbsp

cashews- a few

Raisins- a few

cardomom powder-1/4 tsp

kesari colour/orange food colour-a pinch

Method

Heat 3 tbsp of ghee in a pan and fry the rava for a few minutes till a nice aroma comes out. keep aside.

Boil the water and milk with the food colour and add rava to it slowly by stirring continuously , so that no lumps are formed.

Add sugar and mix well. By this time the rava would have been almost cooked and so reduce the flame and keep stirring in between.

In another pan heat 1 tbsp of ghee and add cashews and raisins. Fry till golden brown and pour over rava mixture. Sprinkle cardamom powder and mix well.

Kesari is ready to serve.

note

I used the fine semolina variety. If u are using the regular sooji, then add 3 cups of milk+water.

Vazhaipoo kuzhambu (Banana flower/blossom curry)

2007-12-03T13:33:00.000-05:00

This is a simple and easy to prepare kuzhambu prepared with banana blossom ,which is a very healthy vegetable and has lots of medicinal properties too. This is my MIL's recipe and I love to share this with you all.

Ingredients

Vazhaipoo(banana flower/blossom)-1

onions- 2 medium sized

green chilli -1 slitted

coconut milk- 3/4 cup( If using canned coconut milk just use 4 tbsp)

chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste

coriander powder- 1 tsp

jeera powder- 2 tsp

oil- 4-5 tsp

salt to taste

Method

Wash the whole blossom in water and start peeling the outer purple layers and the flowers inside them.

Keep on peeling the layers. The color of the purple cover will change to a pale hue and the flowers will become more tender as you reach the inner part.

Collect these tender flowers and keep peeling the layers till whole blossom becomes small enough to hold in ur palm.

Slit the blossom vertically into two.

Soak the blossom and the flowers in yogurt water to pervent it from turning brown.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker/pan and fry the chopped onions and green chilli. When the onions turn transparent add chilli,coriander and jeera powders. Fry for a minute and add the coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water to it.

When the coconut milk boils add the banana blossom along with the tender flowers. Check salt and pressure cook for one whistle.

Serve hot with rice.

Note

Cleaning the flower takes time and will make ur nails dirty. Apply yogurt or cooking oil or wear gloves in ur hands and clean them.

The peeled flowers before the tender stage can be used to make poriyal.

You can make mushroom and cauliflower kuzhambu too by follwing the same method.

Spinach Dal

2007-11-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

In Tamilnadu , we cook toordal with turmeric powder,do the normal seasoning and have it with ghee and rice. ..just plain dal without any veggies and we call this ' parupu saadham'. I have had paruppu only like this in my house. But after marriage, I came to know that dal can be cooked with veggies like spinach ,methi, mangoes etc.. thru my telugu friends. I found that interesting and different and started cooking toordal with veggies. Loved Indira's mango dal too. This is a simple ,yet tasty recipe of spinach dal which is one among my favourites. Its my entry to JFI event :toordal ,hosted by Linda of 'out of the garden'.

Ingredients

Toor dal- 1 cup

spinach- a small bunch

bell pepper- 1 medium chopped into cubes

onion- 1 medium chopped finely

tomato- 1 medium chopped finely

green chillies- 3 slitted

brinjal- 1 medium chopped into cubes

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

tamarind water- little

salt to taste

seasoning

Oil- 1 tbsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

split urad dal- 1/4 tsp

jeera- 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

red chilli-1

Asafoetida- a pinch

Method

Wash the spinach well and chop it ..

Heat oil in a pressure pan/cooker and add the seasoning ingredients one by one. Then add the onions and green chillies and fry for a minute. When the onions turn transparent add the tomatoes , fry for some time and then add the chopped bell pepper ,brinjal pieces and spinach.

Fry for some time and then add toor dal and turmeric powder. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook this for 15 minutes.

Add salt and little tamarind juice to dal , boil it for a couple of minutes and serve hot with rice.

Diwali Treats- Cashew kathli

2007-11-09T20:02:00.000-05:00

WISH U ALL A VERY HAPPY DIWALI!!!!!

This year for diwali, I made murukkus and cashew kathli. U can find the recipe of murukku here. This cashew kathli recipe is very easy to make and believe it, it is made without ghee. U can just make this within half an hour and u will surely love it. Love to share it with u all. This will go in as my entry for JFS:Diwali event hosted by Vee of Past,Present and Me

Ingredients

cashews- 500 gms

sugar- 250 gms

water-1/2 cup

silver warq(optional)

Method

Dry roast the cashews slightly for one minute in a pan. The cashews should not change in colour. When you touch the cashews after frying ,it should just be warm. Grind it immediately to a fine powder in a blender.(If we grind the cashews without frying slightly, it will not become a fine powder. ) Heat water and sugar in a non stick pan till one string consistency. It may take 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the flame and add the cashew powder to the sugar syrup. Stir it till it becomes thick and almost in a dough consistency. If u take out a pich of dough and roll it with ur fingers , it should not be sticky like the halwa. Remove from fire and allow it to cool for a minute. When it is slightly warm knead it like a chappathi dough.

Roll out into a big square , 1/4" thick in a greased platform. Apply silver warq and cut into diamonds.

Quesadillas

2007-11-01T21:49:00.000-04:00

Quesadillas are quick and easy to prepare, taste great and they make a good meal too. Here is how I make them...

Ingredients

Flour Tortillas-2
Canned Jalapenos-3 t0 4 pieces
canned cherry peppers-3 to 4 pieces
green bell pepper-1/4 chopped finely
white onion-1/4 cup chopped finely
button mush rooms- a few chopped
cheddar/monterey jack cheese- acc to ur taste
olive oil-3 tsp

Method

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and saute the onions, bell pepper and mushrooms for 2 minutes and keep aside.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in tawa/pan and place a flour tortilla. Place the mushroom mixture,cherry pepper slices and Jalapeno slices in the middle of the tortilla leaving 1 inch space all through the sides.
Add cheese and place the other tortilla on top. press the sides and turn over. Add oil to the sides. place some weight on top of it till the cheese melts and the tortillas are slightly toasted.
Cut into wedges and serve with sour cream or salsa.

note

U can add any number of fillings like lettuce,tomatoes,cucumbers and black beans as per ur wish. No need to saute the onions and bell peppers if u are not adding mushrooms.

Badam Halwa

2007-10-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Hi all, Iam back with badam Halwa. I got this recipe from my friend Abitha. Its a lovely recipe and adding MTR mix gives a very rich taste. Try it folks!!! and Iam sure u will love it. This is my entry for RCI Tamil festivals:Diwali , started by Lakshmik and hosted by Viji of VCuisine

Ingredients

Almond paste- 2 1/2 cups( If u are using fresh almonds soak overnight , peel the skin and grind to a paste. If using readymade sliced almonds , just grind with little water to form a paste.The paste can be very fine or a bit coarse like rava consistency ,according to ur taste.)

Milk- 2 1/2 cups

MTR badam feast- 1 1/4 cup

sugar- 3 to 4 tbsp or according to ur taste.

ghee- 1/4 cup or acc to ur taste.

Method

Heat ghee in a non stick pan and fry the ground almond paste in a medium flame for 8 to 10 minutes.

Mix the MTR powder with milk. Add this and sugar to the almond paste. keep stirring for 20 to 25 minutes till the halwa comes together as a single mass, without sticking to the pan.

This can be refrigerated upto 3 weeks. Have fun making this for diwali.

Blogging Break!!!

2007-10-03T13:36:00.000-04:00

As Iam having problems with my computer,Iam not able to post recipes... will see u all in a couple of days.....

Rava Idly with coconut and coriander chutney

2007-09-22T18:51:00.000-04:00

Rava Idly is a famous breakfast in the southern part of Karnataka. Do you know that Rava idlies were first invented at MTR? During World War II, rice was in short supply. MTR experimented with wheat and thus was born the enormously popular "Rava Idli."Source:MTR Foods

I have been making Rava idlies with MTR instant mix for a long time... they come out very well.

But I wanted to try it without the mix and then followed this method.. it turned out even more softer than the instant mix . So needless to saythat from then on I am making rava idlies without the instant mix. You can find the recipe of Rava idly in most of the blogs .... here is my way of doing it. This is my entry to the "Regional Cuisines of India" aka RCI event is started by LakshmiK from "Veggie cuisine" and hosted by dear Asha of Foodies hope.

Ingredients

Rava- 2 cups

curd- 2 cups

cooking soda- 1/4 tsp

oil- 3 tbsp

ghee- 2 tsp

salt to taste

seasoning

mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

urad dal - 1/2 tsp

chana dal- 1 tsp

cashews broken-2 tsp

ginger- a small piece chopped finely

green chillies- 3 chopped finely

curry leaves- a few

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Method

Heat oil + ghee in a pan and add the seasonings one by one. Then add the Rawa to it and fry for sometime till u get a nice aroma in a medium heat. (Be careful and dont burn it)

Transfer the rava to a bowl and let it cool . Beat the curd well and then add it to the rava.

Set aside for 2 to 3 hrs.

Add the cooking soda to the rava mixture and mix well. Add little water or milk if it is too thick.

Grease the idly plates and pour the batter in them. cook them on medium heat for 10 - 12 minutes.

serve hot with chutney or sambar or saagu.

Note:

U can add carrots and peas to make vegetable rava idlies. Check out Supriya's rava idli here

Coconut and coriander chutney

Ingredients

coconut grated-3/4 cup

coriander leaves- a handful(3 tbsp roughly) finely chopped

ginger- a small piece

roasted gram dal- 2 tsp

green chillies- 4 or acc to taste

salt to taste

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

urad dal - 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

red chilli -1

oil -2 tsp

Method

Grind coconut, coriander leaves, ginger,roasted gram,green chillies and salt to a fine paste adding water. Transfer the ground paste to a bowl.

Heat oil in a kadai and add the seasoning ingredients one by one.pour over the ground chutney and mix well.

Serve with hot idlies.

I Thank Kribha of 'veetu samayal' for giving me the inspirational blogger award, Sandeepa of Bongmom's cookbook for giving me the Thoughtful blogger award,

and Richa of 'As dear as salt' for giving me the schmooze award. Got these awards almost a month back and wanted to thank them from then on, but somehow kept missing them ...and now finally ,have done it. Thanks guys.. feel proud and happy on getting these awards.

Kothu Chappathi

2007-09-12T15:36:00.000-04:00

Just happenned to see this in vijay tv last week... tried it and and it came out very well. So I thought I could share it with u all too... This is my entry to WBB #15 'leftovers' hosted by Nanditha of Saffron trail.

Ingredients

left over or fresh Chappathis- 4 cut into squares

onion-1 chopped lengthwise

tomatoes -1 medium sized chopped finely

tomato sauce- 1 tsp

capsicum - 1 small chopped into squares or lengthwise

green chillies- 1 slited

ginger- 1 " piece- crushed

garlic- 3 flakes - crushed

saunf- 1/4 tsp

mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

curry leaves- a few

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

chilli powder- 1/2 tsp or acc to taste

oil- 2 tbsp

salt to taste

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard and saunf seeds.When they sizzle add the chopped onions , curry leaves and green chilli. Saute for some time and when the onions turn transparent add the crushed ginger,garlic and chopped tomatoes. Fry till the tomatoes are mushy and then add the chopped capsicum pieces and tomato sauce.Then add turmericpowder,chilli powder and salt. Keep in a slow flame for a few minutes or till the oil comes on top and then finally add the chopped chappathi pieces. mix well and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot just like that or with raitha.

U can try this with parottas too to make kothu parotta.

Thattai and Appam- Krishnajayanthi treats

2007-09-04T22:23:00.000-04:00

Today is 'Krishna Jayanthi', the birth day of lord Krishna.Happy Janmashtami/Krishna jayanthi to all of u.Read more abt krishna jayanthi here.

When I saw thattais and appam in shyamala's and Latha narasimhan's blog I decided to try it out for Krishna Jayanthi.Both turned out very well. Thanks shyamala and Latha.

This is my entry to the festival food event - Janmashtami/Srijayanthi hosted by Latha Narasimhan of 'Yum' blog and to the WYF -Snacks event hosted by Hima of snackorama.

