Mahi's Kitchen

Wheat Flour & Oats Dosai

2012-02-12T06:44:00.002-08:00

Ingredients
Wheat Flour/aata -1/2cup
Rolled oats -1/4cup
salt
water- 1/2 to 3/4cup

Method
Combine the wheat flour,oats and salt in a bowl.
Add 1/2 cup of water, close it and keep it for 5 minutes.
Mix the flour-oats-water mixture without lumps, adjust the water to get the dosa batter consistency.
Heat a griddle, and pour one ladle of batter, make dosa.
[dosa won't be thin n crisp, it will little thick like "adai"]Sprinkle little oil, flip it on the other side.
Healthy and yummy dosai is ready to serve. Enjoy with your choice of sambar/chutney.

This measurements will yield 8 dosa's (as shown in the picture.)

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Linking this with Shoba's 'Just "4" Fun' event.

Egg Korma / Muttai kuruma

2012-02-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Hard boiled eggs-3
Tomato-2
Coconut milk powder-2tablespoons
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Chilli powder-1/2teaspoon
Coriander powder-1teaspoon
Bay Leaf-1
Water
Cilantro to garnish
Oil
Salt

To Mince
Onion-1
Green chilly-1
Ginger-2"piece
Garlic-3 cloves

Coriander seeds-2teaspoons
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Pepper corns-1teaspoon
2"Cinnamon Sticks
Elaichi-1
Cloves-2
Fennel Seeds-1teaspoon
Red chilly-3 (adjust to your taste)

Method

1.Chop the onions,g.chilly..n keep the ginger-garlic ready.

2.Take all the dry ingredients to mince in a mixie jar and powder it.

3.Add the onion-g.chilly-ginger-garlic in the mixie and mince it.

4.Heat a tablespoon of oil and add the bay leaf once the oil is hot. Add the minced masala and cook till the raw smell of the onion is gone. Add another tablespoon of oil in between, and stir it so that the masala dose not get burnt. (will take 5-6minutes on low heat)

5.Now add the tomatoes with turmeric,chilly,coriander powders and salt. Continue cooking till the tomaotes become mushy, and the oil oozes out.

6.Add 1.5 cups of water and let it boil nicely.

7.Then add the peeled and sliced eggs. (We don't eat the yolk, so I didn't add. :) ) Cook for a few minutes.

8.Mix the coconut milk powder in 1/2cup of warm water and add it to the gravy, cook on low heat for 10minutes(or) the oil oozes out.

9.Garnish with cilantro and put off the flame. Spicy egg korma is ready to enjoy with parotta/biriyani/roti or any other rice variety!

Do adjust the quantity of pepper corns,green chilly,red chilly and cloves. We felt it little spicy, but being spicy eaters, we enjoyed this korma. :P

Recipe adopted from here.

Veggie Patty & Sandwich

2012-02-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

I was looking for a veggie patty for sandwiches..searched in the net for long time, finally concluded with this recipe. You can make this in bulk and freeze it. Preparing a filling n healthy dinner will be done under 10 minutes. :)

Ingredients
Boiled potatoes-2
Carrot-1
Beans-5
Onion-1
Capsicum(chopped)-3tablespoons
Green chilly-1
Garlic-3cloves
Ginger-2" piece
Olive oil-1teaspoon
Rolled Oats/Quick cooking oats -1/4cup
Plain bread crumbs-1/4cup+1/2cup
Egg-1
Chilly Flakes-1teaspoon
Cumin powder-1teaspoon
Salt

Method
Boil and grate the potatoes. Grate the carrots and finely chop the beans, green chilly,garlic cloves and ginger.

Mince the onion in a food processor/small jar of the mixer.

1.Combine the minced onions,chopped capsicum,g.chilly,garlic,ginger with a teaspoon of olive oil in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave it for 4 minutes, take it out after a minute, mix it gently, cook for 4 more minutes.

2.Now add the grated carrots and beans and cook for 2 more minutes..take it out after a minute and mix it well.

3.Add the boiled and grated potato, and cook for couple of minutes. Let the veggie mixture cool completely.

5. In another bowl, take the bread crumbs,rolled oats, salt,chilly flakes,cumin powder and egg. Add the veggie mixture with this, knead well.

6.Separate the veggie mixture into desired size patties, wrap them individually in a clear wrap and refrigerate it for at least 20minutes. (you can freeze the patties in this stage as well and use it when ever you want! :) )

7.Heat a gril/griddle. Sprinkle little olive oil on the patties and the grill once the grill is hot. Place the patties and cook for 2-3 minutes.

8. Healthy n yummy veggie patties are ready to go into your sandwich! Hope you can follow the sandwich recipe in the picture below! ;)

I prepared the veggie patty, and Hubby dear prepared the sandwich..we used Chipotle mustard, Pepper jack & Fresh mozzarella cheeses, jalapeños,cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce, salt & pepper with the veggie patty. You can adjust according to your taste.

Have a Healthy Happy Meal!
~~
Linking this post to Sangee's "Show Me Your Hits!" event.

Spinach Kootu/Spinach-dhal-coconut gravy

2012-01-30T06:12:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Cooked n mashed dhal-1/4cup [you can use either thoor dhal or moong dhal]
Spinach (washed,chopped n tightly packed)-1 cup to 11/2cups
Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoons
Oil-1teaspoon
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Red chilly-1
Urad dhal-1teaspoon

To grind
Coconut-2 tablespoons
Pepper corns-10
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Red chilly-1

Method
Dry roast the items given under "to grind" table slightly and grind it to a fine paste with enough water.

Combine the spinach, cooked dhal and turmeric powder with 1/2 cup of water and cook on medium heat.

Once the the dhal started boiling, add the coconut paste,1/2cup of water,enough salt and cook for 5-6 minutes. (Adjust the water according t0 the desired consistency)

Heat oil in a small pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds, urad dhal n red chilly, pour it over the kootu and serve hot with white rice and a dollop of ghee. Any kind of Appalam/vadam will be the best combination.

Tried and Tasted..

2012-01-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

I got attracted to some recipes while blog-hopping and tried them. The first one is sweet shells/gavvalu, which is a cute sweet from Andra. Saw this in VaniLohith's blog. Actually I have done this long back..by then I used a fork to make the shells. This time I used the new comb to make the shells and they turn out really cute. :)

You can very well see the difference in the shapes in using a comb & fork in the picture below.
Here I am giving only the pictorial, to see the recipe click here.
I just followed the same recipe..She is having a nice blog with neat pictures. Do visit her space.

~~~

The next item is a Kannada special breakfast item. Paper thin Cucumber dosa's /thellevu.

To see the recipe click Here.

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Finally I tried Faseela's Yellow Pumpkin Curry. Its a quick n easy curry which can be done under 10 minutes!
Cook a cup of pumpkin with little water and enough salt. Meanwhile grind one green chilly & a small piece of ginger with a cup of plain yogurt. Add the yogurt mixture with the cooked pumpkin and cook for a couple of minutes on low heat. Make the tempering with mustard seeds and red chilly and pour it over the curry. Thats it!

The curry was tangy and spicy.Had it with hot rice. So ladies, when ever you are in a hurry, you can try this curry! :)

Thakkali kuzhambu / Tomato Gravy

2012-01-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Onions-2

Green chilly-1

Big Tomatoes-3

Red chillies -6 (adjust to your spice level)

Cumin seeds-1teaspoon

Coriander seeds-1teaspoons

Channa dhal-1teaspoon

Fresh coconut-2to3tablespoons

Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon

Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoons

Oil

Salt

Cilantro to garnish

Method

Chop one onion and the tomatoes finely.

Heat oil in a pan, add the Chana dhal. Once the dhal turns golden in color, add in the coriander &cumin seeds. Let them crackle.

Now add the red chillies and onion, fry till the onions become transparent. Add the tomatoes n cook till they become soft and mushy.

Finally add the coconut,fry for a minute and let it cool completely.

Grind it into a fine past by adding enough water.

Cut the remaining onion, green chilly into thin slices. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. After they crackle add the onion-green chilly slices,fry till the onions slightly turn in color.

Add the ground masala and a cup of water..you can add or reduce the water according to the desired gravy consistency. Add the turmeric powder,salt and let the gravy boil for 7-8 minutes on medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4-5 minutes, and put-off the flame. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve it with idli/dosa or white rice.

Back home Mom makes the masala in the stone grinder(aattukkal), and the kuzhambu will be a yummy accomplishment for our hot delicious breakfast..sending this recipe to Gayathri's "Walk Through Memory Lane event"

Vegetable Pulao

2012-01-20T10:07:00.000-08:00

This is a quick n easy preparation of veggie pulao..if you have frozen vegetables at hand, then we can prepare this colorful n party friendly dish within an hour. :)

Ingredients
Basmati Rice-1cup
Carrot-1
Beans-5
Frozen green peas-1 fist full (or)
Your choice of ready made frozen veggies -1/2 cup
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Cinnamon -2" Stick
Elaichi-1
Bay leaves(small)-2
Cloves-2
Ginger-garlic paste-1teaspoon
Onion-1
Green chilly-1 (or) 2
Salt
Oil+Ghee -2tablespoons

Method
Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.
Chop the onion and green chilly and (if using fresh veggies)Chop the carrot-beans into fine pieces.

Heat Oil + ghee in a pressure cooker, add the cumin seeds and whole garam masala (elaichi-cinnamon-cloves-bay leaves),let them splutter. Then add onion,green chilly and fry for a couple of minutes..add the ginger-garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.

Now add in the veggies with enough salt, fry for 2-3 minutes.

Drain the water from the rice and add it with the veggies..
Add 11/2cups of water...
Close the cooker and cook on medium heat for 7 minutes and put off the flame. (Don't bother about the whistle..either it comes or not, put off the flame after 7 minutes, since the rice is soaked already this time will be perfect for the rice to be fluffy n separate)

Open the cooker after the pressure has gone completely, mix it gently without breaking the rice grains.
Quick and flavor full veggie pulao is ready to serve. Enjoy it with simple raitha or any other gravy of your choice.

Note
To make the pulao rich you can add the roasted cashews at the end before serving, also you can replace the 1/2cup of water with coconut milk. Keep an eye that the rice-water ratio is 1:1.5

Ulunthu Vadai/Methu Vada

2012-01-17T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
whole white Urad dhal -1/2cup
Pepper corns-10
Green Chilly-1
Chopped Onion -2 tablespoons
Salt
Oil

Method
Wash n soak the urad dhal for an hour.
Grind in in a wet grinder with little water. (Add water little by little and grind for 20-25minutes)..the batter should be light n fluffy.
add the chopped onion,green chilly and coarsely ground pepper, enough salt with the vada batter and mix well.
Heat oil on medium heat. Wet your hands and take a lemon size batter, make the vada, and put it in the oil. Flip the vada after some time and fry till it becomes golden color.

Take them out and drain the excess oil on a paper towel. Enjoy with Coconut chutney and pongal! I was about to publish the recipe some time back, but last week end being a long week end here, it could not happen. So the pongal/sangaranti wishes are coming little late! :)

Kadalaiparuppu Poli / Puran Poli

2012-01-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Channa Dhal-1cup
Jaggery-1 to 1/4cup (adjust according to your sweet tooth! :) )
Elaichi-3
Dry coconut powder-1 tablespoon
Ghee-2 tablespoons

All purpose flour/Maida -1cup
Rice Flour-1tablespoon
Rava/Sooji -2 teaspoons
Water-1/2cup
Salt- a pinch
Turmeric powder -1/4teaspoons
Oil/ghee-1tablespoon

Method
Combine the all purpose flour,turmeric powder,rice flour,rava,salt in a wide bowl, mix well, add the water and knead it into a soft dough.Add the oil/ghee and knead it again for a few minutes.
Coat the dough with little oil and keep it covered for at least 20 minutes.

Pressure cook the channa dhal with enough water for 3whistles. Open the cooker and drain the dhal and let it cool.

Grind the dhal with elaichi. (without adding water).

Heat the jaggery with 1/4cup of water on low heat it till the jaggaery dissolves. Strain the impurities if any, then add the mashed dhal. Mix it well.

Now add the coconut powder,give a quick stir and put off the flame. Let the mixture cool completely. Then make small balls and keep aside.

Make small balls out of the all purpose flour, flatten them a little bit and stuff the channa dhal. Repeat the process and finish off.
Heat a griddle on medium heat..flatten the poli's with your fingers.
Cook them with drizzling the ghee on both sides, till the poli's turn nice golden color.

Let the poli's cool completely then transfer them to an airtight box. They tastes great on the next day. Stays good at room temperature for 1-2 days..if you are keeping it for more time, keep it refrigerated.

Soft delicious poli's are ready! Enjoy! :)
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Mahi's Kitchen is entering on its 3rd successful year! :)
Thanks to all my readers & friends for your support during the last couple of years!
Looking forward to share more recipes from my kitchen!
Thank You!
~~~

Mysore Masala Dosa

2012-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

This is again another variety of Masala dosai..its spicy n tangy with the potato masala! :P :P

Ingredients
Dosa Batter
Potato Stuffing

For the chutney
Red chillies-5
Toamto-1
Ginger-2"piece
Garlic-4cloves
A tiny piece of Tamarind
Salt
Oil

Method
Peel and chop the ginger-garlic.
Heat oil in a small pan, fry the ginger,garlic till the raw smell goes. Then add tomato and tamarind, cook till the tomato becomes mushy. Let the mixture cool completely, then grind with enough salt n little water.
Chutney is ready.