Thattai

Ingredients

Rice flour- 4 cups

roasted dal powder or gram flour- 1/2 cup

butter- 4 tbsp

sesame seeds- 2 tsp

cumin seeds - 1 tsp

chilli powder- 2 1/2 tsp or acc to taste

salt - 1 1/2 tsp or to taste

channa dal- 1/2 cup soaked in water for 30 mins

curry leaves- a few chopped

Asafoetida- less than 1/4 tsp

oil for deep frying

Method

Powder the roasted gram and sieve it finely. Drain the channa dal well and add to the dal powder. Mix all the ingredients except oil together and add water to form a thick dough.

Make small balls out of it , place it in a greased plastic sheet and flatten it with ur fingers .

I I kept the balls in a greased plastic sheet , placed another small sheet on top of it and then placed a flat bottomed steel bowl on top of it and pressed it firmly. Then slightly flattened it out with fingers and it turned out perfect. You can cut open the ziploc bag and sandwich in between those too. However u make it, make thin discs.

Peel the prepared thattais carefully from the plastic sheet, drop it gently in hot oil and deep fry until golden brown on both sides. Keep the oil in an uniform medium flame and deep fry all the prepared thattais the same way .Store in an airtight container.

Appam

Ingredients

Raw rice- 1 cup

Jaggery- 3/4 cup

dry coconut(copra)- a few pieces

ghee- 2 tbsp

cardomom powder- 1/2 tsp

Method

Soak raw rice in water for 2 to 4 hrs. Drain it well and grind it in a mixie adding very little water.

When it becomes a fine paste add the jaggery to it and grind .

chop the dry coconut into small bits and fry it in ghee till golden brown.

Add the coconut bits and cardomom powder to rice and jaggery batter. The consistency of the batter should be like the dosa batter.

Heat the kuzhi paniyaram pan and add little ghee to all the potions of the pan. Add the batter to each portion of the pan . Turn over and cook till the appams are golden brown on both sides.

Orissa cuisine

2007-08-28T12:17:00.000-04:00

Luchi and Ghuguni

Iam a bit late for the RCI oriyan cuisine and Asha had already announced the RCI for karnataka too. Thought that Aug 30 was the last date... anyhow doesn't want to miss this and hope Swapna accepts the late entry.I have never been to Orissa nor had an oriyan friend ...so before the announcement of RCI Orissa, I knew nothing about their cuisine. Googled and read abt their cuisine here and here. I have always thought 'Rasagullas' to be a bengali sweet , but was surprised to learn that they were originated from orissa. Their curries too are different from the usual spicy indian curries.

I wanted to try out a sweet from their cuisine ,as oriyans are very fond of sweets but as I have posted lots of sweets I thought I would try Luchi and Ghuguni.

Luchis are nothing but pooris made with maida. Ghuguni is a simple dish made with peas and potatoes. This is my contribution to RCI Orissa hosted by Swapna and started by Lakshmik.

Luchi

Ingredients

Maida- 2 cups

oil/ghee- 2 tsp

salt to taste and water for the dough

oil for deep frying

Method

Mix all the ingredients and knead to a soft dough. Set aside for 1/2 an hour . Make small balls as u do for puris ,roll out and deep fry it in hot oil.

Ghuguni

Ingredients

Green peas(dried)- 1/2 cup

Potato- 1 medium

onion- 1

tomato-1

oil- 5 tsp

cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

cinnamon- 1 piece

cloves- 3

ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp

chiili powder-1 tsp

coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

cumin powder, turmeric powder, garam masala- 1/4 tsp each

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Method

Soak the peas overnight and pressure cook it. Boil the potatoes and cube it.

Grind onion and tomato with all the powders and ginger garlic paste.

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin, cinnamon and cloves. Then add the ground paste and some water. Let it boil for some time till the raw smell disappears.

Add the cookes peas and potato and keep in medium flame for 5 to 10 mins . Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with puffed up luchis.

Paal poli/puri

2007-08-19T21:11:00.000-04:00

I was very excited to get this rocking girl award from SRA of 'When my soup came alive'. Thank you very much Sra.
Felt really happy to receive the award and thought I would post a sweet for this. Happened to see this 'paal poli' recipe form viji's blog and decided to try it out. It turned out very well and even my husband who doesn't like sweets much, loved it.Thanks viji for the wonderful recipe.

Ingredients

whole milk- 6 cups
sugar- 1/2 cup or acc to taste
pistachios- 10 0r nuts of ur choice - crushed coarsely
saffron- a few strands
cardomom powder- 1/4 tsp
maida- 1/2 cup
rava- 1/2 cup
salt - a pinch
ghee- 1 tsp
oil for deep frying

Method

Knead maida and rava into a stiff dough using little water. ( viji suggests to beat the dough with roller pin to make it soft.) Keep aside for half an hour.
Boil milk in a heavy bottomed pan and add saffron and pistachios to it . Simmer the flame for 8 to 10 minutes or till the milk thickensa bit and add sugar to it.
Roll out the dough into very small and thin puris . I made it in the size of paani puris(u can make into bigger size too or in roll out into triangle shapes as, viji did). Deep fry in hot oil .
Add the milk to the deep fried puris . Let it cool for a couple of hours and refrigerate. serve cold.

I would like to pass on this Award to Suganya of 'Tasty palettes', 'Menu today',and Richa of 'As dear as salt'.

Vegetable pulav/biryani

2007-08-09T11:01:00.000-04:00

You can call this however u want ... biryani or pulav. Generally they say there is a difference in making biriyani and pulav. My recipe is close to pulav where rice , masala and veggies are cooked together, but I call this as biryani.

This is my entry to 'JFI Rice', started by Indira of Mahanandi and hosted by 'Sharmi of Neiveidyam'.

Basmati rice is a very special type of aromatic rice known world over for their extra long grains, and pleasant and distinct aroma. Traditional Basmati rice is not only in great demand in the domestic markets, but is also seen in the menu of connoisseurs worldwide creating a staggering billion-dollar export market.

Read abt the food facts of Basmati rice here

Ingredients

Basmati rice-2 cups
onions- 1 medium cut into long strips
green chillies- 6 cut into slits
Tomato- 1 medium chopped finely
ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp
coriander + mint - a few chopped finely
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
chilli powder- 1/2 tsp or acc to taste
Garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
salt to taste
Lemon juice- 1/2 tsp
coconut milk- 3/4 cup if fresh(if using canned milk,take 1/2 cup of milk and mix 1/4 cup water)
mixed vegetables(Beans,carrot,peas,potatoes,cauliflower)- each 1/2 cup chopped
oil+ ghee- 3 tbsp
For seasoning
Bay leaves- 2
cinnamon- 1 piece
cloves- 4
Cardomom- 2
Saunf- 1/2 tsp
Star Anise- 1

Method

Soak rice in water for 15 mins ,drain it well and microwave it with a tsp of oil for 2 mins. keep aside .
Heat oil+ghee in a pressure cooker and when hot add the seasonings . Add onions and green chillies and fry for few minutes till the onions become transparent. Now add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears and add tomato and fry for sometime.
Then add the washed and chopped vegetables, turmeric powder and salt. Fry for some time and add chilli powder, garam masala powder and coriander+ mint. Saute for a minute and add the coconut milk+3 cups of water(I add slightly less water than the 1:2 ratio.)
When the water boils add the rice and lemon juice. mix well, check for salt and close with a lid. Simmer for 5 minutes after the 1st whistle.
Serve hot with Raita.

Stuffed chilli bhajjis

2007-07-31T20:27:00.000-04:00

For those who have visited the Marina beach in chennai , one thing that immediately comes to mind is the' milagai bajji'. Light green chillies are tied like garlands in front of the bajji stalls . These chillies are then dipped in besan flour paste ,deep fried in hot oil and served with red chutney .Needless to say that they are mouth watering... isn't it?

My neighbor prepares this stuffed chilli bajjis often and Iam giving her recipe here. There are many varieties of mild chillies with which u can make these bajjis. I used this type and they were very mild.

This is my entry to the' JFI chillies ' created by Indira of Mahanandi and hosted by Nandita of saffrontrail.

Ingredients

Long green chillies- 6

Salt- little

oil for deep frying

For stuffing

Potatoes- 2 medium ,cooked and mashed

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

Turmeric powder- less than 1/4 tsp

Ginger grated- 1/2 tsp

For the batter

Besan/gram Flour - 1 cup

Rice Flour-2 tsp

salt to taste

chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

water to make a thick paste

Method

Wash the chillies ,make a slit in the center and remove all the seeds. Rub little salt inside the chillies. The chillies I used were very long and so I had to cut them into two.

Mix all the ingredients for stuffing and then stuff the chillies with it.

Mix all the ingredients for the batter( U can use Sakthi masala's bajji bonda mix too) .

Dip the stuffed chillies into the batter and deep fry in hot oil.

Serve hot with ketchep.

Curry leaves powder

2007-07-24T22:36:00.000-04:00

I have been eyeing on Sailu's 'curry leaves powder' for a long time. When I got fresh curry leaves in Indian store last week ,I made it at once. It tasted soooooooooo great with rice and its going to be a regular dish in my house hereafter. This is my entry for coffee's MBP 'Preserve it' for the month of july( its a bit late and I hope she will accept it.)

I have never tasted or tried this recipe before. Back in India there is a curry leaf tree in my house. Now here in US, I get a very few sprigs of curry leaves for one dollar. I always thought this was expensive ...Any how Iam going to make this powder often, as I like it very much .

I followed sailu's original recipe and it was really good. Check out for the recipe here. Thanks Sailu for the wonderful recipe.

Toast with Oats

2007-07-19T17:03:00.000-04:00

Oats are not only the perfect way to start your day with , but also the best way to manage your weight too. Check out the health benefits of Oats here.This recipe is a tasty and easy way to include oats in our diet and this is my entry to WBB #13 (Weekend breakfast blogging) 'OATS' for the month of july, hosted by Madhuli of 'My Foodcourt'. Richa's 'Malai Toast' inspired me to make this recipe.

Ingredients

Bread slices- 6

Yogurt- 3 tbsp

Milk- less than 1/4 cup

Oats- 1/2 cup roasted and ground coarsely

Chilli sauce

Carrot- 1/2 grated finely

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter- 1tbsp

Method

Add all the ingredients except bread in a bowl and mix/whisk well. The batter should not be very thin or very thick, so adjust milk accordingly.

Cut the bread slices diagnolly and dip in the mixture.

Heat tawa and add little butter. place the bread slices , simmer the flame and cook until golden brown on both sides.

serve hot with tomato sauce or mint chutney.

Check out my other recipe of masala oat pancakes .

Methi matar malai

2007-07-14T15:37:00.000-04:00

Punjabi cuisine is popular not only in other states of India butallover the world too.Tandoori chicken, stuffed parathas,paneer dishes, lassi,naans, dal curries are my favourite punjabi dishes(sure to be the favorites for most people). I have never been to punjab , don't have a punjabi friend either but love most of their dishes. Taken back by the taste of their rich and creamy gravies, I used to try cooking a few dishes at my home and now many has become regular.I was really surprised to read that punjabis cook rice occasionlly.... Read more abt their cuisine here.

Methi matar malai was one dish I wanted to try for a long time, but I was not sure how it would taste, as methi is a bit bitter,and as I had not tasted this dish before...

But beleive me ....it tasted sooooo good and I liked the richness in it.

This is my contribution to the RCI punjab Hosted by Richa of 'As dear as Salt'.

Ingredients

Methi leaves- 1 bunch cleaned and chopped finely

peas- 2 cups

Heavy or light cream- 1/2 cup

milk- 1/4 cup

oil- 2tbsp

ghee/butter- 1 tbsp

cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

kasoori methi- 1/2 tsp

kitchen king masala- 1/2 tsp

salt- acc to taste

to grind

onion- 1 chopped roughly

poppy seeds- 1 tsp

cashews- 5

ginger- 1" piece

curd- 1 tbsp

turmeric powder- a pinch

green chillies- 5

cinnamon- 1 small piece

cardomom - 1

cloves- 3

Method

Heat ghee and oil in a pan and add cumin seeds, when it turns golden add the ground paste.

Fry for 3 to 5 mins till the raw smell of the onion disappears . Add the chopped methi leaves and peas. Fry for some time and then add the cream+ milk. Allow it to boil and add kasoori methi and kitchen king masala. Simmer the flame , cover it with a lid for 5 to 10 mins till the peas and methi are well cooked.Serve hot with rotis or parathas.

note

U can omit kasoori methi and kitchen king masala if u do not have it, but adding that gives a very nice flavour to the dish and tastes like restaurant food.