Make the potato stuffing, click here for my version of potato podimas.

Heat the griddle and pour a laddle full of dosa batter, make a thin dosa. Close the griddle and cook for 30-40 seconds.
Now apply 2-3 teaspoons of chutney on the dosa uniformly, Keep the potato stuffing in the center of the dosa, close the griddle n cook for 30 seconds.
Fold the dosa as shown in the picture below and cook for few more seconds.
Spicy n yummy Mysore Masala Dosa is ready to serve..enjoy with your choice of chutney/sambar.

Onion Thokku / Onion Curry

2012-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Onion (big)-2
Tomato(small)-1
Green Chilly-1
Chilly powder-1teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/8th teaspoon
Salt
Oil
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon

To make a coarse powder
2" Cinnamon stick

2cloves

1/2teaspoon fennel seeds

Method

Julienne the onions and green chilly. Chop the tomato into small pieces.

Heat oil in a kadai..make the tempering with mustard seeds,followed by channa & Urad dhal..let the dhals become golden color.
Now add the onion and green chilly, fry till the onions become transparent.
Add the tomato pieces and cook for few more minutes.
Add 1/2cup (adjust to your desired consistency), chilli powder,salt and turmeric powder. Let it boil for 6-7 minutes.
Meanwhile make the spice powder with cloves,fennel seeds and cinnamon. Add this powder with the gravy and switch off the flame.
Garnish with cilantro and serve as a side dish for Roti,idli/dosa.

Dhokla

2012-01-03T13:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Besan/Kadalai maavu -1cup

Curd-1/2cup
Water-1/2cup

Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoon

Sugar-1teaspoon

Eno fruit Salt-1/2teaspoon

To grind

2"piece of ginger

Green chillies-2

To temper

Oil-1tablespoon

Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon

Sesame seeds-1tablespoon
Green Chilly-1
Few curry leaves

To garnish

Fresh coconut-11/2tablespoons

Chopped coriander leaves-1tablespoon

To pour over the Dhokla

Water-2tablespoons

Sugar-2teaspoons

Method
Grind the ginger and green chilly with little water.

Combine the besan(kadalai maavu), turmeric powder,sugar,curd and the ginger-chilly paste in a bowl..add the water and mix it without lumps to a smooth batter.

Heat water in a steamer,and grease a plate with cooking oil. Once the water is hot and the steam started coming, add the fruit salt with the dhokla batter,mix it quickly,pour in the greased plate, and steam it for 10 minutes.

Switch off the stove after 10 minutes. Open the steamer and take the dhokla plate n let it cool for couple of minutes. Transfer the dhokla to another plate.

Dissolve the sugar in 2 tablespoons of water, pour this over the dhokla.

Heat oil in a small pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds followed by sesame seeds, green chilly pieces & curry leaves. Pour the tempering over the dhokla.

Sprinkle the grated coconut & cilantro and spread everything uniformly on the dhokla.

Cut into desired shapes and enjoy!

Adding the sugary water will help to avoid the dry feeling in the throat while eating dhokla. Some people add this sugar+water in the tempering and pour it over the dhokla. Either way its fine. :)

Adding sesame seeds in the tempering enhances the taste. The roasted sesame seeds give a nice aroma! :)

We enjoyed it as such... you can make some green chutney,sweet chutney and serve on the side.

For me personally, these spongy dhoklas are so good on their own! :P:P
what you say?? :)))))

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing You All A Very Happy & Prosperous New Year With This Hot n Sweet Funnel Cake! :)

Stuffed Brinjals

2011-12-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe in Nithu's Kitchen..one sunday prepared this and had it with Tomato Biriyani. Enjoy this side dish for Biriyani! Thanks for the quick n easy recipe Nithu! :)

Ingredients
Gingely Oil-2 tablespoons (or more! ;) )
Brinjals-5
Salt
To Roast n Grind
Peanuts- 1 fist full
Urad dhal-11/2 teaspoons
Red Chilli-6
Dry coconut powder-11/2tablespoons
Sesame seeds-1 teaspoon
Daniya seeds-1teaspoon

Method
Roast and grind the items with enough salt to a coarse powder.
Wash n pat dry the brinjals,slit them and stuff them with the spice powder.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, arrange the brinjals, close the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes.
Try to turn the brinjals once in a while to avoid burning.

Now add the remaining powder to the pan, and sprinkle the another tablespoon of oil, close the pan and cook for 4 minutes.

Thats all..yummy stuffed brinjals are ready to serve! The spice powder really really enhances the taste! :P :P

Beetroot Kuruma

2011-12-25T11:27:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Beetroot-1
Onion(small)-1
Green chilly-1
Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon
Oil
Salt
To grind
Fresh/dessicated coconut-2tablespoons
Roasted peanut-1fistfull
Pepper corns-10
Coriander seeds-1teaspoon

Red chillies-5
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon

Method

Peel an chop the beetroot and onion,green chilly.

Grind the ingredients with little water to a fine paste.

Heat oil in a pressure Cooker, make the tempering with mustard seeds, then add the onion-green chilly. Fry till the onions become transparent.

Now add the beetroot, sauté for a few minutes. Add the masala paste,add 11/2cups of water and enough salt, close the cooker.

Switch off the stove after one whistle.
Open the cooker once the pressure has gone completely, transfer the kuruma to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Yummy and quick kuruma is ready to serve..we had it with roti's..it will be perfect for idli/dosa/rice too!
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Butter Biscuit / Benne Biscuit

2011-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
APF-11/4cup
Unsalted Butter(@room temp.)-1stick (1/2cup)
Baking powder-1/2teaspoon
Curd-1tablespoon
Sugar-2 tablespoons
Salt-1/2teaspoon

Method
Sieve the flour with baking powder twice.
Cream the butter for 2 minutes,then add the curd,sugar and salt..mix well till it becomes light n fluffy.
Now add the flour slowly and mix gently with fingers, then knead it gently to get the roti dough consistency.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Now make small pieces of the dough... shape into desired form without cracks and arrange them on a lined baking tray.
Bake the cookies for 17 to 20 minutes.
Take them out and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then take them away from the baking tray and let it cool completely.
Store it in airtight containers and enjoy!

These cookies are really soft..they mildly sweet n salty.. just melt in the mouth. If you want them sweeter,feel free to increase the sugar and decrease the salt.
These cookies won't change much in color..so be careful after 17minutes and take them out. The perfectly baked cookies will be having a nice brown color on the bottom and puffed up a bit in the center. :)
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Sabudana Kichidi / Javvarisi Upma

2011-12-20T06:37:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Sabudana -1/2cup

Buttermilk-1/4cup

Potato(small)-1

Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon

Oil-1tablespoon
Ghee-1teaspoon

Mustard seeds-1/2 teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon

Curry leaves-few

Green chilly-1
Fresh coconut scrapping-1tablespoon
Cilantro to garnish
Salt

To Roast & coarsely grind

Roasted peanuts-1/4cup

Red chillies-3

Method

Wash the sabudana 2-3 times in water, and soak it in buttermilk for 2-3 hours. (time to time check whether the sabudana remains wet,otherwise sprinkle some water,be sure that sabudana is wet all the time.

Roast the peanuts and red chillies without burning, grind it to a coarse powder.

Chop the potato into small chunks. Slit the green chilly.

Heat oil+ghee in a wide wok, make the tempering with mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Add the curry leaves, followed by potato chunks and turmeric powder. Close the wok and cook till the potato's are half done.
Add the sabudana with enough salt, mix everything together, close the wok and cook till the sabudana gets cooked. Open the pan in between and stir the kichidi in equal intervals.
For me it took 7-8 minutes for this, but the time may vary according to the amount of sabudana you cook.

Finally add the peanut-red chilly powder, give it a quick stir and switch off the flame after a minute. Add the coconut and cilantro, mix well.
Squeeze fresh lemon juice just before serving.

serve it warm! We had it with hot n sweet tomato sauce! :)

Quiche/Savory Tart

2011-12-18T06:35:00.000-08:00

Quiche AKA Savory tart is an open faced savory pastry..the(veggie) filling is usually with cheese,onions and vegetables. I've had a Broccoli quiche once in a party..wanted to try that, and slowly forgot about the recipe.

When I saw these savory tarts in Julie's "erivum puliyum"..As I had all the ingredients she mentioned at hand, I prepared it and guess what??? Its big hit! Thanks Julie for the recipe! :)

Ingredients
Puff pastry sheets - 3 [I get square pastry sheets and used 3 sheets. If using Pepperidge farm pastry sheet, use accordingly!]
Spring onion- 6stalks
Onion(small)-1
Minced Garlic-2cloves
Chilli powder-1/2teaspoon
Garam masala powder-1/2teaspoon
Boiled Eggs-2
Shredded cheese -1/4cup
Pomegranate seeds- 1/4cup
Oil

Method
Thaw the pastry sheet.
Chop the onions and spring onions. Cut the eggs into small chunks.
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a skillet, add the onions and sauté them for a minute and add in the spring onions. Toss for a few minutes, add the chilli powder,salt and garam masala. Put off the flame. Add the egg chunks,mix it well and keep aside.

Roll the pastry sheet slightly and cut into small squares. Greese the muffin pan, place the pastry squares,press slightly so that they form a cup. Spoon the mixture , top it with cheese, sprinkle the pomegranate seeds.
Bake the muffin tray in 400F preheated oven for 20minutes..serve warm with tomato ketch-up or sauce.
Linking this post to Vardhini's Bake Fest event, Guest hosted as Bake Fest-2 by Sangee @ Spicy Treats

& Christmas Delicacy event happening at Julie's "Erivum Puliyum"

Mushroom & Mealmaker Biriyani

2011-12-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

Having a spouse who is fond of Biriyani, am exploring all possible combinations of making vegetable biriyani!:) I was about to make Mushroom Biriyani, and had a handful of musrooms only..added some meal maker chunks with the mushrooms, and the result was a delicious combo! :P:P

Ingredients
Basmati Rice -11/4cups
Onion-1
Green Chilly-1
Few mint leaves,curry leaves and cilantro
One small Tomato
Coconut milk powder-1tablespoon
Oil+Ghee -4tablespoons

To Marinate
Button Mushrooms-6
Meal maker/Soya Wadi - 12
Few mint leaves,curry leaves and cilantro
Biriyani Masala -11/2tablespoons
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Coriander powder-1teaspoon
Curd-2tablespoons
Salt

Grind Coarsely
Small piece of ginger
5 garlic cloves
3" Cinnamon Stick
One Elaichi
2 Cloves
1 Bay leaf

Method
The method is just like making Dum biriyani, instead of baking it in oven, this cooked in the pressure cooker.