Watermelon Punch

2007-07-06T12:38:00.000-04:00

Watermelon is a nutritious and delicious fruit packed with lots of vitamins and minerals. Iam from chennai ,where summer is really sultry and hot.U can see loads of watermelons on roadsides of Chennai to beat the summer heat. Its really fun to eat the ripe,red and juicy flesh of the melon.

picture courtesy- chennailist.com

Check out the health benefits of watermelon here.

This is a simple recipe which I learnt from my friend's mom during my college days. The ginger and lemon juices comined with melon turns out to be an excellent summer drink.

This is my contribution to the AFAM this month hosted by Bee of Jugalbandhi.

Ingredients

Watermelon chunks- 4 cups (deseeded)

lemon juice-2 tsp

ginger juice- 1 tsp

sugar-1tbsp

Method

Remove the seeds and the rind from the watermelon and cut them into cubes. With all the other ingredients blend until smooth in a blender . No need to strain the juice and no need to add water. Serve chilled or pour into ice trays ,insert a tooth pick and serve like a fruit pop.

Check out this interesting watermelon art .

Fellow Bloggers Recipes

2007-06-30T23:05:00.001-04:00

I have learnt a lot of recipes after I started to blog. These are a few recipes from my fellow bloggers,which I tried in my kitchen and loved by my Family members.Thanks guys!!!!

1) Paneer Tikkas from Krithika's Manpasand
Tikkas ready to bake

Tikkas ready to eat
I also Sauted the rest of the chopped veggies and paneer in a pan with little oil and they turned out great too.

Check out for the recipe here.

2) Mushroom Fried Rice from Seema's Recipe Junction.

Check out the recipe here.

3) Gobi Masala from Priya's Kitchen.

Check for the recipe Here.

4) Banana Halva from Soumya's Home Spices.

Check out for the recipe here.

5) Paruppu Usili from RP's Myworkshop.

Check out for the recipe here.

Orange trifle

2007-06-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

An easy to make dessert if u have all the ingredients in hand. I had wanted to prepare trifle for a long time and when I googled for it I found interesting recipes.I did not have a trifle bowl with me,but it came out well, tasted great and was a big hit with us.This is my entry for this month's AFAM hosted by Sharmi of Neivedyam.

Read here for the health benefits of Oranges

Ingredients

Vanilla/orange cake mix or store bought pound/angel cake

Instant vanilla pudding mix- 1 medium pack

Frozen whipped topping-1 tub

oranges-5 peeled and segmented

condensed milk- 1 small can

milk- 1/2 cup

method

Bake the cake and prepare the pudding according to the package instructions.

Cut the cake into small rectangular pieces(2"x1").

Now everything is ready to set the trifle.

In a trifle bowl or any glass bowl arrage the cake pieces. pour some milk to soften the cake.

Arrange the orange pieces on top of it. spoon in some condensed milk on top of the fruit.

Pour in the prepared custard into a thin layer(thin or thick layer depends upon the size of the bowl.If u have a small bowl then it is better to have thin layers). Then add the whipped cream.

Repeat these layers once again.

Refrigerate and serve chilled.

Check out this interesting trifle from which I made mine.

Vaazhaipoo Kola Urundai(Banana flower balls)

2007-06-22T15:04:00.000-04:00

Each part of the banana tree can be used to prepare a variety of healthy dishes. Right from the trunk ,the vegetable, fruit and the flower delightful dishes can be made. Its leaves can be used to serve food too. This is one dish my MIL made when she visited us and it tasted great.

This is my entry to nupur's A-Z of Indian vegetables(Its 'v' for this week).

Ingredients

Banana flower -1

Chutney dal/roasted chana dal-3/4 cup(powdered)

cashews-6 chopped finely

corainder leaves- a few chopped finely
onion- 1 chopped finely

salt to taste

oil for deep frying
To grind

green chillies-3 or acc to taste

poppy seeds- 1 tsp

cinnamon- 1 small piece

cloves-2

Saunf- 1/2 tsp

ginger - a small piece

garlic- 3 cloves chopped finely

Method

Takeout the florets from the banana flower. Then remove the stamens from them. Get a clear idea of how to do it HERE. Chop the florets finely. Boil water in a pan and add salt and the florets.When the florets are cooked , drain them and squeeze them well to remove excess water.

Add the chutney dal powder to it and mix well. Add chopped onions, cashews,coriander leaves and the ground masala to the banana flower mixture. No need to add water. Make small balls and deep fry in hot oil.

Note

U can add mutton keema /soy granules instead of banana flower.

U can shape this like vadas ,and serve as a snack too.

Brinjal Masala

2007-06-14T22:32:00.000-04:00

The eggplant, aubergine or brinjal , a commonly used vegetable in cooking is a native to southern India and Srilanka. As a native plant, it is widely used in the South Indian cuisine, for example in sambar,chutney,curries and oil preserves/aachaar. Owing to its versatile nature and wide use, in both everyday and festive South Indian food, it is often described (under the name brinjal) as the 'King of Vegetables' in South India.(source Wiki)
This is a simple recipe with brinjal which I prepare very often... This is my entry to JFI for the month of july hosted by Sangeetha of 'Ghar ka khana'.

Ingredients

Brinjal- 8 medium

Onions- 2 chopped finely

Tomatoes-2 chopped fienly

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 2 tsp

Jeera powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

For Seasoning

Oil- 5 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Urad dal spilt- a few

Curry leaves- a few

Method

Wash and cut the brinjal into thin slices. Heat oil in a pan and add the seasonings one by one.

Add the onions , saute till it turns transparent and then add the chopped tomatoes. Saute for sometime till the tomatoes turn mushy and then add all the powders. Fry for a minute and then add the brinjal pieces. Add little water , simmer the flame and close with a lid. Remove from fire when the brinjal is cooked and when the oil seperates.Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice and Sambar.

Check out my Stuffed brinjal gravy here.

Bhel Puri

2007-06-07T14:43:00.000-04:00

Bhel Puri is one among the bombay fast food specialities. Bhel puri is made with two chutneys-one hot and one sweet along with puffed rice, sev, puris, chopped onions, tomatoes and other ingredients.... and the result is a wonderful evening snack. Now bhel puri is famous all over India and some parts of the world too.

This is my entry to this month's RCI(Maharashtrian cuisine ), which was an Idea of Lakshmik of 'Veggie cuisine 'and guest hosted by Nupur of 'One hot stove'.

Ingredients

Puffed Rice- 200 gms

Thin Sev- 100 gms

Flat puris or the ones used for pani puri- 1 pack crushed

Onion- 1 big chopped finely

Tomato- 1 big chopped finely

Potato-1 boiled and chopped into cubes

Channa- a few soaked and boiled

carrots- 1 grated

cucumber-1 small chopped finely

Peanuts- a few

coriander leaves- a few chopped finely

salt to taste

Green/Hot chutney

Coriander Leaves- 1/2 bunch

Mint Leaves- 1/2 bunch

Green chillies- 10

salt to taste

Sweet Chutney

Dates-1/2 cup

Tamarind - small lime size soaked

Cumin seeds- 2 tsp

Chilli powder- 3/4 to 1 tsp

Jaggery-2 tbsp

Method

Boil 1 cup of water and add the dates.when it softens ,cool and grind to a paste. Dry roast cumin seeds and powder it. Squeeze thick pulp from the soaked tamarind and in a pan add the jeera powder, jaggery,chilli powder, date pulp and little water along with the tamarind pulp. cook for 2-3 minutes. The sweet chutney is ready.

Prepare the hot chutney by grinding all the ingredients with some water.

Mix puffed rice, sev, puris,onions,tomatoes,potatoes,channa,peanuts,cucumbers,carrots and coriander leaves. Keep aside.

When Serving add the sweet and hot chutney to the mixture. Serve immediately in seperate plates and top with some sev and coriander leaves.

Vadai Curry

2007-05-31T15:47:00.000-04:00

Idli with Vadai curry is a famous dish in chennai restaurants... I have tasted this yummy dish many times from one of the restaurants near my house in chennai,but have started cooking it only 3 years before. This is a recipe of my friend Renu, who is a great cook. Vadai curry is one of our favourite recipes and i would love to share it with u all.

Ingredients

Channa dal- 1 cup soaked for 2 hrs

red chillies-2

Cinnamon- 1 " piece

Cloves- 3

Saunf- 1 tsp

Green chillies- 2 chopped finely

Garlic- 4 - 5 flakes chopped finely

Onions-2 medium chopped finely

Tomatoes- 2 chopped finely

Chilli powder-3/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder- 3/4 tsp

Salt to taste

Oil

Method

Grind the soaked channa dal with salt and red chillies with very little water to a coarse paste.

Make small balls of the ground paste and deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves, saunf garlic ,green chillies and onions one by one and saute till the onions are transparent.

Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. fry till the tomatoes turn mushy, add chilli powder, coriander powder ,garam masala powder,salt and the fried vadais.

Add 1 cup of water to it , simmer and close with a lid. After 5 minutes mash the vadais with a ladle(if u have potato masher use it.)

Add 2 to 3 tbsps of oil and saute for some time till the oil seperates . Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve hot with Idlies or Dosas.

Puran Poli

2007-05-21T19:06:00.000-04:00

I love puran polis and wanted to try this out for a long time. I tried once using all purpose flour but it did not turn out well . The poli puffed up and I didn't know the reason. May be it could be because of the all purpose flour..

My native is near Tiruchendur , a place in South Tamilnadu. We go there for our summer vacation every year .When we go in train there comes a station called 'Maniyachi' near Tirunelveli. You can hear food sellers shouting 'boli,boli,boli'(yes they call poli as boli). They have two varieties of polis..coconut and dhal polis. We never forget to buy poli there...It would taste very delicious and as a child I loved those.

When I saw polis in Sailu's blog,I tried it and it came out very well. Click for the recipe here. Watch Pattu maami making Wonderful polis.This had been a great help to me.Those who want to make polis by spreading it with hand should definitely watch this. This is my entry to coffee's MBP for the month of May .

I followed mostly her recipe except I used 1 1/4 of jaggery for 1 cup of Maida and 1 cup of channa dal and added 5 to 6 tsp of oil to make the dough.

Making the dough is very important in making polis. This is how I made the dough. Add a pinch of salt and 4 tsp of oil to 1 cup of Maida and make a soft dough by adding enough water. knead well for a minute and add 1 tsp of oil. knead well again for 2 minutes and then add 1 tsp of oil. knead to a soft and elastic dough and keep aside covered with a wet cloth for 1/2 an hour.

To make the filling I just soaked the channa dal and cooked with lot of water in a pan. when it turned soft drain it(u can cook in pressure cooker too) . Then add the jaggery in a pan and when it melts add the channa dal and cardomom powder(no need to add water) . When it becomes thick remove from fire and cool it.

I did not use rolling pins to make polis .. Just with hand flatten a small ball of dough and keep double the amt of filling in it , fold and flatten in to thin polis using little bit of oil .

When roasting the polis in tawa I applied ghee on both sides.

Poli came out very well and we all enjoyed it.

Vegetable Manchurian

2007-05-18T22:25:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

For Manchurian balls

Cabbage- 2 cups finely chopped

Carrots- 2 grated

ginger- 1" piece, chopped finely

garlic-2 cloves chopped finely

green chilli- 1 chopped finely

spring onions(scallions)- 1/2 bunch chopped finely

cornstarch- 3 tbsp

maida- 1 tbsp

salt to taste

chilli powder- 1 tsp

oil for deep frying

For Manchurian Sauce

Spring onions- 1/2 bunch chopped finely

ginger- 1/2" piece chopped finely

garlic - 2 cloves chopped finely

green chilli- 1 chopped finely

chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Tomato sauce- 2 -3 tsp

Soya sauce- 2-3 tsp

cornstarch- 1 tbsp ,mix with water to make a paste.

water- 1 cup

salt to taste

oil-4 tsp

Method

Mix cabbage, cornflour,carrots,chilli powder, salt, cornstarch,maida,ginger, garlic and chopped spring onions together in a bowl(preferably with hand and no need to add water as the water from vegetables are enough to bind). Make small balls out of this mixture and deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.

For the manchurian sauce heat oil in a pan and add ginger, garlic and the white bottom portion of the spring onions. saute for a minute and add salt, chilli powder, tomato sauce and soyasauce. Add 1 cup of water to it and when it boils add the cornstarch paste.

When the sauce starts to thicken add the manchurian balls and immediately off the stove. Add the top green portion of the spring onions on top. Serve hot with Fried Rice. Check out the fried rice recipe here.

Seppankizhangu/Colocacia/Taro root Roast

2007-05-11T22:02:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

Seppankizhangu/Colocacia- 8 to 10

chilli powder- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp or acc to taste

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala powder- 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

oil for deep frying

Method

Pressure cook Seppankizhangu/Colocacia until one whistle, or u can boil the vegetable in water. Be careful not to overcook the colocacia as it will turn mushy.

When cooled peel the skin and cut into round slices(not very thick or thin).

Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the slices. When the slices start to turn golden brown at sides drain it in a paper towel.

Heat 4 to 5 tsp of oil in another pan(You can use the same pan after transferring the oil to some other bowl) and add all the powders and salt. Keep the flame low and add the fried colocacia pieces to it. Mix well ,stir in between and let it be in a slow flame till the oil bubbles and the pieces turn crispy .

Pesarattu with upma

2007-05-03T22:07:00.000-04:00

Pesarattu is a key item in Andhra cuisine, it is more similar to Dosa but the batter is made of green mung beans, the taste is unique and fantastic. It is usually thin and crispy, with onions, green chillies and coriander chopped and filled. It is accompanied by Allam Chutney mainly made of ginger. MLA Pesarattu is more popular variety of pesarattus which has Upma as filling.
Source:wiki

You wouldn't believe that I had never tasted pesarattu until last year. I have heard abt pesarattu thru my Andhra friends and the pesarattu which I saw in sailu's blog really attracted me. I made pesarattu the first time seeing the recipe from her blog and it came out very well. Now it is a regular menu in our house.This is my entry for this month's RCI event(Andhra cuisine) which was started by LakshmiK of veggie cuisine and hosted by Latha of Masalamagic .As pesarattu starts with the letter 'P', this is also an entry for the Nupur's A-Z of indian vegetables for this week.

Ingredients

Whole moong dal- 1 cup
Raw rice- 1 tbsp
cumin seeds-1 tsp
green chillies-3
ginger- 1" piece
salt to tsate

oil
For topping
onions- 2 finely chopped
green chillies-2 small finely chopped
ginger- a small piece finely chopped

For upma

Rava- 1 cup
water- 2 cups
mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
channa dal- 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- a few
green chillies- 3 slited
ginger- a small piece chopped finely
oil/butter- 4 tsp
turmeric powder(optional)

salt to taste

Method

Soak the moong dal, cumin seeds, green chillies, rice and ginger in a bowl overnight or for 8 hrs.
Grind all this with salt and water into a fine batter.
For preparing upma , heat oil/butter in a pan and add mustard seeds,channa dal,curry leaves,onions,ginger and green chillies. Saute till the onions become transparent, then add water and salt. when the water boils simmer the flame add the rava slowly little by little stirring continuously , so that there are no lumps. Close it with a lid for 2 to 3 minutes or till the rava is cooked.

For making Pesarattus , heat a tawa and spread the batter in a circular way, like how u do for dosa. Spread chopped onions, chillies and ginger on top and sprinkle oil to the sides. When it turns brown underneath flip it over and abt a tsp of oil on the sides .

Pesarattus are ready... keep some upma in the center of the pesarattu, fold it and serve hot with ginger chutney.

Adhirasam

2007-04-30T23:26:00.001-04:00

Adhirasam is a traditional south Indian sweet which is made in almost every house in tamilnadu during diwali. The most important part in making adhirasam is the the 'paagu'(syrup) part. If u get the correct consistency of the paagu the adhirasam will taste really delicious. This is my 3rd entry to the RCI event hosted by Lakshmi.

Ingredients

Raw rice- 1 kg
Jaggery- 1/2 kg
sugar- 3/4 thcup
My mother uses sugar in making adhirasam. But many people do not use it.It is optional to use sugar. u can use jaggery alone too. if so use 3/4 kg of jaggery.
Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
khus khus- 3 tsp
Dry ginger(sukku)- 1/2 tsp powdered
Oil for deep frying

Method

Soak the rice in water for 2 hours. Drain the rice and spread it in a clean cloth in a shady area. when it is 3/4 th dried powder it. In india they machinegrind it in a mill. U can also grind it in a mixie and sieve it to get a fine rice powder.
Add 1/4 cup of water in a thick bottom pan and add the jaggery and sugar to it. When the jaggery melts completely filter it in a strainer to get rid of the dirt. keep stirring the filtered jaggery in low heat. When it is thick, check the consistency by pouring a drop of syrup in a cup of water. The syrup should not melt in water and when touched by finger it should roll into a soft ball. It should not be hard. This is the right consistency.
Remove from fire and add cardomom powder ,dry ginger powder and khus khus. Stir well and add the rice flour to it . Mix well so that no lumps are formed and till u get a chappathi dough like consistency.Leave it outside overnight.

Heat oil in a pan and make small balls of the dough . Place the balls in a pastic sheet and using little oil shape it to form small patties. Deep fry in hot oil only one at a time until golden brown on both sides and press well with a flat ladle.
Note

Making Adhirasams is a tough job and the most IMPORTANT part in making the adirasams is the SOFT BALL CONSISTENCY. If the syrup reaches more than soft ball consistency, the adhirasams will become hard. If the syrup is taken before the soft ball consistency, the adhirasams will break while frying in oil.

You can use readymade rice flour too to make Adhirasam.If so slightly roast it. (I have never tried this ....so Iam not sure if the adhirasams would turn out good using storebought riceflour,but my mom said u can do it)
You can store the dough in the refrigerator for 3 to 6 months. My mom prepared this dough for me, during my trip to India in January. I had stored it since then and whenever I want I make delicious Adhirasams.

Veggie Wrap Supreme

2007-04-26T10:34:00.000-04:00

Ingredients

8"Tortillas-6 heated according to package directions

Soy granules- 1/2 cup

onions- 1 chopped

mushrooms- 1 pack sliced

red /greenbell pepper-1 chopped into thin slices

lettuce- 4 leaves chopped

cheddar/mozarello cheese- 1 cup grated

tomatoes-1 chopped into thin slits

zucchini- 1/2 chopped

Jalapenos- 1 chopped

garlic- 1 clove chopped finely

olive oil- 3 tbsps

Taco seasoning/paprika- 1/2 tsp

salt to taste

Method

Boil 2 cups of water and add the soy granules to it. Remove from flame, cover with a lid and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat oil in a pan and add garlic,onions, tomatoes, bellpepper, mushrooms,zucchini, and jalapenos one by one and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes until soft crisp. Drain the soy granules and add to the veggies. Add salt and paprika/seasoning mix , cook for 3 to 4 mins till the veggies are soft but not mushy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Arrange tortillas on a cookie sheet. place lettuce leaves onthe centre of each tortilla , then spoon the prepared veggie mix and top it up with cheese.

cook for 3 mins or until the cheese melts.

Wrap it up and serve.

Note

You can add beans instead of soy granules and u can add vegetables like spinach,carrot, and corns too.

U can apply sour cream or cream cheese on tortillas too before placing the lettuce leaves.

Channa rice/ Sundal saadham

2007-04-20T12:20:00.000-04:00

I learnt this recipe from my Aunt , who is a wonderful cook and this is one of my favourite among many of her delicious recipes. We call it 'sundal Saadam' in tamil and I remember the days of having it with my cousins in her house. It is a very simple dish, easy to make(very easy if use canned channa), and has a very good taste if u have it hot with chips and raita.Try this out and u will all love it.

Ingredients

Rice( basmathi or raw)- 2 cups
soaked overnight and cooked channa- 3/4 to 1 cup

if using canned one use 1 can . I use the canned channa.
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
Coconut-4 tsp
Jeera- 1 ½ tsp
Red chillies-2 (the chillies I have is very hot and so I use less) or acc to taste
Coriander leaves- 3 tsp chopped finely
Salt to taste
For seasoning
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Broken urad dal- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- a few

Method

Wash , cook the rice and keep aside. Pressure cook the channa.
Grind coconut, coriander seeds, red chillies, and jeera to a coarse powder without adding water.
Heat oil in a pan add the seasonings one by one and then add the ground powder. Fry for a minute and add channa to it. Keep in a slow flame for 5 minutes. Add salt and coriander leaves. Remove from fire and add the cooked rice to it. Mix it well and serve hot.

Mor kuzhambu

2007-04-16T08:11:00.000-04:00

Morkuzhambu,A dish from Tamil nadu is sure a comfort food when u have plenty of curds.Easy to prepare and one of our favourite foods. Try this recipe and u will surely love it. This is my another entry to "RCI - Tamil cuisine event" hosted by Lakshmik and "A- Z of indian vegetables" hosted by Nupur .

Ingredients

Thick buttermilk/curd- 4 cups
rice- 1tsp

channa dal- 1 tsp
toor dal- 1 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
green chillies- 4
ginger- a small piece
garlic- 2 to 3 cloves
coconut grated-3 - 4tsp
salt to taste
Any veggies (like pumpkin, okra, ashgourd, cucumber,carrot, beans, potato)U can add any one or two vegetables of ur choice.)chopped- 1/2 cup
For Tempering
coconut oil/cooking oil- 1 tbsp
mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
red chillies- 1
curry leaves- a few
pearl onions- 3 chopped finely
Asafoetida- a pinch

Method

Soak rice, and the dals together for 15 to 20 minutes.
Whisk/beat the buttermilk/curd with turmeric powder and keep aside.
Grind green chillies, ginger, garlic, coconut with the soaked rice and dal to a fine paste.
In a pan add 1/2 cup of water and the veggies and cook the for some time. When they are half cooked add the ground paste and salt to it . simmer the flame and add little water to it so that the veggies are cooked fully and the raw smell of the paste disappears. Add the buttermilk/ curd to it.
Heat coconut oil/cooking oil in a frying pan and add the ingredients for tempering one by one and fry for a minute. finally pour that to the curd mixture. Morkuzhambu is ready to be served with rice.

Note

U can do a simple morkuzhambu without the veggies too.
Beat the buttermilk/curd well to avoid the curdling.

Palak Paneer

2007-04-12T17:34:00.000-04:00

Palak paneer is a very common North Indian dish made with spinach and Paneer(Indian cheese).Spinach , needlees to say is a very healthy and nutritious food. Learn more about the nutrient content of spinach here. This recipe is one of my restaurant favourite. I make this at home too in a very simple way. This is a recipe adapted from sanjeev Kapoor's website. It is easy to make with lots of spinach and less spices so that the u get the flavour of the spinach very well.This is my entry to JFI- WBB event: greens hosted by Indira of Mahanandi this month.

Ingredients

Spinach- 1 large bunch

paneer- 3/4 pack chopped into cubes

cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

garlic- 3 cloves chopped fine

milk- 1/2 cup

salt to taste

oil/butter- 2 tbsp

heavy cream(optional)- 1tbsp

green chillies-3- 4 green chillies

bayleaves- 2

kasoori methi- 1/4 tsp

Method

Heat 2 tsp of oil/ butter in a pan and add cumin seeds,chopped garlic and green chillies. when it turns golden brown add washed and chopped spinach. saute for 2 mins .Grind this into a fine paste when cool.

Heat the remaining oil/butter in the same pan and add bay leaves and the ground paste. Add the milk to it. Let it boil and add salt , kasoori methi and chopped paneer cubes. Simmer the flame and cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Garnish with cream.

Note

U can replace paneer with Tofu

U can fry the the paneer in butter/oil and soak in hot water too. finally squeeze the water and add to the gravy.

U can add onions , tomatoes, chilli powder and coriander powder to get more gravy.

Check for the recipe of Palak rice here.

Murukku

2007-04-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

Murukku is believed to have originated from Tamilnadu.(source wiki)Murukku will sure be one of the treats people make during diwali in Tamilnadu and I couldn't remember one person who doesn't love this crunchy murukkus.

My husband is a great fan of murukkus and my MIL makes wonderful murukkus. She made this when we went to india last year.This is my entry for lakshmik's RCI event for April which happens to be Tamil cuisine.