Wash and soak the rice for half an hour.

Add the meal makers in boiling water for 3 minutes, drain and wash with cold water. Squeeze out the excess water and keep aside.

Wash and dice the mushrooms.

Grind the ingredients given under "grind coarsely".

Combine the ingredients given under "to marinate" table with the coarsely ground masala,mix well and keep aside for (at least) 20minutes.

Slice the onions,green chilly and tomato.

Heat oil +ghee in a pressure cooker. Add in the onions,green chillies and fry for a few minutes.
Then add the tomato and mint,curry and cilantro leaves. Fry till the onions become brown and the tomatoes turn mushy.

Now add the marinated masala, reduce the flame to low, cover the cooker (without putting the whistle) and cook for 6-7 minutes. Stir it in between to avoid the burning, till the masala cooks nicely and the oil oozes out.

Add the coconut milk powder, rice with 11/2cups of water, adjust the salt and close the pressure cooker. Increase the flame to medium and cook for 7 minutes. Switch off the stove and remove the cooker from stove top and let it cool. Open the cooker, fluff the biriyani gently.

Aromatic and delicious Mushroom & Mealmaker Biriyani is ready to serve. I assure you, your kitchen/house will be filled with the nice biriyani aroma while cooking this biriyani! :) Enjoy it with simple raitha or your choice of side dishes.

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Sending this & the following recipes to Reva's "Royal Feast -Biriyani" event.

Christmas Delicacy event happening at Julie's "Erivum Puliyum"

Dum Biriyani

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Tomato Biriyani

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Mint Pulao

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Mini Soya Chunks & Veggie Biriyani

Aappam with Coconutmilk

2011-12-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

Aappam

Ingredients
Boiled Rice-1cup
Raw Rice-1cup
Methi Seeds-1teaspoon

Old rice /Pazhaiya saatham ***-one fistful

Salt

Method
Wash and soak the rices with methi seeds for 6 hours.
Grind it with the rice to a fine batter,add salt and let it ferment overnight.

Appam batter should be little watery than the regular dosa batter, so when you are making aappams, take the required amount of batter, add little water, and bring it to the required consistency.

Heat a nonstick aappam griddle, pour a laddle full of batter in the center, rotate the griidle carefully , so that the batter spreads evenly,close the lid, and cook on medium heat.

Open the pan, and take the aappams out, once cooked, they will slide down the pan very easily! :) Enjoy with the sweet coconut milk or spicy vegetable kuruma.

~~~
Sweet Coconut Milk

Ingredients
Coconut milk powder-3tablespoons
Water-1/4cup
Milk-1/2cup
Sugar-1/4cup (adjust to your sweet tooth! ;) )
Elaichi-1

Method
Mix the coconut milk with luke warm water.
Boil the milk in a pan,combine the hot milk,sugar and coconut milk..cook on low heat till the sugar melts.
Switch off the stove and add the elaichi powder.
Enjoy it with hot n spongy appams!

Note
Freshly squeezed coconut milk is the best, but coconut milk powder works well too! Adding milk is optional,you can replace milk with more coconut milk powder.
Always add little salt for appam, as we are going to eat with sweet coconut milk.

~~~
Aapam with Vegetable Kurma

Though the authentic combo for aapam is coconut milk, you can't eat all sweet breakfast! Spicy vegetable kurma is the best savory side dish for aapam. You can have it with coconut chutney or any other Chutney.

Usually I make aappam with only raw rice, this time, I saw the recipe here, and tried it. You can find the other version(unfortunately the recipe is in tamil! :) ) of aappam here.

***Old rice (cooked rice soaked in water for at least 8 hours)

Sending this recipe to Christmas Delicacy event happening at Julie's "Erivum Puliyum"

Spinach Stir Fry / Spinach Poriyal

2011-12-09T08:36:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Spinach-1bunch (~2cups,chopped)
Onion-1
Red Chillies-4
Grated coconut-11/2tablespoons
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
A pinch of Sugar
Salt
Oil

Method
Clean,wash n chop the spinach.
Cut the onion into thin slices.
Heat oil in a kadai, add cumin seeds,channa dhal and urad dhal. Let them turn golden in color, after that add onions and broken red chillies.

Fry for a minute or two, add the chopped spinach and a pinch of sugar.

Mix everything together and cook for 3 minutes.

Add salt,coconut give a quick stir and switch off the stove.

Healthy and yummy spinach stir fry is ready! It tastes grate with roti's and rice. You can mix this with hot white rice, n that tastes awesome! :P

Note

Adding sugar helps to keep the greens retain their color.
Greens get cooked so fast, so don't over cook. I always cook the greens uncovered and exactly for 3 minutes. :)
Spinach may look more in quantity initially, but they shrink so fast, so add the salt at the end.
You can add cooked moong dhal or add minced garlic clove with this stir fry. Of all, this is the easy n fast method. If I get cleaned n washed spinach leaves, I don't even chop the leaves,just add them after a quick rinse!;)
Adding fresh coconut enhances taste, and its more healthier than frying the coconut.So be sure to add the coconut after you put off the stove.

Granola Bars

2011-12-05T16:12:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Old fashioned oats-1cup

Corn flakes-1/3cup

Honey-1/3cup

Chopped Almonds,walnuts,dates, golden raisins-1/4cup

Butter-1tablespoon

Sugar-1tablespoon

Vannila essence-1/4 teaspoon

Method

Combine the nuts,oats,corn flakes on a kadai, roast them on low heat for 2 minutes, then add the nuts and dry fruits..toss them till everything get roasted( but not burned! ;) ). Transfer into a plate n keep aside.

Add the honey,sugar,essence in the kadai and heat till the mixture bubbles-up. Now add the roasted items in the kadai, mix everything nicely so that the syrup is coated on all the roasted things.Transfer the content into a butter paper, make it into a square shape.Let it cool for 5-6 minutes.

Then cut into desired shapes, Initially the bars may look loosely packed, but after an hour they will retain their shape well. So, leave them for half an hour to one hour.

You can take the granola bars from the buttered foil paper once they are completely dry.

Crunchy,gooey n healthy granola bars are ready to munch! :)

Rava Idli

2011-12-01T06:28:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 11/2cups

Buttermilk-11/2cups

Crushed pepper corns & Cumin- 11/2teaspoons

Green chilly-1

Urad dhal-1teaspoon

Channa dhal-1teaspoon

Oil-1tablespoon

Eno fruit salt-3/4teaspoon

Salt-1/4teaspoon

Grated carrot-2tablespoons

Roasted cashews-few

Method

Heat oil in a kadai. Add the channa dhal and urad dhal and let it become golden color.

Add the crushed peppercorn &cumin, chopped green chillies, fry for a minute.

Now add the rava and roast it for 5-7 minutes(till the nice aroma comes from rava) on low heat. Let it cool completely.

Transfer the rava to a bowl, add the buttermilk and salt. Mix well and keep aside till the time you are about to make the idlies.

Heat water in the idli pan, slightly grease the idli plates and keep little carrots & cashews in each plates.

Mix the eno fruit salt and little water to adjust the consistency of the rava batter.

Keep the plates in the idlipot, heat it for a minute(this helps the stem to block the holes in the idli plate) then pour the batter to 3/4th of the idli plate.

Steam cook it for 8-10 minutes.

Take the idlies from the idli plate once it cooled completely. Enjoy the fluffy n spicy rava idlies with your choice of Chutney / Sambar .

We had it with Beetroot chutney and Kara chutney.

Coconut Cake

2011-11-26T17:35:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
All purpose flour-11/4 cups
Sugar-3/4 cup
Baking powder-1/2teaspoon
Baking Soda-1/2teaspoon
Butter-4 tablespoons
Egg(medium size)- 2
Milk-1/4cup
Milk powder-1/4cup (Optional)
Sweetened Coconut Flakes-1cup
Chopped nuts-1/4cup
Almond essence-few drops

Method
Preheat the oven to 300F. Spread the coconut flakes in a baking dish and toast it for 10-12 minutes(till it becomes golden in color). Toast the nuts for 6-7 minutes. let them cool. Crush the nuts coarsely and keep aside.

Sift the flour with baking powder and baking soda.

Cream the butter with sugar. Add the milk and milk powder,beat it for 2 minutes. Add the almond extract, and eggs. Beat well. Add the flour and mix gently with the whisk.
Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350F.

Now add the toasted coconut and nuts, mix everything together and pour the batter into a greased baking pan.

Bake it for 45-50 minutes or a tooth pick inserted in the cake comes out clean.

Crunchy nutty coconutty cake is ready to enjoy! Serve it with a cup of tea! :)

Linking this post to Bake Fest event by Vardhini's Zesty Palette

& Christmas Delicacy event happening at Julie's "Erivum Puliyum"

Dum Biriyani

2011-11-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

Biriyani is my hubby's favorite food..in the sense, he can have the same for more than one time! He doesn't touch any other stuff for the next meal, even if I serve after making some changes. Somehow he will find it and the lunch box will come back as it was in the morning! Biriyani is the excpetion, Usually I make it for dinner and the next day lunch.

Its been a real long time I prepared biriyani in this method. Yesterday when I pinged him regarding the dinner suggestions, his choice was this Dum Biriyani. Without second thought, i started off to the kitchen! :)

Ingredients
Onion-1
Toamto-2
Cashew-7
Bay leaf-1
Few Mint leaves & Cilantro
Clove-1
Cinnamon stick-1"piece
Olive Oil-3 tablespoons
Food color-fewdrops

Basmati rice-11/2cups
Ghee-1teaspoon
Bay leaf-1
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Few Mint leaves & Cilantro
Cinnamon stick-1"piece
Salt

To Marinate
Big chunks of Veggies -1cup ( I used a carrot,few beans, 3 florets of broccoli & Cauliflower, half of a small potato and a hand full of frozen peas)
Ginger-garlic paste -1tablespoon
Green chilly-1
Curd-1/2cup
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Coriander powder-1teaspoon
Biriyani Masala-11/2tablespoon
Bay leaves-1
Elaichi-1
Cinnamon stick-1"piece
Cloves-2
Fennel Seeds-1teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Mint leaves & Cilantro
Salt
Olive oil-1tablespoon

Method
Combine all the ingredients given under "to marinate" and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.

Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes.

Cut the onions, one tomato and green chilly.

Heat oil in a pan, add the whole garam masalas followed by cashews. Once they turn golden add in the onion-g.chilly,and tomato. Cook till the tomatoes become mushy.

Add the marinated veggies,cover n cook for 3-4 minutes and keep aside.

Heat 4 cups of water in wide pan. Bring it to a rolling boil, add the cumin seeds,whole garam masalas, salt and mint-cilantro leaves. Drain the water from the soaked rice and cook for 6 to 7 minutes. Drain the rice and add a teaspoon of ghee to it and mix well.

Pre heat the oven to 400F. Grease a baking dish and spread a layer of rice.Sprinkle some biriyani masala on top. Now add the half cooked veggies and spread it evenly.

Sprinkle mint-cilantro leaves, sliced tomato, then layer the remaining rice. Mix the food color with a spoon of milk and sprinkle it on top. Cover the pan tightly with the foil and bake it for 45-50 minutes.

Take the rice from the oven ,mix it gently and enjoy with raitha.

Dum biriyani with raitha!

Sending this recipe to Reva's "Royal Feast -Biriyani" event.

Mixture

2011-11-18T06:50:00.000-08:00

Ingredients for Omapodi/Sev
Besan/kadalai maavu -1cup
Rice flour-1/2cup
Butter(@room temp.)-1teaspoon
Hing-1/8th teaspoon
Water
Salt
Oil

Method
Combine all the ingredients except oil,sprinkle little water and make the dough as we do it for rotis.