Ingredients

Parboiled Rice- 4 cups

Urad dal- 1 cup

jeera- 1- 2 tsp

sesame seeds white- 2 tsp

salt to taste

Asafoetida- little

oil for deep frying

butter- 100 grams

Method

Soak the rice for 2 to 3 hours. Dryroast the urad dal until golden brown and grind it to a fine powder. sieve it and keep aside.

Grind the rice in the wetgrinder to a very fine paste by adding water little by little. Add salt and asafoetida to the batter at the final stage. U should be able to get a thick,fine paste ( much thicker than dosa batter) at the end. If u get a bit watery paste u can keep the paste closed in a clean muslin cloth so that the cloth will absorb the extra water. Grinding the rice and making murukku is a bit time consuming work, but you really get white and crispy murukkus by this method.

Add the urad dal powder, jeera, butter,sesame seeds to the rice batter and knead well. u will be able to get a dough like consistency.

Heat oil in a pan and put the required amt of dough in the murukku maker with one hole disc or 3 hole disc. squeeze into the hot oil directly. U can make the murukku in a plastic sheet too and then add to the hot oil too.Turn it and cook the other side too.

Note

My MIL grinds the rice in a wet grinder. But I make this with rice and urad flour. Making murukkus with the flours is very easy than the grinder made one.The measurements are just the same . Slightly dry roast the urad flour for just one minute in a pan. the flour should just be warm after roasting. Add the other ingredients and water to make it into a dough. U get good murrukkus by this method too.

Check out Radhi's , Maheshwari's, Priya's ,Jyothsna's. Murukku too.

Minestrone soup

2007-04-01T00:13:00.000-04:00

Minestone is one of my favourite soups. It is a very thick and filling soup with lots of vegetables and pasta.... Thought I will give it a try this week, it came out very well and appreciated by everyone in my family. This is my entry to RP's JFI Event 'Tomato'. Soup was the one which came to my mind on thinking of tomatoes and I used a lot of tomatoes in this soup.

Ingredients

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Garlic- 3 cloves chopped finely

Red onion- 1 chopped finely

Tomato-2 cups chopped finely

Tomato paste- 1 tbsp

carrot/Zuchini- 1/4 cup chopped finely

cabbage- 1/4 cup chopped finely

potato- 1/4 cup chopped finely

celery- less than 1/4 cup chopped finely

Kidney/Garbanzo or any beans- 1/4 cup cooked

Any pasta of ur choice- 1/4 cup

Vegetable broth- 1 can

Parmesan cheese- for topping

pepper powder- little

Dried basil- 1/2 tsp

bay leaves- 2 (optional)

Method

Heat olive oil in a pan and add garlic and onions. Saute and add tomatoes and all the vegetables. Fry for some time and add the tomato paste and the vegetable broth. Bring to boil and then add the bay leaves, pasta and the beans.( u can cook the pasta seperately and add too) cover and cook till the vegetables and pasta are cooked .Add pepper powder, dried basil and salt to taste. simmer for 3 - 5 minutes . Sprinkle grated cheese on top and serve hot.

Naans

2007-03-26T22:34:00.000-04:00

I wanted to try naans for a long time and when I came across Archana's ( spicyana) 'Pan grilled Naans', I was very much attracted by it. It looked so perfect.. I followed exactly her method, but I did not pan grill it. I just baked them and they turned out good. This is my entry to this month's MBP hosted by Coffee. check out for the recipe here. Thanks Archana for this wonderful recipe.

Vatral Kuzhambu

2007-03-18T12:37:00.000-04:00

Vatral kuzhambu is a famous dish in Tamilnadu. The word 'Vatral' means sun dried vegetable. Some veggies like brinjal, sundakkai,manathakkali and clusterbeans can be sundried.U can make this kuzhambu with any one of these vatrals .Vatral kuzhambu with rice , papad and keerai is a wonderful combination. I have tried vatral kuzhambu in different methods, many of them turned out watery, without much gravy.... this one was very good and so I thought I would share it with u all.

Ingredients

Sundakkai vatral or any type of vatral-1/4 cup
Tamarind - golf ball sized
Sambar powder/Vatral kuzhambu powder- 1- 1½ tsp(I used sakthi sambar powder)
Onion- 1 small cut tinto strips
Shallots /pearl onions- 6
Garlic- 6-8 cloves
Oil - 4 to 5 tsp
Coconut grated-little, approx 2 tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Methi powder-1/4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Peal and cut the pearl onions to chunks. Soak the tamarind in water and get the juice. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add the pearl onions and fry till it turns transparent. Remove from fire. When cooled grind this with sambar powder and coconut into a fine paste.
Heat the remaining oil in the same pan and when it is hot add the vatrals and fry till it turns brown. Then add the onions , curryleaves and garlic. Fry for sometime and then add the tamarind juice. When it boils add the ground paste. Add ½ cup of water,methi powder and salt , simmer the flame and partly close it with a lid. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes till the oil separates on top.
Serve hot with rice and papad.

Paal Kozhukattai

2007-03-12T21:49:00.000-04:00

This is another of my Mother in law's recipe which is a big hit in our family. She made this for 'Sangadahara Chaturthi' which comes once in a month. She used to fast on this day and make kozhukattai and sundal and offer to lord Ganesha. She is here with us now and this time I helped her too in making it. I thought this would be a good choice for 'Winter food swing Event- Family and friends in the kitchen' hosted by Trupti of 'The spice who loved me'.

Icon credits- Trupti

Ingredients

Rice flour- 1 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup if using from the can or milk taken from 1 medium coconut
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Salt- a pinch
Ghee- 1tsp
Milk- 1/2 cup
Oil- 4 tsp
Cardomom powder- 1/4 tsp

Method

Take milk from the coconut ....Check out here how to do it.First time when u extract milk from the coconut u will get thick milk.Keep this as your 1st extract. Again add water and extract milk.This time u will get a thinner milk. Repeat it again the third time too where u will get a very thin extract. Do not mix the coconut milks together. keep aside.

If u are using tinned coconut milk add 1/2 cup of water to 1/2 cup of the coconut milk cream to get the first thick extract. Take 1/4 cup of coconut cream and add 1/2 cup of water to make the 2nd extract and repeat this step again for the 3 rd extract with the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut milk cream.

In a non stick pan add the 3rd extract and the rice balls. When it boils and when the balls float on top add the 2nd extract . Add the 1st extract and the sugar after 3 minutes. Let it thicken and then add the cardomom powder. Kozhukattais are ready to serve.

Masala Oat Pancakes

2007-03-07T13:47:00.000-05:00

When I went to India last time, I got this book named'Oats Breakfast Cookbook' by Nita mehta. The book had very good healthy recipes of oats. I tried this masala oat pancakes and it turned out great. Iam giving u the recipes as it is in the book.

Ingredients

Oats- 1 cup ground to a powder in a mixer

Onion- 1 chopped finely

Tomato - 1 chopped finely

green chilli- 1 deseeded and chopped finely

Kasoori methi- 1 tsp

coriander leaves- 1 tbsp chopped

red chiili powder- 1/2 tsp

turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

water- 1 1/2 cups approx

Method

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and beat well adding enough water to make a batter of pouring consistency.

Heat a tawa or a non stick pan and add 1/2 tsp of oil in the center. spread the batter to make a thin pancake.add oil to the sides of the pancake. when the top is cooked turn over and cook.

Serve hot with tomato or mint chutney

Protest against Plagiarism

2007-03-05T23:01:00.000-05:00

Inji manga , has called out to all the food bloggers to protest against Plagiarism on March 5th. I would like to join hands with them against this shameful act of plagiarism. Stealing the contents and pictures from the blogs without their approval is illegal and should be protested.

STOP PLAGIARISM!!!

Those who are not aware of the reason for this protest, check out for the details here

Icon credits: Sandeepa

Malai Kofta Curry

2007-02-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

Malai Kofta is a rich curry and is my restaurant favourite.This is the way I make malai kofta..Though it takes a bit of time, it tastes wonderful.This is my entry for the JFI 'potato' hosted by Vaishali of Happyburp

Ingredients for koftas

Potatoes- 4 medium
peas- 1/4 cup
paneer(grated)-1/2 cup
chilli powder- 3/4 tsp
garam masala- 1/4 tsp
gram flour- 2 tsp
maida/all purpose flour- 1 tsp
cornstarch- 1/2 tsp
coriander leaves- a few chopped finely
salt to taste
oil for deep frying
For the gravy
Onions- 2 medium chopped into cubes
Tomatoes- 2 or 3 medium chopped into cubes
ginger- 1" piece chopped roughly
garlic - 4 cloves
cinnamon-small piece,cloves- 2, saunf-1/4 tsp
poppy seeds- 1/4 tsp
cashews- 6 to 8
coconut -2 tsp
chilli powder- 1 tsp
coriander powder- 2 tsp
jeera powder- 1/4 tsp
kasoori methi - a few
garam masala/kitchen king masala- 1/4 tsp
Fresh cream- 2 tsp
milk- 1/2 cup
Oil + ghee/butter- 6 tsp
salt to taste

Method

Boil the peas and potatoes together. Remove the skin of the potatoes , add all the other ingredients except oil and mash it . Do not add water. Make small balls and deep fry it in hot oil.
keep it aside.
Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pressure pan and add cinnamon, cloves and saunf. Then add onions, ginger and garlic pieces. When the onions become transparent add the tomatoes, cashews and poppy seeds. Fry till the tomatoes are mushy.
Now add the chilli powder, coriander powder,jeera powder and garam masala powder. Add little water to this and pressure cook this for 5 mins or till one whistle.
When cooled grind it to a fine paste. Heat a pan and add the remaining oil+ghee. Pour the masala paste , kasoori methi and milk.When it boils add the koftas and remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and fresh cream on top. Serve hot with chappathis /rotis/phulkas.

Note

U can add chopped cashews to the gravy too.
U can check out Vineela's version of Malai kofta here and Asha's Version here

Vegetable Cutlets

2007-02-23T22:39:00.000-05:00

Blogger Friends Recipe(BFR#3)
This is my 2nd entry for coffee's MBP Finger foods and starters. Cutlets and Samosas are my favourite and I made this from Priya's kitchen, for my Inlaws who have come to visit us. Vegetable cutlets turned out pretty well and we all loved it. Check out the recipe here

Dosa, Sambar and Strawberry Cheese Cups

2007-02-13T22:25:00.001-05:00

These are my entries for this month's AFAM(strawberry cheese cups) by Maheshwari and Pooja's valentine's special. You may wonder what Dosa and Sambar has to do with Strawberry cheese cups...Yes this is what I made specially for my husband. Dosa and sambar is my husband's all time favourite. He can have it without any complaints for breakfast,dinner and even lunch. He doesn't like many desserts... doesn't eat icecream ,almost all sweets ... I had made these strawberry cheese cups before and he liked it . As I wanted to make a really nice dessert for him, I chose this one. Though the menu sounds extreme, I wanted to make only this because this is SPECIALLY FOR HIM!!!!!

Dosa

Ingredients
Idly rice- 4 cups
Urad dal- 1 cup
Methi seeds- 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
Method
Wash and soak rice and Dal+methi seeds seperately. soak for atleast 4 hours. Grind dal in to a fine past by adding water little by little . Then grind rice into a fine paste and mix it with dal .Add salt to taste and ferment it for abt 8 hours or overnight.(It may take a longer time in winter)
Sambar

Ingredients
For sambar powder
Red chillies- 2 to 2 1/2 cups
Coriander seeds- 2 cups
Bengal gram dal- 1/4 cup
Thoor dal- 1/4 cup
Pepper- 3 tsp
Fenugreek- 2 tsp
Jeera- 3 tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Dry roast all these seperately and powder.
Thoor dal- 1 cup
green chillies- 5 sliced
garlic- 5 cloves
tomato- 1 chopped
pearl onions- a few( u can use one chopped big onion too)
methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Hing- little
Tamarind juice- from small lime sized ball
Veggies of ur choice- (carrots, brinjal, drumsticks... etc)1/2 cup
For Seasoning
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
red chillies-1
hing- little
jeera-1/4 tsp
pepper- 4 to 5
methi seeds- less than 1/4 tsp
curry leaves- a few
coriander leaves- a few
Oil - 3 tsp
salt to taste
Method
Wash 1 cup of dal and add greenchillies, garlic,turmeric powder, hing, methi seeds, tomatoes in one bowl and the veggies in another bowl and pressure cook this .
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds , when it splutters add the other ingredients for seasoning and then the onions . Saute till the onions are transparent . Add the tamarind juice and 1 to 2 tsp of sambar powder. now add the cooked dal (mash it well with a ladle) and the cooked vegetables. Add enough water and salt to it.simmer it and close it with a lid for 10 mins. garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Sambar is ready. Serve hot with dosa,idly or rice.

note

Sometimes when I grind sambar powder I was not able to get good colour cos of the red chillies. so I reduced the amt of chillies (10 ) and prepare powder. Then when making sambar I add 1 tsp of readymade sambar powder(i use shakti masala) and 1 tsp of the sambar powder which I made.By this way I get good colour for sambar.