Put the dough in the murukku press with the omapodi plate.

Heat(on medium heat) oil in a pan, press the dough directly on hot oil. This sev will get cooked very fast, take it out and drain the excess oil, keep it aside.

Ingredients for Kara Boondhi
Besan/Kadalai mavu-3/4cup
Water-1/2cup
Yellow food color-few drops
Oil

Method
Mix all the items except oil into a smooth batter. Batter should be in pouring consistency.

Heat oil(on medium heat) in a pan, pour the batter over a boondhi karandi /jalli karandi into the oil directly.

Like the sev, boondhi will also gets cooked so fast. Once the sizzling sound of the oil stops, take the boondhi's out, drain the excess oil and keep it aside.

Ingredients to deep fry
Peanuts -2 fist fulls
Dhaliya/Pottu kadalai -1 fist full
Curry leaves -2 springs
Cashew-10
Poha/Rice flakes -1 fist fulls
Minced garlic(optional) -4 cloves

Method
Fry the items one by one and keep aside.

Finally here comes the Ingredients for mixture! :)

Boondhi
Sev(Crush it coarsely)
The deep fried items mentioned above
Chilli powder -1 teaspoon
Salt
Hing -1/4teaspoon

Method
Combine all the items in a wide pan and mix it well.

Spicy crunchy mixture is ready!

Believe me, the process seems a bit longer but its actually simple. Since we are deep frying everything, the work will be over so fast! :)

~~~

Some of the visitors to my blog(s) will be thinking why am I seeing same recipes in Mahi's blog(s)?! :) Yeah, I do have another blog which is in my mother tongue. Some how I managed to post different things here and there.

I realized lately that not all of my (tamil) visitors here know my tamil blog. More over my other friends (here) are also from various parts of India, who can't read tamil. Hence,started posting the some of the recipes both in english & tamil. So friends, who are all visiting "Mahi's Space", do adjust these repeated recipes! Thank you! :)

Sweet Potato Fry(Baked)

2011-11-14T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Sweet potato-2
Chilli powder-1/2teaspoon
Olive Oil-1tablespoon
Salt

Method
Peel the skin and cut the sweet potatoes into thick lengthwise pieces.
Combine the sweet potato-chilli powder-salt in a bowl and toss it well.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Arrange the seasoned sweet potatos on a greased baking tray and bake it for 20 minutes, flipping them over after 10 minutes.
Guilt free hot n yummy sweet potato fries are ready to munch!

You can keep them in an airtight box for 1-2 days. They survive great in room temperature. It taste great when its just out from the oven though! :)

*****

Linking this post to Bake Fest event by Vardhini's Zesty Palette

& to Serve it -Savory Baked event by Krithi's Kitchen and Denny's "Oh,taste n see.."

Layered Parotta

2011-11-11T11:11:00.000-08:00

This layered paratha / parotta is a very famous food back home, and we never make this at home. You can get all varieties of parottas in every nooks and corners of Coimbatore. Being far away from home sometimes gives opportunities to recreate the food we love! :)

My hubby loves this parotta very much. Being lazy (always) and diet concerned (seldom), I will make this once in a blue moon! ;) Here is the egg free version,you can add egg, its purely optional. The process looks like longer, but if you do it in between the routine works, you won't feel it and its worth trying it.

Ingredients
All purpose flour-2cups
Milk-1/2cup
Warm water-1/2cup
Baking powder-1teaspoon
Sugar-2teaspoons
Salt
Oil- as required! ;)

Method
Add baking powder,sugar and salt with (Boiled & Cold) milk,mix well.

Take the flour in a bowl, add the milk and mix it slowly. Then add water little by little and knead the flour.

Add 2 tablespoons of oil, after the flour becomes non-sticky and knead it well for 10-15minutes.

Apply a generous coat of oil on the dough, cover it with a damp cloth, and keep it aside for at least an hour,preferably 2 hours.

Make uniform sized balls, by kneading and rolling the dough into each ball, apply oil and keep it covered for at least 30 minutes,preferably an hour.

Now oil the surface on which you are going to roll the parottas, and roll a portion into very very thin disk. (If the dough is in a perfect condition, you can roll it so thin].

Sprinkle little oil on the rolled parotta and fold it as shown in the picture. Roll it carefully into circles, apply oil and keep it covered. Continue the process and complete the dough.

Arrange the rolled circles in an airtight pan, keep aside for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

Heat a griddle on medium heat, take a rolled parotta, gently roll it into circular disc, put in on the griddle, Sprinkle oil..let it cook on one side, flip it over, sprinkle little oil and press it gently with the ladle.

Take it out from the griddle, keep it on the table top,beat it between your palms. This will help to remove the brown spots and get the nice layers.

Flaky and soft parottas are ready to enjoy with your choice of Kurma!

Big Batch Veg. Pastry Wheels

2011-11-09T10:43:00.001-08:00

We had a potluck party on the consequent week end of Diwali. It so happened in the last minute that I had to move to the appetizer section from main course as there was a shortage for veg. appetizers! :)

This is what I prepared for the party, its yummy and everyone at the party enjoyed it even though they missed the chance of tasting the south Indian Idli-Sambar-Chutney combo! ;)

Ingredients
Pepperidge farm Pastry sheets - 2 packs [4 sheets]
Milk- 3tablespoons
For the filling
Mozerella cheese -1/2cup
Potatos-3
Frozen mixed vegetables pack-1 [250grams]
Chilli powder- 3teaspoons
Corainder powder-2teaspoons
Cumin powder-1 teaspoon
Garam masala -1teaspoon
Salt
Coriander leaves to garnish
For the tempering
Oil-1Tablespoon
Cumin seeds-2 teaspoons

Method
Chop the potatoes into small pieces. In a pressure cooker, take the veggies with chilli-coriander-cumin powders,salt and 1/2cup of water. Pressure cook for 2 whistles.

Once the pressure has gone completely, open the cooker and mash the veggies nicely. [as we have added little water, the masala will be thick]

Heat oil in a wide pan,make the tempering with cumin seeds and add the mashed veggies and cook for a few minutes. [in case,the water is more, cook it for few more minutes to make it dry.]

Finally add the garam masala and cilantro,nix well and switch off the stove.

Thaw the pastry sheet for 45minutes. Roll it slightly by dusting some flour. Spread the masala on the pastry sheet, leaving an inch gap on the edges. Sprinkle the cheese evenly.

Tightly roll the pastry sheet from one end, brush little water on the other end and seal the edges. cover the rolls in a clear wrap paper. Continue the process for all the sheets and keep them in the freezer for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Take the pastry rolls from the freezer, cut into desired size slices, Brush it with milk. [you can do egg wash too.] Arrange them in a lined baking tray, bake for 25 to 30minutes.

Start checking the wheels after 25minutes, take them out once they turn golden in color. let it cool for couple of minutes and take them from the baking tray. Yummy pastry wheels ready to go! :)

Serve warm with ketch-up or hot n sweet sauce. As the party was in our friend's place, I heated the wheels for 10 minutes at 200F before serving. Here is a glance of the nice party we had....
Linking this post to Bake Fest event by Vardhini's Zesty Palette

& to Serve it -Savory Baked event by Krithi's Kitchen and Denny's "Oh,taste n see.."

Motichoor Laddoo

2011-11-07T06:06:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Besan/Kadalai maavu -1 cup
Elaichi-2
Water -1/2 cup to 3/4cup
Rice flour -1tablespoon
Baking soda -1 pinch
Sugar- 1cup
Water- 1cup
Yellow & Red food colors- few drops
Oil
To garnish
Ghee-1tablespoon
Cahsew-10
Raisins-10
Cloves-3
Rock cany-1tablespoon

Method
Add sugar and water in a pan, heat till the sugar gets dissolved and you get sticking consistency. Powder the elaichi and mix it with the syrup and keep it ready.

Fry the cashews-raisins and cloves in ghee and keep aside.

Combine the flours,baking soda with water and make a batter without any lumps.
Add the food colors and mix well.

Heat oil on medium heat, pour the batter over the boondhi laddle and the tiny boondhi's will start falling. [Tap the laddle gently if needed].

Take out the boondhi once the oil stops sizzling. Continue the process and finish off the batter.

Crush a hand full of boondhi's in a mixie.

Take boondhi's in a bowl,add the crushed boondhi, fried items,rock candy and 2 laddles of hot sugar syrup and keep it for 5 minutes.

Stir it once and add the remaining hot sugar syrup, and keep aside for 1/2 an hour. Take little soaked boondhi and make the laddos.[you can apply little ghee on the palm.]
Try to mash the boondhis gently while making the laddos.

Don't worry if you are not able to make the correct shapes initially, the shape can adjusted after an hour.

Arrange the laddos in a wide plate, cover the plate loosely and keep in an airy place for couple of hours.

Yummy motichoor laddo's are ready to relish! :)

7 links game

2011-11-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ambreen of Simply Sweet'n Savory has linked me in this game, and here I am with the 7links! :)

1.most beautiful post - Sweet turn overs

2.Most popular post- Mealmaker fry

3.The post I am most proud of - Coconut biscuit, Malai koftha

4.Most useful post - Vermicelli upma,Brinjal chutney

5.Surprise success post- Paruppu vadai-baked & Spring onion dhal

6.Most controversial post -none

7.Post which deserves attention,but did not get as much - Green beans casserole

I am linking the following fellow bloggers for this game..am not sure you have done it already girls..if so,pls by-pass this post! :) :)

Laya of Laya's touch of tamil recipes
Amina of Amina's Creations
Nalini of Nalini's Kitchen
Kalpana of Life with Spices
Vatsala of Show and Tell
Sangee Vijay of Spicy Treasts
Christy of My kitchen flavors- Bon Appetit

Pumpkin Stirfry/ Arasanikkay Poriyal

2011-11-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Back home we call Yello pumpkin / Parangikay as Arasanikkay (அரசாணிக்காய்). During the month of Markazhi (Mid-December to Mid-January) we go to Ganesh temple early in the morning, do puja, come back, put kolam's in our front yard, and keep the Pillaiyaar on the kolam and do puja.

The flowers of this yellow pumpkin are so common to keep on the pillaiyar's. At the end of Markazhi comes the Pongal,the harvest festival. This veggie cooked with field beans seeds is a must to be offered to the God "Sankaranthi" on the night before pongal day. In marriages, this veggie is a must for sambar. It has a nice sweetness that will enhance the flavor and taste of the sambar.

Enough of flashbacks, now coming back to the present, even though I get lot of pumpkins here in this season, to me they don't have the same taste of the veggie I loved. DH doesn't like any veggie which is in a color of orange,and has a sweet taste! Still i buy them once in a blue moon. :) ;)

Ingredients
Yellow pumpkin-200grams
Onion(small)-1
Green chillies-2
Coconut powder-2teaspoons
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Few curry leaves
Oil
Salt

Method
Peel and cube the pumpkin.
Chop the onions and green chillies.
Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds followed by channa dhal and urad dhal. Fry till the dhals become golden in color.
Add the chopped onion-g.chilly and curry leaves. Sauté till the onions become transparent.
Now add the pumpkin pieces, enough salt. Sprinkle little water,cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Open the pan, add the grated coconut, mix it well and put off the flame after a minute.
Easy and yummy pumpkin poriyal is ready. It tastes great with plain rice,sambar & rasam.

Sending this recipe and a click of a cute pumpkin & ghost to....

Halloween Fiesta 2011,happening at Vardhini's Zesty palate.

Rose Flavoured Coconut & Milk Burfi

2011-10-31T21:09:00.001-07:00

Last week in between our regular chitchat I got this recipe from my friend Vidhya. The recipe came over phone from Chennai to her house and from there to me! :)

Original recipe called for fresh grated coconut, but I was not having the patience to get the fresh coconut, started off with dry coconut powder. Instead of elaichi I added a few drops of Rose essence. The outcome was delicious! :)

Ingredients
Dessicated coconut powder-1/2cup
Milk -1/2cup
Sugar-1cup
Rose essence-few drops
Few cashews to garnish
Ghee-1teaspoon

Method
Combine the coconut powder,sugar and milk in a bowl,mix it well and keep aside for an hour.

Fry the cashews in ghee and keep aside.

Pour the mixture in a sauce pan and cook on medium heat.

Keep stirring the mixture continuously without burning. After a 5-6minutes, at one stage the mixture will become thick and start leaving the pan.

Add the rose essence & fried and broken cashews in the burfi mixture,mix it and pour it in a greased tray. With a greased spatula, smoothen the top and let it cool.

Cut the burfis into desired shape when it is warm. Garnish with the fried cashews. You can take out the pieces once the burfi cools completely.

Burfi's tasted great with a mild rose flavor and cashews. Enjoy them! :)

Diwali Special

2011-10-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, enjoy the Diwali treats from our house! :)

Mysore pak & Murukku recipes are already posted here and here. Other recipes are coming soon!

Happy Diwali!

2011-10-25T23:51:00.000-07:00

Wish you All a Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!

Mini Soya chunks& Veggie Biriyani

2011-10-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Biriyani Rice(Seeraka chamba)-2 cups
Mini Soya chunks - 1/2cup
Carrot-2
Beans-10
Onion-1
Tomato-2
Green Chilli-1
Hand full of Mint leaves
Few curry leaves, Cilantro
Biriyani masala-2 tablespoons
Turmeric powder-1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Coriander powder-11/2 teaspoons
Cumin Seeds-1teaspoon
Salt
Oil

To grind
Ginger-11/2" piece
garlic-5 cloves
Elaichi-1
Cloves-2
Bay leaf-1
Cinnamon Stick-3" piece

Method
Wash and chop the carrots & beans into small pieces. Cut the onion-green chilli into thin lengthwise strips. Cut the tomatoes into fine pieces.

Wash and soak the rice for at least 20 minutes.

Grind the ginger -garlic, whole garam masala with little water to a fine paste and keep it aside.

Soak the soya chunks in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Rinse them in cold water and squeeze out the excess water.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker, and add cumin seeds followed by onion and g.chilli. Fry till the onion becomes transparent, then add in the mint leaves,curry leaves, spice paste and cook for few minutes. Add the tomato pieces,cook till it becomes mushy.

Add the veggies and soya chunks, turmeric powder,chilli & coriander powders, biriyani masala and enough salt. Cover it and cook on medium heat till the oil oozes out. Add the rice and 3 cups of water.

Mix everything together, add the cilantro leaves, check the salt and close the pressure cooker. Cook for one whistle and put off the flame.

Open the cooker after it cools down completely and puff the rice gently.

Aromatic and spicy biriyani is ready to serve. Enjoy it with side dish of your choice.

Sending this recipe to Reva's "Royal Feast -Biriyani" event.

Idiyappam / Stringhopper

2011-10-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 2 cups
Water-11/4cup ***
Coconut oil-1 teaspoon
Sugar-2 teaspoons
Salt

Method
Boil the water in a pan, once the water started bubbling, add sugar-salt and coconut oil, switch off the flame after a minute.

Take rice flour in a pan, add the water and mix it with a spoon. Close the pan and keep it aside(for 10-15minutes).

Knead the rice flour like chappathi dough,(after it cools down) put it into the idiyappam press/murukku press.

Press the idiyappam on greased idli plates/idiyappam molds, steam cook for 10 minutes.

Hot and steamy idiyappam is ready! you can serve it with coconut chutney- vegetable kurma- or sweet coconut milk. I made it as tomato sevai.

***add the water carefully, after adding a cup.

Chilli Bajji

2011-10-11T10:28:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Yellow Chillies -6
Bajji Mix- 3/4cup
Water
Oil
Method
Mix water with bujji mix and make into a thick batter.

Cut the chillies into lengthwise and remove the seeds(only if you don't like spicy bujjies..I use the chillies as such! ;) )

Heat oil on medium heat. Dip the chillies into bujji mix and fry them.

Take them out once bujjies turn golden in colour.

Enjoy it hot with a cup of Tea!

Note
Bujji with coconut chutney/kara chutney is the best combo. :P
You can replace bujji mix with besan and a spoon of rice flour,salt, chilli powder and hing, a pinch of baking soda.

Garlic-Ginger Chutney

2011-10-04T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Garlic- 12 t0 15 cloves
Ginger- 3" piece
Red Chillies-12 (adjust to your taste)
Tamarind
Salt
Gingelly oil -3 to 4 tablespoons

For tempering
Mustard seeds,urad dhal and curry leaves.

Method
Peel the skin of the garlic cloves and chop them roughly.
Remove the skin of ginger and chop it into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan, and fry the red chillies, garlic and ginger one by one. keep the flame low, fry the items without burning or making it too crisp.

Grind them along with tamarind and enough salt. Add water and the excess oil while grinding.
Make the tempering with mustard seeds - urad dhal and a few curry leaves. Spicy and healthy chutney is ready to serve with hot idly/dosa.

Note
Try to use gingelly oil as it gives a nice aroma to the roasted ingredients, and be generous with the oil!;)

Dear friends, I am having problems with my laptop, and its difficult to browse through the blog-o-sphere. Thanks for your supporting comments even after my absence at your blogs!!

Capsicum Gravy

2011-09-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

One lazy evening, I wanted to make some side dish for roti's and did a google search! ;) This dish attracted me Ii the searched results! I've adjusted the ingredients according to our taste buds!

I used to make these kind of capsicum masala but adding little bit of new spices made a nice twist and the outcome was so aromatic n just perfect for roti's! You can check the original recipe here.

Ingredients
Capsicum -1
Onion(small)-1
Asafoetida- 2 pinches
Mustard seeds -1/2teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

To roast and grind:
Urad dhal-1 teaspoon
Methi seeds-1/4teaspoon
Coriander seeds-1/2teaspoon
Red chillies-6
Roasted peanuts - one fist full
Fresh coconut-1/4cup
Tamarind juice- little less than 1/4 cup

Method
Heat oil in a kadai, roast the urad dhal,methi & coriander seeds, red chillies carefully without burning. Grind them along with coconut and tamarind juice to a fine paste and keep aside.

Chop the capsicum into big chunks, onion into small pieces.

Heat a spoon of oil in a kadai, fry the capsicum for 2-3 minutes and keep aside. Add one more spoon of oil in the same pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds and asafoetida, followed by the onions.

Fry till the onions become transparent, then add the masala paste, adjust the water level, add salt and let it cook for 5-10 minutes.

Now add the roasted capsicum chunks along with the sugar and cook for few more minutes. Yummy capsicum gravy is ready! Enjoy it with roti's or rice.

I am back!

2011-09-21T17:42:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends, I am back after a month's vacation! Thanks for your comments in my scheduled posts!

Will catch you all soon!

Aloo-Gopi-Mattar

2011-09-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe to finish off the leftover veggies at every household! :) On a lazy weekend, I had a small cauliflower floret and a potato in the fridge. With the help of frozen green peas, the veggies became a tasty accomplishment for a day's meal!

Ingredients
Cauliflower florets-100grams
Potato-1
Green peas -1/4cup
Onion(smaal)-1
Green chilly-1
Few curry leaves
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Sakthi Curry masala /any other masala -2teaspoons
Salt
Oil

Method
Cube the potato, and cut the cauliflower into big chunks.
Slice the onion and green chilly into thin slices.
Heat the oil in a pan, make the tempering with cumin seeds, followed by the curryleaves-onion and g.chilly.
Fry the onions till they become transparent, add the veggies with enough salt. Sprinkle little water,cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.
Open the pan, add the masala powder, mix everything together, close the lid and cook for couple more minutes.
Quick n easy side dish is ready. This goes well with rice n roti's.

Khandvi

2011-09-05T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Besan/Kadalai maavu -1/4cup
Curd-1/2cup
Water-1/2cup
Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoon
Ginger-green chilly paste-1/2teaspoon
Sugar-1teaspoon
Salt
Freshly grated coconut-11/2tablespoons
Chopped Cilantro-1 tablespoon

For the tempering
Oil-1tablespoon
Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon
Sesame seeds-11/2teaspoons

Method
Grease a thali/foil papers and keep it ready.

Beat the curd. Combine besan-salt-turmeric-ginger,chilly past,sugar with the curd.
Add water little by little and whisk it without any lumps.

Pour the batter in a sauce pan and cook on low heat, stirring continuously till the besan gets cooked.

After 15 to 20 minutes, the mixture will start leaving the pan, at that time pour the batter on the thali/foil paper and flatten it uniformly with a spatula and let it cool for 2-3 minutes.

Cut the flattened besan mixture into 11/2" wide strips. Lift one edge of a besan strip and roll it carefully. (You can do this step only when the besan is cooked,otherwise the batter will stick with the foil, its not possible to roll it. So be careful and patience enough to cook the batter! ;) )

Arrange the rolled khandvi in a serving plate. Garnish with the coconut flakes and cilantro.
Heat oil and make the tempering with mustard and sesame seeds. Pour it over the khandvi's and its ready to serve.

Savoury Buttermilk Cookies

2011-08-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

I bought Greek buttermilk once and tried these cookies. Actually it was the same dough for a deep fried snack,instead of frying it, I made the dough little stiff and baked them as cookies. It was a great success! :)

Ingredients
All purpose flour -11/4cups
Butter milk - little less than 1/2cup
Baking powder-1/2teaspoon
Sugar-1tablespoon
Onion(small)-1
Green chilly-2
Olive oil-2tablespoons
Chopped coconut pieces-11/2 tablespoons
Few curry leaves, chopped finely.
Salt

Method
Sieve the the flour and baking powder together.
Chop the onions and green chilly into fine pieces.
Combine all the ingredients except butter milk in a bowl.
Mix well and add buttermilk little at a time and make a pliable dough.
Preheat the oven to 360F.
Divide the dough into small uniform sized pieces, arrange them on a lined baking tray.
Bake the cookies for 20 minutes, take them out, turn it over, then bake again for 5-10 minutes.
Yummy cookies are ready to enjoy with a cup of tea.

Naan

2011-08-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

I saw this butter naan recipe in Tickling Palates and thought of giving it a try! :) Naans were yummy! Thanks Radhika for the recipe!

Ingredients
All purpose flour-11/2 cups
Fresh bread slices-3 (i used wheat bread)
Curd-1/2cup
Water-1/2cup
Baking soda-1/2teaspoon
Salt

Method
Trim the edges of the bread and tear it into pieces. Combine bread pieces,curd,water,salt and baking soda. Mix it well and keep aside for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes the mixture will be like a thick paste, sieve the all purpose flour directly into the bowl, mix it well and knead into a soft sticky dough.

Cover it and keep aside for atleast an hour. Make orange sized balls out of the dough, roll them into round discs.

I was not having the patience to make naan's in the conventional oven or stove top. So just did it like usual roti's! ;)

Naan's were yummy and we enjoyed them with empty salna.

Idli uppuma

2011-08-18T15:42:00.000-07:00

This is the recipe which is prepared in most of the south Indian households to finish off the left-over idlies. Once the movie "சூரிய வம்சம்" came, this one became so famous and this dish is almost renamed as "Surya vamsam uppuma"!! ;) ;)

Though I love idlies, am not a big fan of this uppuma. Yeah...you guessed it right! DH is a great fan of Idli uppuma! :) Seldom I make this and whenever he sees this tiffin, his face will become instantly happy! This week i prepared it and he had it for breakfast as well as lunch! :)

Method
Leftover idlies-6 (One can use fresh idlies too, but its easy to do with refrigerated idlies)
Onion-1
Green chillies-3
Red chilly-1
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Curry leaves-few
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder(optional)-1/8teaspoon
Oil

Method
Break and mash the idlies into fine pieces.
Cut the onions and green chillies into length wise pieces.
Heat oil in a wide pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds, followed by channa dhal,urad dhal. Once the dhals turn into golden colour, add the curry leaves,onion ,green chillies, broken red chilly and turmeric powder.
Fry till the onions become transparent.
Now add the mashed idlies and stir well with the onions.
Reduce the flame to low and cook for 2-3 minutes and put off the flame.
Yummy Idli uppuma is ready!