Strawberry cheese cups

Actually I found this recipe for the cups, in the Pepperidgefarm puff,pastry sheet packet . They had printed a recipe for choc peanut butter cups and I replaced it with creamcheese filling.. Crispy puff and creamcheese was real Yumm!!
Ingredients
pepperidge farm's puff pastry sheets
cream cheese-1/2 cup
powdered sugar-1/4 cup or to taste
heavy cream- 2 tbsp
strawberries- a few(slitted half)
Method
Thaw the pastry sheet at room temperature 40 min. Preheat the oven to 400F.Unfold the pastry on the lightly floured surface , roll it and cut into 4" squares approx.Press the squares in the muffin pans. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden brown.
Mix sugar, creamcheese and cream together and beat well till u get a smooth texture.
Place the cream in the puff cups and then a piece of strawberry on top.

About Valentines day... Though we knew what is valentine's day in our schooldays we didn't celebrate it or bother about it much.There was an 'Archie's gallery' opposite to my college and it used to sell wonderful valentine cards. That's how I got a better picture of valentine's day . Me and my husband had exchanged valentine cards only in the first year of marriage as feb 14 was only one week after our wedding. After that we don't care much for V'day because I feel that if u want to epress ur love to someone u can do it anytime, not only on v' day.

And now about my Husband.. His Name is Sundar.. He is a person who doesn't talk much while on the other hand I talk a lot...(I think in these 7 yrs it has reduced a bit ). He is a very patient guy while Iam not.Though we are chalk and cheese in some aspects there are a lot of other aspects where we have similar tastes too, and all these makes life interesting... He has stood beside me during some of the hard times in my life and I can never forget that. In short, He is a real gem of a person(My Husband who sitting near me ,reading this gave a big,broad smile )Happy Valentine's day!!!

Pedas

2007-02-09T09:48:00.002-05:00

Today is our 7th Wedding Aniversary and I thought I would begin the day with sweets. So yesterday I made these lovely pedas. They are very easy and quick to make.My 5 year old little daughter helped me and we had fun making this..

This is my entry for Trupti's ' Little Chefs in the kitchen' Event and Meeta's 'Monthly Mingle- Sweet love'. Though it may be a bit late for the Sweet love event,but I thought will be nice to post this on my Wedding day which would surely be the best day to show the love I have for my Better half. Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Ingredients

Sweetened condensed milk(whole milk)- 1 tin

milk powder- 2 cups

butter-4 tbsp(room temp)

crushed pistas and almonds- a few

food colour(optional)- any colour u like

saffron-(optional)- a few

silver warq- optional

cardomom powder- a pinch

Method

In a microwave bowl add the butter and heat it for 2 mins or till it is melted.

Add the milk powder and condensed milk, mix it well and microwave it for 2 minutes.

Add the cardomom powder,saffron and food colour at this stage and microwave for 4 minutes , taking out and stirring after 2 minutes.

Cool it completely and make pedas of ur desired shape.

Add crushed nuts on the top of the pedas and press it. Apply the silver warq.

note

For shaping the pedas take a lid from a small bottle, keep a few nuts inside and place a ball of pedas on it. press well and invert it. U will get lovely round pedas.

Cheese sticks

2007-02-05T22:47:00.000-05:00

I made these cheese sticks while we were watching superbowl last sunday. My Daughter loves these cheese sticks and I always buy it from the frozen section. She was asking for cheese sticks last weekend and I didn't have it in the freezer.... So I thought 'Let me check out for the ingredients and if I have them at home I can do it '. I googled for cheese sticks and got many recipes for that.. I will give u the method by which I made. This is my entry for coffee's MBP.

Ingredients

mozarella cheese- 1 pk
Pancake mix-1/2 cup
cornstarch- 1 tsp
paprika- 1/2 tsp
bread crumbs/ flavoured bread crumbs- 1cup
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Method

Slice the cheese to thick fingers(if u slice it thin it will melt fast)
Mix pancake mix, cornstarch, paprika and salt together in a bowl and add milk/water to form a thick paste.
Dip the cheese in the pancake batter , roll in the breadcrumbs and then again in the batter and finally in the crumbs again and deep fry in hot oil.(u have to do it twice so that the coating is strong)
Fry for one or two mins till both sides turn golden brown and serve hot with tomato sauce.

Note
The original recipe had eggs in it ..I did not use it but I strongly feel that if u dip the cheese in eggs , the coating will be more strong.If using eggs beat an egg or two in a seperate bowl, dip first in the batter, then egg and finally the bread crumbs.
The recipe said to use flavoured breadcrumbs.. I had some flavoured croutons and I just grinded it and used.. It was good.
U can substitute the pancakemix with flour and cornmeal.

Rasmalai

2007-01-31T16:39:00.001-05:00

Spongy Rasmalai is one of my favourite desert. There are many ways of making rasmalai and lots of my fellow bloggers have blogged rasmalai. This is my way of doing it. I use readymade rasagullas for making rasmalai as this is an easy way to do it.

Ingredients

Full cream milk- 1.5 ltrs

Sugar-150 gms

Haldirams Rasagullas- 1 tin

pistachios- a few crushed

yellow food colour(optional)

saffron- a few strands

Method

Boil the milk in a thick bottomed pan or kadai. when the milk is hot ,take a tbsp of it and soak the saffron strands in it. Add the crushed pistachios to it.

Reduce the flame and stir in between till the amount of the milk reduces to half.

Squeeze out the juice from all the rasagullas and flatten it with ur hands.

Add the sugar ,food colour, stir it and add the rasagullas and saffron soaked milk. Remove from heat after 2 minutes. Refeigerate and serve chilled

Check out more versions of Rasmalai below

Pin wheel sandwiches

2007-01-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

Happy Republic day!!...
I got this recipe from a book called 'Pulsuvai Malar'. I wanted to try these for a long time ... and when i saw the theme for this week in Pooja's blog I thought this would be the perfect time to try this out. This is my submission to pooja's Republic Day Event.
Ingredients
White sandwich Bread -1/2 pack
butter spread
green chutney
Tomato chutney or tomato sauce

Method
Take three slices of bread , trim the edges and flatten it with the help of a rolling pin. Apply tomato chutney or tomato sauce to one slice , apply green chutney to another and apply butter to the third slice.

Place the green slice on the bottom,then place the buttered slice on top of it and finally the red one.Very slightly wet the bottom slice with little water and fold it twice(like u are rolling a paper).

Then cut it into rounds. u will get lovely , colourful pin wheel sandwiches.
Note
If u have unsliced bread it will be more easy to make these sandwiches.
For the green chutney - add 3 tsp of oil in a pan and add mustard seeds,uraddal, curry leaves, 3 green chilli slits, 1"piece of chopped ginger, 1 clove garlic chopped, 1"piece of tamarind and cleaned and chopped 1 bunch coriander leaves. saute for some time and then grind to a fine paste with salt. u can use 1/2 bunch of corianderleaves and 1/2 bunch of mint leaves too.

Iam back!!!!!

2007-01-24T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hi All,
Iam back from India..It was a long vacation and I enjoyed it. I have been visiting ur blogs whenever I can .. and its really nice to see lots of new bloggers. Will soon start to post recipes..

New year wishes

2007-01-01T00:35:00.000-05:00

WISH U ALL A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR

Milagai Kuzhambu

2006-10-29T01:44:00.000-05:00

This is a very spicy dish. Usually we prepare this as a side dish for curd rice, just like pickle. So try this only with curd rice.. For spice lovers who love very hot and spicy food can have with plain rice,idli,dosa or with anything u like. It is a simple recipe and very easy to prepare.I had no idea about this dish before marriage, as my mom doesn’t prepae this.According to me the best combination for curd rice is mango pickle. But after tasting this, I liked to have this with curd rice too. I learnt this recipe from my Mother in law and would like to share this with u all. Try it out and u will love it…

Ingredients

Green chillies(small in size)-12 to 15 chopped into thin rounds
Onions- 3 large or 4 medium , chopped finely
U can use pearl onions too for this .
Tamarind- big gooseberry sized
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Methi seeds- ¼ tsp
Oil- 4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Soak the tamarind in water and take out the juice from it. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pressure pan or cooker and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add methi seeds and before it starts to brown add onions and green chillies. Fry for 10 minutes in a medium flame. Add the tamarind juice and salt to it. No need to add water to this. close the cooker and pressure cook this till one whistle.
U can store this in the refrigerator for 15 days.
Serve with curd rice.

note: You can always reduce the chillies as per ur taste or use 1/2 part of capsicum and 1/2 part of green chillies too.

check out shankari's version

Memes

2006-10-15T11:30:00.000-04:00

Hi all, Iam leaving to India tonight. I will try my best to post atleast one recipe a week. So do keep visiting me and I will be visiting you all too.
Before I leave, I thought I will finish a couple of memes that I had been tagged for … Rashmi of ‘ Websamayal’ had tagged me for ‘ Good/Bad experiences with food’ and jayashree of ‘Luvgoodfood’ had tagged me for a butterfly effect meme.

Butterfly effect Meme

This is a foodie meme which asks you to talk about stuff that has had a profound influence on your foodie life(in the words of http://www.saltshaker.net/20060630/the-butterfly-effect who started this meme). Well, not just any kind of stuff...but specifically an ingredient, a dish/recipe, a meal, a cookbook/other written work, a food personality, and another person in your life.Before I get down to the meme, here's some info:A meme is an Internet phenomenon (sometimes called an Internet meme)which occurs when something relatively unknown becomes hugely popular, often quite suddenly, through the mass propagation of media content made feasible by the Internet.(source: wikipedia)
I just copied down the above intro from Jayashree…

An Ingredient- It is always chicken . I love chicken cooked in any form. Chicken curries, drumsticks,kfc’s chickenpieces, chicken burger or anything with chicken but ofcouse my favourite is my mom’s chicken curry.
A Recipe- Biryani. Veg or non veg I would like to have it any time. There a different ways people make biryanis and however it is made, I like it.
A meal- Usually Iam not a person who orders a meal with rice , sambar and veggies, when we go to a restaurant. This is what we have in our house regularly. So when I go to a restaurant I go for something which we don’t cook in our house more often. But whenever I come across this word ‘ meal’ I remember the days in Singapore. I was pregnant that time and was craving for food and hungry most of the time.I was not so very good in cooking at that time too. So whenever I go to the “komala’s”restaurant , I used to order only meals. It is a regular vegetarian meal which consists of rice, sambar, dal, 2 vegetables, curd , raitha and papad. Believe me I would finish it in minutes and would feel really full and contented ..
A cookbook- My mom used to have a book called ‘ palsuvai malar’ by the ladies club of Tuticorin. I started to cook a few recipes seeing this book as this was the only cookbook my mother had. I have this book now also and it has wonderful recipes. Later on I had bought some books of ‘Mallika Badrinath’ too.
A food personality- My Favourite is Sanjeev Kapoor. I used to watch his cookery shows regularly in TV before marriage. I learnt the basics of north Indian cooking from his khana Khazana.
Another person- Everyone would learn to cook from their mothers. For me too it is my mom .. and then my Mother in law .. she too has influenced me with her cooking.
I will post a few of their recipes when Iam in India.
I wish to Tag Indira of Mahanandi for the butterfly effect meme.

Good/Bad experiences with food.