~~~~~
Dear Friends, I am going on vacation for a month. Will try to visit your blogs to check the delicious recipes. Do come to my kitchen as usual and give your valuable comments!

See you all! Byeeeeeeee!

Empty Salna

2011-08-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

I've heard the word "salna[aka kurma]" only a couple of years back, which is served with parottas in many parts of Tamilnadu. In our region, we make "kurma" only! :)

In this salna no veggie is added and thats why this is called Empty salna. Special thanks to Asiya akka for sharing this recipe.

Ingredients
Onion -1
Green Chilly -1
Tomato -2
Few Mint leaves,curry leaves and Cilantro
Grated Coconut - 5teaspoons
Cashew- 5
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon- 2" piece
Elaichi-2
Ginger-garlic paste -1 teaspoon
Chilli Powder-1 1/2teaspoon
Coriander powder-1teaspoon
Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon
Fennel powder-1/2teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Powder the cinnamon stick,cloves & elaichi.
Chop the onion,g.chilly,tomatoes and mint.
Grind the coconut and cashew with little water to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions,green chilly & curry leaves till onion changes in colour. Then add the cinnamon-clove-elaichi powder and G-g paste and fry for a minute. Add in the tomato pieces and mint.
Cook on low heat till the tomatoes become mussy. Now add the chilli-coriander-cumin-fennel and turmeric powders and fry till the oil oozes out. Then add salt and a cup of water, bring it to nice boil.

Add the coconut-cashew paste, add enough water(~11/2cups to 2 cups), cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes. By then the salna will be cooked nicely and the oil will be floating on top.
Garnish with cilantro and put off the flame. Aromatic and yummy empty salna is ready to serve. Its a perfect match for layer parathas-chappathi and poori. We had it with Naan,which will be coming soon.

Note
Cover the pan and cook through out the entire process.
Onions-tomatoes should be finely chopped so that,you won't find any pieces in the salna.
Chop the paratha/chapathi into small pieces, soak them in the salna, thats the best method of eating this dish! :)
You can see the original recipe here.

Noodles with Grilled Veggies

2011-08-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Cooked Noodles - 2cups
Thinly Sliced Veggies-1/2 cup
(You can use your choice of veggies. I've used carrot,beans,capsicum,cabbage & broccoli)
Few Spring Onions to garnish
Onion-1
Green chilli-1
Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoon
Maggi hot n sweet sauce-2 teaspoons
Sliced Ginger & Garlic -1tablespoon
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Cook the noodles according to the directions on the pack, and keep it aside.

I got this noodles from a Chinese market.The pack had 15 small rounds noodles, I used 5 rounds.

Combine half of the capsicum-cabbage-onion slices with other veggies,add cumin-chilli-turmeric powders,salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil. Toss it well and arrange it on a lined baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 450F, cook the veggies for 8-10 minutes.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds-ginger and garlic. Fry for a minute and add the remaining onion-capsicum-cabbage slices with green chilly. Cook on high flame for a minute. Add the cooked noodles, grilled veggies, maggi sauce and toss it. (adjust the salt at this time)

Switch off the stove and garnish with spring onion slices,serve hot! :)

Navaratna Kurma

2011-08-03T11:22:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Carrot-1
Potato-1
Cauliflower Florets-1/4cup
Beans-5
Peas-one fist full
Pineapple Chunks-1/4cup
Seedless Black grapes-7
Raisins-7
Almonds-5
Onion-1
Cloves-2
Elaichi-1
Green Chillies-3(adjust to your spice level)
Bay leaf-1
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Chopped Ginger-garlic -1teaspoon
Coriander powder-1/2teaspoon
Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon
Pepper powder-1/2teaspoon
2% reduced fat milk-1/2 to 3/4cup
Oil
Salt

Method
Cut the carrot-potato-beans-cauliflower into uniform sized chunks, cook them separately with enough salt and keep it aside. (Keep an eye that the veggies are done but still firm.)

Cook the chopped onion-almonds-cloves and elaichi in boiling water till the onion becomes soft. Drain the excess water, peel the skin of the almonds and grind everything into fine paste.

Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with cumin seeds and bay leaf & ginger garlic pieces. Add the onion paste and green chillies.

Cook the masala on low heat till the onion mixture becomes dry..add cumin and coriander powders, cook for few more minutes without burning the masala.

Add 11/2cups of water [can use the water drained from the onions ] and bring it to boil. Then add the cooked veggies,peas and pineapple chunks.

Adjust the salt and let it cook for 2-3 minutes. Now add the pepper powder and the milk.

Once the gravy starts boiling, switch off the stove, add the raisins and grapes, garnish with Cilantro.

Navaratna kurma is ready to serve!
We had it with roti's. Goes well with rice items as well.

Note

My DH was a bit reluctant to try this as he is not a great fan of any mild kurmas. But after tasting my version, he said this is 1st time he has tasted this much spicy Navaratna kurma!! LOL!! :) So adjust the number of green chillies-cloves-pepper powder according to your taste buds!
I didn't add paneer, roasted nuts or cream and still it tasted great. [relished it guilt free!;)]. If you are making for parties, you can add all these items and the kurma will be more rich in taste.

Ulunthu Vadai

2011-07-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I love Ulunthu vadai, DH does not like this snack at all! Sambar vada and Thayir vada both are my all time favourite, but after marriage i've prepared it ONLY a couple of times!

1st time i was using a mixie to grind the dhal, the result was a watery batter!! Kept on adding all purpose flour to get the correct consistency, and somehow managed to make it..Second time was another comedy! Was having some extra urad dhal batter while making the idli batter, and tried making vadas, and they literally drank the oil!! Squeezed out the oil and finished it off! ;) ;)

This is the 3rd attempt..this time also I was not planning to make vada at all! Was grinding the batter for idli, and urad dhal batter was more than enough!! I took some of the batter and refrigerated it. After watching a heart breaking FIFA food ball match, we both were little upset. Hubby dear wanted some snack to change the mood, Successfully I started preparing the vada! :)

Urad dhal batter was still little watery, so added 2 tablespoons of rice flour, 2 green chillies and little onion, curry leaves and coconut, pepper corns and salt.

The oil was getting heated on low heat, I tried to make the vada's on a plastic sheet..Managed to make 2-3 vadas, but after that I lost my patience and just dropped them in oil! ;)

We had it with spicy kara chutney and tea. Besides the shape the taste was so good, and guess what?!! DH started liking Ulunthu vadai! :) Hopefully next time i will make the perfect vadai's!

So ladies,this is not a recipe..just an experience!! Better don't try to follow this recipe! ;) ;)

Bread Rolls

2011-07-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Bread-4 slices
Potato Masala(Recipe follows)-1/2cup
Tomato Ketch-up
Mozzarella Cheese-1/4cup
Olive oil-1tablespoon

Method

Trim the edges of the bread slices, stack them as shown in the picture below, roll them lightly with the rolling pin.

Apply a thin coating of ketch-up, spread the masala evenly and top it with cheese.

Carefully roll the breads, wrap it in a plastic wrap and refrigerate it for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400F, the rolled bread into slices, brush with olive oil, arrange them on baking tray, bake it for 10-15 minutes.

Crispy bread rolls are ready to eat. Serve hot!

I was making them in a hurry, so did it with single slices, rolled it and baked it for a quick breakfast, that was quick n simple!

Got the idea from Uma's blog..check her version of bread rolls here. Thanks for the recipe Uma!

Potato Masala
Ingredients
Boiled potato-2
Boiled veggies(carrot-beans-peas)-1/4cup
Onion-1
G.chilly-2
Few broken walnuts
Few curry leaves and Cilantro
Garam masala-1/4teaspoon
Cumin seed-1/2teaspoon
Oil
Salt
Method
Heat oil in a kadai,make the tempering with cumin seeds. Then add chopped onions,g.chilly and curry leaves and walnut. Sauté till the onions become transparent.

Add the veggies, and mashed potatoes with enough salt. cook on low heat for a few minutes. Add the garam masala, garnish with cilantro and put off the stove.

Linking this to DD's Quick n Easy Recipes & Healthy Snack Recipes events.

Vermicelli Adai / Semia Adai

2011-07-22T07:07:00.001-07:00

Ingredients
Cooked vermicelli -1cup
Rice flour-2 tablespoons
Curd -1/2cup
Onion-1
Green Chillies-2
Salt
Few curry leaves and cilantro

Method
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl.

Make into a thick batter.

Heat a griddle on low heat, pour the batter into a thick circle and sprinkle some oil.

Flip it over and cook till the other side turns golden colour.

Tasty vermicelli adai is ready. Serve it with your choice of chutney /pickle.

Was having some left over cooked semia, and wanted to try something other than the regular upma, ended up making this! :)

Now it looks like I have to make this dish more often! ;)

Potato Kurma

2011-07-18T20:35:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Boiled Potatoes-2
Onion-1
Tomato(small)-1
Green Chilly- 5 (adjust to your spice level)
Garlic-3 cloves
Few curry leaves and Cilantro
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

To Grind
Fennel Seeds-1teaspoon
Cashew-5
Grated Coconut-2 tablespoons

Method
Chop the onion-g.chilly-garlic into thin slices. Chop the tomato finely.
Grind the items given under "to grind" to a fine paste with little water.
Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds followed by chopped onion-g.chilly-garlic and curry leaves. Sauté the onions till it becomes transparent, then add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes.
Add the coconut-cashew-fennal seed paste with enough water and bring it to boil.
Crush the boiled potato into small chunks, add it into the kurma and reduce the flame to low.
Cook for 5-6 minutes on low heat, garnish with cilantro and put off the stove.
Potato kurma is ready!

This kurma goes well with Roti's and Poori's! I had this in one of my friend's house, got the recipe from her and tried it. :)

Sending this recipe to the following events..

1.Radhika's "lets cook series # 6- Subzis for Rotis" event happening @ Tickling Palates.

2.DD's Quick n Easy Recipes event happening @ Food Blog News. Click here to see the collection of the quick n n easy recipes.

Do check both of their blogs..you can find lot of yummy and delicious recipes! :)

Cinnamon Buns

2011-07-14T17:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
All purpose flour/Maida -2 cups
Rapid rise Instant Yeast -1 teaspoon
Cinnamon Powder-1teaspoon +2 tablespoons
Sugar-1/4cup + 1 teaspoon
Salt-1/4teaspoon
Butter-1tablespoon
Milk-1/2cup
Egg-1
(Butter-milk-egg in Room temperature)
Ghee-1tablespoon

Method
Dissolve Yeast with a teaspoon of sugar and salt in Luke warm water . Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

Heat the milk in microwave for a minute with butter and let it cool. Once it cooled down, add the 1/4cup sugar & egg, mix it well, then add the yeast, whisk it together.

Add the Cinnamon powder and flour, mix it and knead it well for 10 minutes. Add flour little by little after adding 11/2 cups..Stop adding the flour once you get the kneading consistency.

Initially the dough may be sticky, but after knead for 5-6 minutes it will become a soft non-sticky dough. Coat the dough with little oil and wrap it with clear wrap, keep it aside for 11/2hours.
By that time dough would be doubled in size..punch the air and roll it(1/4" thickness) with a rolling pin. Cut out the circles. If you wish you can cut a small inner circle with a cookie cutter.(I've used a bottle cap. ;) )

Arrange the buns in the baking sheet, cover it with the wrap and let it rise for another 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375F, brush the buns with little milk and bake for 30 minutes.

Keep 2 tablespoons of sugar in a plate. Brush the buns once they come out of the oven with the ghee and roll it on the sugar.

Cinnamon Buns are ready! You can enjoy as it is as a snack..or with Butter and jam with a hot pipping cup of coffee & an egg as a breakfast! :)

You would be wondering why the buns are in the shape of a dough-nut,right?? .........Well, I was looking for a recipe for baked dough-nut, followed almost all the steps! Whoa.. finally the baked doughnuts(!) tasted just like buns. Hence the recipe name became Cinnamon Buns! ;) ;)

So, what you think? Are they buns or dough-nuts????? :)))))))))

Lemon Rice

2011-07-11T19:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Cooked Rice-2cups
Large lemon-1
Onion-1
Green Chilly-2
Red Chilly-3
Curry leaves-few
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Channa dhal & Urad dhal -11/2 teaspoons each
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Squeeze the lemon juice and keep it aside.
Chop the onions & green chillies.
Heat oil in a wide pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds. Allow them to pop up, add channa and urad dhal, fry till they turn golden colour.
Now add the onions-g.chilly-curry leaves-red chilly-turmeric powder with sugar and enough salt.
Fry till the onions becomes transparent. Reduce the flame to very low, add the lemon juice, give it a quick stir and add the rice.
Mix the rice well and after a few minutes put off the flame.

Tangy lemon rice is ready to serve. Adding little sugar enhances the taste,so don't skip it. Make this in advance, as the rice absorbs the lemon juice nicely and tastes great after (at least)2-3 hours. Its a perfect packed food for lunch boxes and trips. Potato fry or some chips will be a perfect sides for this quick rice delicacy.

Sweet Turnovers

2011-07-07T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wanted to make some quick teatime snacks, but not in mood to do spend lot of time in the kitchen. Having a pastry sheet in the freezer is always handy to make easy evening snacks (of course,if you are not calorie conscious! ;)),right? I had some sheets, and here is the recipe.

Being lazy I just omitted the savoury stuffing part as it includes cutting,frying,cooking..ufff!! :-| :-|

Suddenly I noticed the sweetened coconut flakes sitting silently in a corner of the fridge! With that and few raisins-cashews, stuffing was ready! Still some of pastry sheet was remaining, and DH was also home! He gave me the idea to stuff some apples.

Wash and chop (half of) an apple, toss it with a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of sugar and all purpose flour..that's it, done!

Slightly roll the pastry sheets with rolling pin. Keep the rolling pin in the middle, fold the sheet. With a sharp knife, cut it into stripes. Open it, Spread it back, arrange the stuffing. Brush little water on the edges and carefully seal the edges in the opposite direction. Finally brush little milk on the turnovers.

Pre heat the oven to 450F, bake the turnovers for 15 to 17 minutes.Yummy sweet turnovers are ready!

For the apple turnovers you can add some lime juice and zest with the apples(I didn't do it this time.) Cut the turnovers into desired shape pieces and serve.

This bridal pattern will sure be pleasing to eyes and a party hit! You can just fold the pastry sheets as such. In anyway, turnovers will be yummy! :P :P

Wheat Rava & Veggie Upma / Vegetable Bulgur Upma

2011-07-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Bulgur-1cup
Water-2cups
Chopped vegetables of your choice-1/2 to 3/4cup
[I've used 1 carrot, few beans, one fist full of green peas, one small potato, small portion of cabbage ]
Onion-1
Green Chilly-3 to 4
Ginger-2" piece
Few curry leaves & Cilantro
Mustard Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal & Urad dhal- 1teaspoon each
Salt
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Oil
Method
Combine all the veggies with little water, microwave it for 3 minutes. Take it out after a minute, add enough salt, mix well, cook for another minute and keep it aside.
Cut the onion-green chillies-ginger into thin slices.
Heat oil in a wide pan, add mustard seeds,allow them to pop. Then add channa & urad dhal and fry till they turn golden colour.
Add the onion-curry leaves-green chilly-ginger pieces and fry till the onions become transparent.
Drain the excess water from the cooked veggies,add it with the sugar- fry for a few minutes.
Add 2 cups of water, enough salt salt (be careful while adding salt as we have cooked the veggies with salt) and bring it to boil.
Once the water boils nicely, add the bulgur and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Garnish with cilantro and switch off the stove.
Healthy and yummy bulgur & veggie upma is ready to serve. Enjoy it with coconut chutney/sambar.

Spicy Cauliflower Fry & Coconut Rice

2011-07-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for Cauliflower fry
Cauliflower Florets(finely chopped)-1 cup
Chilli chicken masala-11/2 teaspoons
Cumin Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Curry leaves - Few
Oil
Salt

Method
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan,make the tempering with cumin seeds and curry leaves, then add the cauliflower florets.

Sauté the cauliflower on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add chilli chicken powder (or any curry masala powder) with enough salt.

Cook for 2-3 minutes more, spicy cauliflower fry is ready!
Ingredients for Coconut rice
Cooked rice-1cup
Grated coconut -2 tablespoons
Onion(small)-1
Green chilly-2
Few curry leaves
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal-urad dhal-1teaspoon each
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil.

Method
Heat oil,make the tempering with mustard seeds followed by channa dhal-urad dhal.
Once the dhals turn golden, add the chopped onion,curry leaves and green chilly.
Fry with enough salt and half teaspoon of sugar till the onions become transparent.
Reduce the heat to low, add the grated coconut, mix everything well and add the rice.
Incorperate the rice with the ingredients in the kadai, continue cooking for couple more minutes and switch off the stove.

Let it cool and pack it for a perfect lunch box! :)

Pala pinju poriyal/ Baby JackFruit Stir Fry

2011-06-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

Baby Jack fruit is a seasonal veggie which is available for a few days in the summer season. Back home we use to buy this for every year. It tastes awesome. Few days back, I saw few baby jack fruits in the Indian store. I was so excited and grabbed one without second thought.(May be I should have thought for a minute!!;) )

So this is how the veggie was...I peeled the skin & cubed it into chunks with the idea of making a simple stir fry.

Ingredients
Baby Jack fruit chunks-11/2cups
Onion-1
Red chilly-2
Green Chilly-1
Few curry leaves
Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal & Urad dhal -1teaspoon each
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Garam masala powder-1/2teaspoon
Grated coconut- 11/2 teaspoons
Salt
Oil

Method
Cut the onion-green chilly into thin slices.
Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds, then add channa dhal-urad dhal and fry till they turn golden colour.
Now add the onion-g.chilly,broken red chilly pieces,turmeric powder and fry till the onions become transparent.
Then add the baby jack fruit, sprinkle little water.

Cover the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes.(till the veggie becomes tender). Add coconut and garma masala, give it a quick stir and put off the flame.
Baby jack fruit poriyal is ready! Goes well with any rice item or with Roti.
Baby jack fruit won't be sweet, it will have a nice taste, but to my surprise, this one was tasting just like jack fruit!! yesssssss..the veggie was sweet! My DH didn't like anything sweet, so after a few bites, he just handed over it to me! I have a sweet tooth, so enjoyed it! ;) ;)

Cauliflower Roast

2011-06-22T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ingredients for the stuffing
Cauliflower-11/2cups
Onion-1
Tomato-1
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Chilli powder-11/2teaspoons
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Coconut milk powder-1tablespoon
Salt
Oil.

Dosa Batter-1 cup

Method

Wash and cut the cauliflower into bite size florets,chop the onions,tomato & green chilly.
Heat oil in a kadai, add the cumin seeds,let them splutter.
Then add the onions,curry leaves, sauté them till the onions become transparent.
Add the tomatoes,chilli powder and salt. Cook till the onions become mushy.
Add the coconut milk powder with little water and bring it to boil.
Now add the cauliflower florets, sprinkle little water,cover it and cook(say for 4-5 minutes) till the veggie becomes soft but not mushy.

Reduce the flame to low, cook till all the gravy thickens. Finally add the cilantro and put off the stove.

The stuffing for the dosa is ready.
Make a thin dosa on a hot griddle, spread the masala in the centre,sprinkle some oil and cook till one side gets cooked.

Fold the dosa into a triangle carefully and flip it over.

Cook for 30 seconds and the cauliflower roast is ready to serve.

Enjoy it with your favourite side dishes!

Vegetable Kurma

2011-06-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

Roti..Nan..Paratha..Rice..Idli..dosa..aappam .. you name it!!! What ever may be the main course,this recipe will be a perfect accomplishment for all those!! :) This time we had it with spongy Appam!! It was delicious! :P :P

Ingredients
Mixed Vegetables of your choice-1cup
Onin(big)-1
Tomato(big)-1
Green chilly-1
Few Curry Leaves & Cilantro
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Chilli powder-11/2teaspoon
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

To grind
Ginger-1"piece
Garlic-3cloves
Green Chilly-1
2" piece of Cinnamon Stick
Fennel Seeds-1teaspoon
Bay leaf-1
Cloves-2
Elaichi-1
Grated Coconut -2 1/2 tablespoons
Roasted Peanuts-12No. (or) Dhaliya-1teaspoon(or) Cashew-7No.

Method
Wash and cube the veggies into equal size.(I've used a carrot,a potato, 5beans and a fist full of green peas)
Chop the onion and tomato into very fine pieces. Slit the green chilly.
Heat oil in a pan, make the tempering with mustard seeds, then add in the onions-green chilly-curry leaves and sauté till onion becomes transparent.
Now add the veggies with enough salt,half cup of water,close the pan and cook for 4 minutes.
Meanwhile grind the ingredients given under "To grind" table with little water to a fine paste.
Add the tomatoes with the veggies and cook for a few minutes.
Add the coconut paste and cook on medium heat till the oil oozes out.
Finally add the cilantro and switch off the stove.

Enjoy it with your favourite dinner! :)

Pakarkay theeyal/ Bitter gourd gravy

2011-06-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Bitter gourd is one of the few veggies my DH hates! If I make Pulikuzhambu once in a blue moon he will have it. Bitter gourd fry is always not permitted. As a result I buy this veggie rarely. When I bought it this time, i saw the paakarkay theeyal recipe in Chitra's blog. Tried it a few days back, and it was a big it. This is slightly different from the puli kuzhambu and tasted awesome.

Ingredients
Bitter gourd -2
Onion-1
Green chilly-1
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Tomato-1
Few Curry leaves
Sugar-1/2teaspoon

To roast & grind
Grated Coconut-3tablespoons
Small onions/shallots -5
Red chillies-7
Coriander seeds-1teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Pepper corns-7
Raw rice-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Tamarind-one gooseberry size

Method
Heat oil in a pan and add raw rice and urad dhal and fry till they turn golden colour. Then add coriander & cumin seeds, pepper corns and fry for a minute. Add in the shallots,redchillies, tamarind,coconut and fry on medium heat till everything turns brown colour.

Let it cool and grind it to a smooth paste.
Slice the bitter gourds-onion-g.chilles into thin slices.

Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds, followed by onions-g.chilly, curry leaves. Add turmeric powder, fry till the onions become transparent, add the bitter gourd slices.
Close the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the chopped tomato, cook till it becomes mushy. Mix the masala paste with enough water and add it with enough salt.
Cook it covered for 7-8 minutes, then open the pan, cook it on low heat till the oil oozes out from the gravy.
Add the sugar and switch off the stove. Pakarkay theeyal is ready to enjoy! It goes well with hot steaming rice as well as dosa and idly.