This experience happened to me sometime before. All my husand’s collegues planned for a party in a restaurant. They had planned it suddenly and had selected some Italian restaurant too. It was fifteen of us and we went there around 7 pm. As the women were busy with their kids , Men ordered and it took almost 1 hour to come. The presentation and the look of the foods were very attractive, but once we tasted it everybody’s face changed as it was very very bland. There was one fish dish which looked so attractive but they had just cooked it only with salt.. I had tasted Italian foods before.. they will be a bit bland but surely not like this. I don’t know , may be the dishes we had selected might have been more bland. And then finally the bill came and everybody was shocked .. because nobody expected a very high bill as they did not see the price before ordering. We paid so much for the food we did not enjoy and most of all wasted a lot of food. This is definitely the cause of improper planning and ordering.
Learnt a lesson from this and so now whenever I go to a restaurant , I really do plan a bit.
I wish to tag Vani of ‘Mysoorean’ for this meme.

Kadai Paneer with Bean Sprouts

2006-10-11T18:54:00.000-04:00

Bean sprouts are rich in vitamins with low carbohydrates. They are healthy and are used much in chinese cooking. These sprouts have been gaining popularity in recent times .
I wanted to use these in our cooking for a long time and when I saw Nanditha’s ‘twist in a plate’, I thought I could use them.
Everyone would be familiar with kadai paneer. I just love them. This is the usual kadai paneer recipe and I just added bean sprouts for a different taste. It turned out good with soft paneer and crunchy bean sprouts.
This is my entry to Saffron Trail’s WBB#6 ‘Twist in a Plate’.

Ingredients

Paneer- 250 grams
Capsicum- 2 small
Tomatoes-red and ripe ones- 3 large chopped finely
Onions- 1 large choppe finely
Bean sprouts(mung)- ½ cup
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
Red chilli- 1
Chilli powder-1 tsp
Garam masala- ½ tsp
Kasoori methi- ½ tsp
Green chilli-1 chopped finely
Ginger- 2” piece chopped finely
Coriander leaves- 2 tsp chopped finely
Oil+ghee- 5 tsp
Cuminseeds- ¼ tsp
Cinnamon- 1” piece
Cloves-4
Cardomom- 1
Bay leaves- 2

Method

Cut the paneer and capsicum lengthwise. Grind the coriander seeds and red chilli to a coarse powder.
Heat oil+ghee in a kadai and add cinnamon, cloves ,cardomom, bay leaves and cumin. Add onion, green chilli, ginger and bean sprouts and fry for some time. When the onions turn transparent add the tomatoes , salt and chilli powder. Simmer the flame and cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes or till the tomatoes become mushy and well cooked . At this stage add the coriander+ redchilli powder and capsicum pieces. Close with a lid and cook for 5 minutes . Finally add the paneer pieces,kassori methi and garam masala powder. Cook for a few more minutes and garnish with coriander leaves .
Serve hot with roti/naan.

Aval Payasam

2006-10-09T21:30:00.000-04:00

Blogger friends recipe (BFR)#2

Aval payasam

A few months in blogging, I have learnt a lot in cooking from my blogger friends. I have tried a few recipes from them and feel really happy to say that almost all of them were succesful. Here is one such recipe ... .I wanted to make Aval payasam for a long time and when I saw this recipe in My dhaba ,I decided to try it out for Saraswathi Pooja. This is the first time Iam making Aval Payasam , and believe me it tasted divine...Thanks VK Narayan for the lovely recipe.
Click for the recipe Here...
I made this by following the exact recipe of My dhaba's... But as i did not have saffron with me I just added a pinch of yellow food colour.. This is a great recipe and You will surely love it.

Aloo Curry

2006-10-05T17:49:00.000-04:00

This is the usual aloo curry. Most of you all will be familiar with this. I love this dish very much as it is simple to make and tastes great..
This goes well with vegetable biriyani ,Rice and sambar, rasam , dhal etc…here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Potatoes- 5
Onions - 1 large chopped finely
Garlic- 5 cloves or garlic paste- 1 ½ tsp
Chilli powder- 1tsp
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Garam masala -½ tsp
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Coriander leaves- 2 tsp finely chopped
Oil - 4 tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Grind garlic to a paste. Pressure cook potatoes , peel the skin and cut them into cubes.
Heat oil in a pan add mustard seeds. When it splutters add the curryleaves and garlic paste. Fry till the raw smell of the garlic disappears and add onions . fry for some time and add chilli, turmeric ,garam masala powders along with salt. Then add the potatoes. Mix well, Simmer the flame , close with a lid and cook for 10 to 15 mins. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Butter Shortbread

2006-10-02T14:38:00.000-04:00

I always love the shortbreads and wanted to prepare this sometime. So I thought I will prepare this for cooking medley’s JFI event in which the main ingredient is Ghee and Butter. I think my entry is a bit late and I hope she will accept it.
I searched for this recipe in the net and found lots.. This is the one I picked and tried and it came out really well. My daughter loved it because I had used different shapes.

Ingredients

Butter- 1 cup(room temperature)
All purpose flour- 2 cups
Sugar- ½ cup(powdered)
Cornstarch- 1 tsp
Salt- 1 pinch

Method

Mix butter and sugar and beat it for 5 minutes till they are well mixed and the mixture is creamy.
Mix and seive flour, salt and cornstarch.
Add the flour mixture to the the butter. Fold in gently to make a dough.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes to make the dough a bit firm.
Roll out the dough into ¼ inch thick. Cut into round or whichever shape u want using a cookie cutter.

place them in the cookie sheets lined with parchment paper(I used foil because I was out of stock). Bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes at 300 degrees F.Cool this and store in a airtight jar.

Note: Please Use only butter for this recipe. Do not use margarine or anything else in substitution for butter.

Vendakkai/Okra Fry

2006-09-29T21:45:00.000-04:00

We usually make vendakkai masala or curry . My Mother used to make vendakkai fry sometimes. This recipe is quite different from the usual ones we make and I love to have it with Rice and sambar. Try it folks and I bet you will love this too..

Ingredients

Vendakkai/okra- 300 gms(see to that they are yound and tender)
Onion- 1 sliced thinly
Chilli powder- 1 tsp or acc to taste
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- 1 or 2 sprigs
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

Wash and dry the okra in paper towels(make sure it is dried well). Cut into medium rounds.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry till they are brown. Finally when you are done frying the okra pieces fry the onions till dark brown. Off the stove and fry the curry leaves. Add the fried onions and curryleaves to the fried okra. Add salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder and toss well so that it is well mixed. It can be called as okra chips too.
Serve with rice and Sambar or Tomato rasam.

Bisibelebath

2006-09-26T23:08:00.000-04:00

Bisibelebath/ Sambar sadham requires lot of patience.. .Though I like this a lot, I feel lazy to do this often, as it needs chopping, roasting , grinding and lots of work.The only relief is you dont need to prepare any vegetable curry with this .. It goes well with raitha and chips. Last week when I saw bisibelehuli anna in Nanditha's blog, I wanted to make it and so here is what I made..

Ingredients

Raw Rice- 2 cups
Thoor dal- 1 cup
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Asafoetida- ¼ tsp
Peas- ½ cup
Shallots- ½ cup
Tomatoes-2 cut finely
Carrot -1 chopped into small pieces
Beans- 10 chopped finely
Potatoes-1 chopped into small pieces
Drumsticks- 1 cut into 3” pieces
Brinjal – 1 cut into cubes.
Chowchow- ¼ cup cut into cubes
Garlic- 6 cloves
Green chillies- 3
These are the main veggies. U can add any vegetable u want to this except beets and bittergourd.The more the vegetables the better the taste. I added bottlegourd too with this.
Sambar powder- 1 tsp(optional. As I use very little red chilies ,I add this for better colour.I use sakthi masala)
Tamarind – 1 small lemon sized.
Salt to taste
Ghee- 5 tsp
Coriander leaves- 3 tsp chopped

To roast and grind

Channa dal- 2 tsp
Thoor Dal – 1 tsp
Urad dal- 1 tsp
Coriander seeds- 3 tsp
Jeera- 1 ½ tsp
Pepper- ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds- ½ tsp
Saunf/Aniseeds- ½ tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Red chillies- 3( the one I have is very spicy so I add little) or acc to taste
Cinnamon- 2 one inch pieces
Cloves- 5
Coconut- 3 to 4 tsp

Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan and add all the spices except coconut and fry for 2 minutes. Then add coconut finally and fry for a minute. Cool it and grind it to a fine paste by adding water.

For seasoning

Oil- 3 tsp
Mustard seeds- ½ tps
Broken urad dal- ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- a few

Method

Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder and asafetida and set aside. Soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the juice.
In a cooker or big vessel, add 10 cups of water(1:5 ratio) . when it boils add the rice and the vegetables(from peas to green chillies). When the rice is ¾ th cooked. Add the dal and salt.mix properly and add the ground paste , tamarind juice, sambarpowder and ghee. Partly Cover and cook for a few minutes in reduced flame.Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one. Now add this to the rice. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with raita and papad/chips and ghee on top.
This bisi bela bhath should be in a slightly semisolid consistency than the normal rice.

check out Shynee's, Deepz's and Sangeetha's and sudhav 's Bisibelabath.

Tomato Rasam

2006-09-24T10:51:00.000-04:00

This is a very simple , and easy to make rasam.Sometimes when I feel lazy I prepare this Rasam. I read this recipe somewhere in the internet, a couple of months before, and tried it . We loved it so much that it has become one of our regular menu now.
Try this out and you will love this too …

Ingredients

Tomatoes-( red ripe ) 4 medium sized
Coriander leaves- 3 tsp finely chopped
Sambar powder- ¾ tsp or acc to ur taste.( I use sakthi masala)
Tamarind juice- 3 tsp
Pepper powder- ¼ tsp
Jeera powder- ¼ tsp
Garlic- 4 cloves mashed.
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard seeds- few
Jeera- ¼ tsp
Red chilli- 1
Asafoetida- a pinch
Curry leaves- a few
Oil – 2tsp

Method

In a pan add the tomatoes and fry for sometime till they turn mushy add the coriander leaves , sambar powder, salt, pepper, jeera ,turmeric powders and garlic.Fry for a minute and add a cup of water( I make this medium thick and if you want thin, you can add a 1/2 cup more water too, according to your taste.) to this and let it boil. Now add the tamarind juice to it. Heat oil in another pan and add the seasonings one by one. Add this to the rasam. Serve hot with rice.

There are lots of varieties rasam. Shaheen of Malabar spices had asked me to link the different varieties of rasam.. Check out these interesting rasams..

melting pot Rasam by Saffron Hut
Menu today has posted 4 to 5 varieties of rasam recipes in her Index.
Pomegranate rasam by Saffrontrail
Mysore Rasam by Mika
Black eyed beans Rasam by Chandrika
Kollu Rasam by Indosungod
Pepper Rasam by Priya Bhaskaran
Tomato Rasam by Sumitha
Paruppu Urundai Rasam by Krithika

Kovakkai/Tindora masala

2006-09-21T23:01:00.000-04:00

I had never tasted kovakkai before marriage. After marriage I found many of my friends cook this vegetable and when I happen to taste it I liked it too. Once when we went to a friend's house for dinner , she had cooked this curry.It was different with peanuts and I couldn't find out it was kovakkai. I got the recipe from her and whenever I buy this vegetable I cook this way.. ..

Ingredients

Kovakkai- 3 cups (cut lengthwise )
Onions- 1 large chopped finely
Green chilli-1 chopped finely
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Coriander powder- 2 tsp
Chilli powder – 1 tsp or acc to taste
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Cloves- 3 or 4
Salt to taste
Oil- 4 to 5 tsp
Coriander leaves- 2 tsp chopped finely
For seasoning
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Jeera- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves - few
Peanuts- 3 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a pan add the seasoning items. Add the chopped onion and green chilli and fry till the onions become transparent. Then add the ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell disappears. Now add the kovakkai pieces and fry for some time. Add the turmeric, coriander and chilli powders. Crush or powder the cloves and add it to the masala. Add little water , simmer the flame and close it with a lid. Cook till the vegetable becomes tender and oil seperates. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.

Check out sudha's version of tindora Here.

Five things to eat before you die!

2006-09-20T00:27:00.000-04:00

I have been tagged again and this time it was Asha’s turn to tag me.Thanks Asha. This is the Five things you've eaten and think that everyone should eat at least once before they die meme started by Traveller’s lunch box.
Though I have a long list of favourites , I will just give 5 of them and here’s it…

Shree Mithai’s Boondhi ladoo- Shree Mithai is a famous mithai shop in Chennai. Their sweets are so divine and I just love most of them (kaju rolls and moti pak are my other favourites). Whenever anyone of u gets a chance to visit Chennai do visit this shop..
http://www.shreemithai.com/

My Mom's chicken curry-- This is one of my favourite from my mom's cooking. It is a very simple recipe but a very tasty one. I will post this sometime later and Iam waiting to taste this again next month when I visit my mom.

Sugarcane juice and grilled corn in marina beach- Iam basically from chennai and we used to go to marina beach frequently. I just love the sugarcane juice and i never forget to have it whenever i go to the beach. U can see many corn vendors roasting the corn- on- the cob, in the beach. walking along the shore with a corn in ur hand is sure a pleasant experience.

Chicken lettuce wraps- P.F. Chang's China Bistro is a wonderfully casual restaurant with great food and excellent service. The Chang's Chicken in Soothing Lettuce Wraps (quickly cooked spiced chicken with cool lettuce cups) is a signature dish, which is served with a very tasty sauce. This lettuce wraps are so tasty that I feel like having it whenever we pass that way.
http://www.pfchangs.com/

Cheese cakes- These cheese cakes are yummmmmmy and beyond delicious. I had tasted this cheese cake after coming to NJ and had become an instant fan of this.

I wish to tag Sudha of My Samayal and Karthi kannan of Kitchenmate..

Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

2006-09-17T22:44:00.000-04:00

I was thinking of trying a recipe with pumpkin for From My Rasoi hosted by meeta. I tried for the pumpkins but I could n’t find any in the local stores or markets last week. So I went in for canned pumpkins.

Some History and facts about pumpkin( which I collected from the net)

References to pumpkins date back many centuries. The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "pepon." "Pepon" was changed by the French into "pompon." The English changed "pompon" to "Pumpion." American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin."
Pumpkins are 90 percent water. Pumpkins contain potassium and Vitamin A. Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites. Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
Pumpkin Seed is an herbal medicine used for bladder irritation, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), problems with urinating, and kidney stones.
DID YOU KNOW:
A pumpkin is really a squash?
It is! It's a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers.
That pumpkins are grown all over the world?
Six of the seven continents can grow pumpkins including Alaska! Antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow in.
That the "pumpkin capital" of the world is Morton, Illinois?
This self proclaimed pumpkin capital is where you'll find the home of the Libby corporation's pumpkin industry.

I have baked cakes and muffins from the ready to do mixes which is available in the grocery stores. But I haven’t tried home made regular cakes or muffins.This is my first try of baking a muffin.. I was thinking to do that for a long time…So now I searched for pumpkin muffin recipes. The one which was simple and the one which I liked was this. I was happy with the result except that sugar was a bit less . I added ¾ cup acc to the recipe but 1 cup would be perfect.
I made 2 alterations to the original recipe. The original recipe had 1 tsp baking powder+ ½ tsp of baking soda and ¾ cup of milk. But as I didn’t have baking soda with me I added 2 tsp of baking powder itself. I wanted to add buttermilk and so I added ½ cup of buttermilk and ¼ cup milk. The muffins turned out great and I loved the raisins in it.
This is my entry to Meeta’s From My Rasoi and Nanditha’s weekend Breakfast Blogging.

Ingredients

Pumpkin(pureed) fresh or canned- 1 cup
All purpose flour- 1 ½ cups
Sugar- 1 cup
Butter- ¼ cup
Eggs-2
Salt- 1/8 tsp
Milk- ¼ cup
Buttermilk- ½ cup
Baking powder-1 ½ tsp
Baking soda- ½ tsp
Raisins- ½ cup
Vanilla essence-1/2 tsp

Method

Pre heat the oven to 400 F. Grease the muffin pan with oil.
Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl till they are mixed well. Then add the eggs one by one and beat them well.
Sift flour, baking soda , baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Fold in gently. Then add the pumpkin puree, milk and buttermilk and fold in gently again. Add the raisins and vanilla.

Fill in the muffin pan 2/3 full and bake in for 12 to 14 minutes or until it turns golden brown.(U can check it by inserting a sharp knife. When the knife comes out clean the muffins are done).Remove from the oven and let them cool a few minutes in the pan before removing.

Avial

2006-09-13T23:46:00.000-04:00

Avial is a famous dish in Kerala. There are many ways of making this avial but this is the one I make which I found somewhere in the net. I liked this dish mainly because of the variety of vegetables in it.

Ingredients

Drumstick- 5 pieces of 3” slit into half
Yam(senai kizhangu)- 1 small piece
Beans- 8
Carrot- 1 medium sized
Brinjal- 2 small
Raw banana- 1
Potato- 1
Curry leaves- a few
Curd- ½ cup
Turmeric powder- ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Coconut oil- 3 tsp

To grind

Coconut- 4 to 5 tsp
Cumin seeds- ½ tsp
Green chillies- 3 or acc to taste
Pepper- ¼ tsp

Method

Cut yam ,carrots, beans, brinjal , raw banana and potato of same length- 1 to 1 ½ inch pieces.
In a kadai add ½ cup of water and add a few curry leaves and drumsticks. Close with a lid and cook for 2 mins. Add all the other vegetables, turmeric powder and salt. Cook in a medium flame till the vegetables are cooked ,without adding much water.
Add the ground paste and cook for 2 minutes. Beat the curd well and then add it.
Finally add coconut oil and a few curry leaves and mix it.
Avial is ready and serve it with hot rice.

Note

U can add many other vegetables like pumpkin, snake gourd, cucumbers, peas, raw mango etc… acc to ur taste.

Carrot Kheer

2006-09-11T23:33:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favourite recipes. It is a easy and quick to make recipe.. a rich and healthy one too. The kheer turns out to a wonderful yellow colour, that u can make believe anyone it is badam kheer. I have made this for parties and all my friends love it. I hope u will love this too.

Ingredients

Carrot- 1 large cut into thin rounds
Cashews- 8 to 10
Almond essence- ¼ tsp
Almonds or cashews chopped into tiny bits- 3 tsp
Milk-3 cups
Sugar- ½ cup or according to taste.

Method

Pressure cook the carrots and cashews upto 3 whistles.
When cool grind to a fine paste.

Add sugar to milk and stir it well till it dissolves(u don’t need to heat it up ,can just add to cold milk itself ). Now add the ground paste too. Mix well and add the chopped nuts and essence.
Serve chilled.

Tips

U can add saffron soaked in milk.
U can add cardomom powder instead of almond essence
U can add milk more or less according to the thickness u want.

Meme...About Me and Me and Me only

2006-09-10T15:22:00.000-04:00

I was Tagged By Sudha of My samayal..Thanks Sudha.

I am thinking about : My trip to India next month

I said : "Not so close to tv"...I say this more often to my little daughter

I want to : Do things my own way , caring less of what others think of me

I wish : I could Go back to the college days. It was so much fun, carefree days without any worries or big responsibilities.

I regret : I regret shouting at my daughter when I am angry.

I hear : 'Pinky dinky doo', a programme in 'Noggin' , my daughters favourite tv channel.

I am : I do believe Iam a good wife and mother.

I dance : Not very good

I sing : Sometimes in bath and sometimes when I drive

I cry : I cry when Iam alone..on my pillows.

I am not : A person who goes early to bed or gets up early in the morning..(got to change this..)

I am with my hands: I have painted and did some hand works before but out of touch
now. At present only browsing, cooking , cleaning up etc...

I write : My things to do list, shopping list and my blog

I confuse : I get confused sometimes when taking a tough decision

I need : I need people around me... I dont like to be alone

I tag: I tag Revathi of En Ulagam , Asha of Foodie's Hope and Lera of Myriad Tastes

Gobi 65

2006-09-06T23:38:00.000-04:00

Gobi 65 is a dry curry . I love to have this as a evening snack. U can have this with chappathis if u like.. Its easy to make and this doesn’t take much time to do if u have all the ingredients. Try it out and let me know.. Non vegetarians can try try it out with chicken..

Ingredients

Cauliflower-1
Cornflour-3 tbsp
Capsicum- 1 small cut into thin strips
Onion- 1 cut into thin strips
Tomato sauce- 1 ½ tsp
Soya sauce- 1 tsp
Ajinimotto- a pinch
Chilli sauce(optional) – ½ tsp
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Salt to taste.
Oil

Method

Clean the cauliflower and cut into small florets. Soak it in hot water for 5 minutes.
Drain the cauliflower florets and add corn flour,salt and chilli powder to it. Do not add water to it. Just fold in with ur hands. If needed just sprinkle very little water.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the florets till golden brown . set aside.
Add 2 tsp of oil in another pan and saute the onions and green pepper strips for 2 to 3 mins till the onions are transparent. Remove from fire and set aside.
In the same pan add 1 tsp of oil and add add the sauces and ajinimotto. Immediately add the cauliflower florets and saute for 2 minutes in a slow flame. Then add the onion ,greenpepper strips. .. remove from flame.. gobhi 65 is ready to eat.

This is my entry to this week's by Bachelor Cooking

Kadalai Kuzhambu

2006-09-04T21:55:00.000-04:00

Chickpeas are good source of protein. So I make it a point to include it in our diet more often. I learnt this from one of my friends and this has become our favourite kuzhambu now.U can try this with any other payaru instead of chick peas.

Ingredients

Channa(chick peas)- ¾ cup
Onions- 2 (if large or 3 if medium) chopped finely
Tomatoes- 1 ½ chopped finely
Green chilli-1 slit into two
Oil- 4 tsp
Tamarind- small lime size
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Curry leaves- a few
Fenugreek- ¼ tsp
Salt to

To grind

Coconut- 4 tsp
Pearl onions- 5
Jeera- ½ tsp
Pepper- ¼ tsp
Tomato – ½
Chilli powder- ½ tsp
Coriander seeds- 1 tsp
Sambar powder- ½ tsp

Grind all this to a very fine paste.

Indredients ground to a fine paste
Method

Soak the channa overnight. Pressure cook that and keep it aside. soak the tamarind in water and squeeze the juice out of it. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When it splutters add curry leaves,fenugreek seeds, onions and green chilli. Saute for some time till the onions become transparent and then add the cut tomatoes. Saute for some time till the tomatoes become mushy and then add the ground paste.
Add the channa , tamarind water and salt to taste. Add 1 cup of water to it. Cover it partly with a lid and keep in a medium flame. Remove from fire when oil floats on top.
Serve hot with rice .

Note: If u are in a hurry u can straight away do it in the pressure cooker itself. In that case u dont need to pressure cook the channa seperately.

Stuffed Brinjal Curry

2006-09-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

Many of you would know this famous dish from Andhra and I learnt it from one of my Telugu friends, a couple of years ago. She had made it for a party and I loved it so much that I asked her the recipe at once, and tried it the very next week. It was a big hit in our family and its now my husband’s favourite. Even though this recipe has been blogged by many others, I would like to add mine too.Try it out and let me know about it.

Ingredients

Violet brinjals-10 (choose fresh and small ones)
Tomatoes-2 finely chopped
Onions-3 finely chopped
Chilli powder- 1 tsp
Green chilli- 1 chopped finely
Oil- 6 tsp
Mustard seeds- ¼ tsp
Jeera- ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder- ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves- finely chopped 2 tsp

To grind

Peanuts-6 tsp dry roasted
Sesame seeds-6 tsp dry roasted
Coconut grated- 2 tsp
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tsp
Garam masala- 1tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Wash the brinjals , do not remove the stem , and slit them vertically and horizontally like a plus sign(starting from the opposite end of the stem) without breaking them into halves.

Grind the ingredients to a fine paste. Acc to my friend's recipe the ingredients must be powdered. But as I did not have a good mixie with me when I first tried this ,I had to grind them to a paste. It turned out well and so I always try it out this way. If u want ,u can try it out in powdered form. Stuff the paste into the brinjal slits.

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and jeera. When the mustard pops add the onions and green chillies. Saute for some time and then add the brinjals and the remaining paste. Fry for some time and add the chopped tomatoes ,turmeric powder, chilli powder,salt and ½ cup of water. Close with a lid , simmer the flame and keep stirring every 5 minutes, gently without smashing the brinjals.

This takes a long time ( almost 30 to 40 minutes) to cook. Remove from heat when brinjals are tender and when oil floats on top. Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice.

Paneer Parathas

2006-08-30T22:30:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-27T20:02:00.000-04:00

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

2006-08-26T16:17:00.000-04:00

HAPPY VINAYAKA CHATURTHI

Rava Dosa

2006-08-23T23:04:00.000-04:00

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.