Vazhakkay Eriseri/ Plantain Fry with roasted coconut

2011-06-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

I tasted this in a friend's house. The very next day I wanted to try this out as 2 plantains were sleeping in my fridge for a long time. To my bad luck, I was running out of couple of other main ingredients(green chillies and fresh coconut) for the recipe. But was not having the patience to go to the store and getting things. So just proceeded with the alternatives and guess what?? It turned out to be really tasty. I know this may not be the proper "eriseri" but still it tastes awesome. :)

Ingredients
Raw Plantain -2
Red chillies-3
Coconut -1cup
Cumin Seeds-1teaspoon
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Curry leaves
Pepper Powder-1teaspoon
Turmeric Powder-1/4teaspoon
Salt
Oil
Method
Peel the skin and chop the plantains into small pieces. Keep them in water till you use them.
Combine the plantains,pepper and turmeric powder,salt with enough water and cook till the veggie becomes soft but not mushy.
Grind 1/2cup of coconut with red chillies and cumin to a coarse powder.

Heat oil(preferably coconut oil) in a pan,make the tempering with mustard seeds-urad dhal and currry leaves. Then add the coconut+cumin+chilli powder, cook for a minute or two.

Drain the excess water(if any) from the plantain and add it..
In a separate pan, roast the remaining coconut till it becomes brown. Add the roasted coconut to the plantains and mix well.
Cook on low heat for a minute and switch off the stove.

Vazhakkay eriseri is ready! It goes well with all rice varieties.

Sending the following recipes to "Healing foods -Banana" event started by Siri and hosted in Krithi's Kitchen.
1.Plantain Eriseri
2.Banana-Walnut Cake
3.Pazha kachayam

My Article in Aval Vikatan

2011-06-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends, Am happy to share the news that my article about Carlsbad Flowerfields is featured in the latest issue(published last Monday in India) of Aval Vikatan, a famous tamil magazine from the Vikatan Groups.

The Flower Fields is a beautiful place with lot of fun filled activities. If you live around LA, this is a must see place. With the Pacific breeze, colourful flowers and a big outlet mall, am sure you can spend a whole day here. They are open for 3 months in the Spring, so don't miss it in the next season!

Thanks to Aval Vikatan team,Thanks to my family and friends who wished me through phone and mails.

:))))))))

You can see some more photos of the Flower fields in the album.

Carlsbad Flower fields

Thanks!

Potato Podimas

2011-06-04T14:34:00.001-07:00

Ingredients
Potato-2 (medium size~200grams)
Onion-1
Green Chilli-2
Few curry leaves and Cilantro
Hing-2pinches
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Mustard Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Cumin Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Boil the potatoes with enough salt in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles. Peel them and keep aside.
Chop the onions & green chillies finely.
Heat oil in a kadai,add the mustard seeds,let them pop, then add hing,cumin seeds followed by channa dhal and urad dhal. Fry till they turn golden colour.
Add the onions-g.chilli-curry leaves and turmeric powder. Add little salt and fry till the onions become transparent.

Mash the potatoes coarsely and add it..
Mix everything to gather, fry on low heat for 2-3 minutes, add in the cilantro.
Potato podimas is ready to serve.
Can have this as a side dish for roti's as well as rice.You can use this as stuffing for masala dosa.

Puliyodharai / Tamarind Rice

2011-06-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
One (big) lemon sized Tamarind
Onion-1
Garlic- 1 bulb(roughly 12 cloves)
Round Red chillies-15
(adjust to your spice level &variety of the chilly.Can decrease the number if using long red chillies)
Methi seeds-1teaspoon
Curry leaves-2 springs
Mustard seeds-11/2teaspoons
Cnanna dhal-1tablespoon
Urad dhal-1tablespoon
Roasted peanuts-1 fistful
Turmeric powder-1/2teaspoon
Sugar-11/2teaspoons
Salt-2teaspoons
Oil-1/4cup
*Cooked rice-5cups

Method
Cook the rice well in advance.
Soak the tamarind in 3 cups of water for an hour, extract the juice and keep aside.
Roast the methi seeds on low heat till you get a nice aroma. Cool them and grind it to a fine powder.
Chop the onions and garlic. Break the red chillies.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and let them pop-up. Then add channa dhal-urad dhal and peanuts. Fry them till they turn golden colour.

Add the onions-garlic-redchillies-curry leaves, turmeric powder. Sauté them till the onions become transparent.

Add the tamarind juice, enough salt.

Let it boil nicely.
Cook the tamarind mix well till it oozes out oil. Finally add the methi seed powder & sugar,mix it well and switch-off the stove.
Puliyodharai mix is ready once its cooled completely. You can store it in a clean airtight container and store it for week in room temperature,can refrigerate it for 2-3 weeks.[if planning for a long term use, avoid the onions. I always make this for the trips and finish it off in one time.]
Mix the rice and puliyodharai mix.
This will be a perfect lunch for picnics and trips. You can keep it for 2 days. *I cooked 21/2 cups of Basmathi rice. The tamarind mix in the last but one photo was enough for that quantity.

This rice tastes divine with raw coconut(yes, raw coconut pieces - தேங்காய்த் துண்டுகள் :) ) or with paruppu chutney/coriander chutney/mint chutney. The chutnies should be thick and preferably made with roasted coconut(if using). Even any chips will be enough with this rice.

Home made pav buns/ Dinner rolls

2011-05-27T22:12:00.000-07:00

I saw the recipe of Pav Buns at Vardhini's kitchen, suddenly baked these this evening! :) Buns came out so nice. Thought of storing them and make pav-baji tomorrow, but we had it with evening tea and almost finished them! :)

I just followed her recipe except the amount of sugar. As a sweet lover, I wanted the buns to be little sweet, hence added some more sugar. You can see her recipe here.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour-11/2cups
Instant Yeast-1/2 of a 7oz pack
Sugar-2tablespoons
Salt-1/2teaspoon
Milk -1/2kap+2tablespoons
Luke warm water-2tablespoons
Butter-11/2tablespoons
Oil-1teaspoon
Egg-1

Method
Add the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar to the luke warm water, mix well and keep undisturbed for 10 minutes. By this time the yeast solution will be frothy.

Heat the milk for a minute in Microwave, add the butter, and let it melt.(heat again for 30 seconds.)

Add the remaining sugar and salt to the milk+butter, stir well till they get dissolved. Let the milk to cool down a bit. Then add the yeast to the milk and mix it.

Add the flour little by litter and mix it. It will be very sticky. I added little more(May be couple of tablespoons) flour to work with.

Knead it like roti dough for 10 minutes and you will get a soft dough which won't even stick to your fingers.
Coat it with oil,cover it with clear wrap. Keep it in a warm place and let it rise for an hour.(I kept it for 11/2 hours)
Punch the dough and make 6 equal balls. Place them on a greased baking tray. Make sure that you leave some space in between the buns to raise.
After an hour the buns will rise nicely. Preheat the oven to 375F. Give a generous egg wash to the buns and bake for 20 minutes.
Soft and tasty buns are ready! Let it cool for some time and remove them from the pan.

We enjoyed it with our evening tea!

:)))))))))))))

NB: I know am adding lot of snaps, but can't resist that! ;)

Mint Pulao

2011-05-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

To Grind
Mint-1 small bunch
Cilantro-1 fistful
Green Chilly-1
Cloves-2
Cinnamon
Elaichi-1
Grated Coconut-1tablespoon

For tempering
Ghee-teaspoon
Oil-2teaspoons
Cumin Seeds-1 teaspoon
Onion(medium size,finely chopped)-1

Basmathi Rice-1cup
Lemon juice-1tablespoon
Salt

Method
Wash and soak the rice for at least 20 minutes,drain the water and keep aside.
Clean and wash the mint and cilantro leaves. Grind the ingredients under "to grind" table with little water to a fine paste.
Heat oil +ghee in a pressure cooker. Make the tempering with cumin seeds,then add the onions and fry till it becomes nice brown colour.
Add the mint paste and lemon juice, fry on low heat till the oil oozes out.
Then add the rice, 11/2 cups of water. Cook for a whistle and switch off the flame.
Remove the cooker from stove top and let it cool.

Open the cooker, fluff the rice gently and serve. Any chips will be a nice accomplishment for this rice. You can add green peas with the pulao and garnish with a few roasted cashew nuts.

Sending recipe to Reva's "Royal Feast -Biriyani" event.

Brinjal-Drumstick-Potato kuzhambu

2011-05-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Five pieces of Drumstick,cut into 2" pieces.
One Brinjal
One small Potato
Onion-1
(Cut brinjal-potao-onion in same size chunks)
Green chilly-1
Few curry leaves and cilantro
Garlic-2 cloves
Tamarind juice-1/4cup
Chilli Powder-11/2teaspoons
Coriander Powder-1teaspoon
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

To Grind
Tomato-2
Grated Coconut -3tablespoons

Method
Heat oil in a kadai,make the tempering with mustard and cumin seeds.Let them crackle.
Add onion-g.chilli-garlic cloves-curry leaves and sauté them for 2 minutes.
Add in the veggies-tamarind juice-chilli powder-coriander powder and salt. Cook till the veggies are soft but firm.
Grind the tomatoes and coconut to a fine paste.
Add the coconut-tomato paste to the veggies.
Let it boil on medium heat till the kuzhambu thickens and oil oozes out.
Brinjal-Drumstick-Potato kuzhambu is ready to serve. Goes well with Rice and Dosai.

Methi-Mattar Malai

2011-05-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Few days back, I saw this recipe in Lavanya's Cookery Corner . Had a bunch of fresh Methi leaves by then, and prepared it. Rich and creamy side dish for roti's and pulao. Interesting variation to the regular methi dhal & methi roti. :)

Ingredients
Fresh Methi leaves from a small bunch.
Frozen green peas-1/4cup
Onion-1
Cloves-2
Green chillies-2
Coriander powder-1 teaspoon
Almond-5
Milk -11/4cup
Elaichi-1
Oil
Salt

Method
Soak the almonds in hot water for 30 minutes,peel the skin and keep it aside.

Peel the onion,cut into half, pierce the cloves,cook for 7 minutes in boiling water. Take it out and let it cool.
Once the onions are cooled, take out the cloves, grind it along with almonds and green chillies to a fine paste.
Heat oil in a kadai, add the elaichi and the paste. Fry for 6-7 minutes on medium heat.

Now add the cleaned,washed methi leaves, cook for a minute.

Add the peas and coriander power and salt. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Add the milk, reduce the flame to low.

Switch off the stove when the methi mattar malai boils nicely. (It will take 3-4 minutes)

Serve hot with roti's or pulao's.

Actually I added 10 almonds and the gravy was little thick. Next time I have to reduce the number of almonds to 5! ;)

Aval Upma /Poha Upma

2011-05-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

I wrote a big story with this post and published it yesterday. That post is no longer available because of blogger maintenance issues(i guess!!). Got it back after some days,Just copy pasting it:

****My DH is a big fan of aval(poha),but not me!!;) He just love this easy breakfast,while I feel its kind of dry. Obviously its been a real real real long time we had this. Last week end somehow (actually there was a lunch party in the same day! ;)) I made up my mind for this breakfast.

Even though I make this once in a blue moon,every time I make some taste adjustments like adding veggies or soaking the aval(poha) in tamarind water, adding peanuts. This time,added lemon juice.****

Ingredients
Aval(Poha)-11/2cup
Onion -1
Green chilly-2
Few curry leaves
Mustard seeds-1teaspoon
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Lemon Juice from half of a large lemon
Sugar-1/2teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Wash the aval(poha) 2-3 times and strain 90% of the water and keep it aside for 5 minutes.
Chop the onion-g.chilli into thin slices.
Heat oil in a kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds,channa dhal and urad dhal.
Add onion-g.chilly and curry leaves with turmeric powder.
Saute them till the onion bcecomes transparent. Now add the sugar and salt. Mix it well.
Add the aval(poha) and reduce the heat to low. Fry for 2-3 minutes, then add in the lemon juice and switch off the stove.
Aval upma is ready to serve.

Suddenly one of our friend happened to show up for breakfast, and we enjoyed it with pea-nut chutney. You would think what a weird combination is this??! But,trust me when you are not in a mood to cook elaborate meal, this comes handy! :)

Brinjal bajji/Katharikkai bajji

2011-05-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

You can make bajji with kaththarikkai(Brinjal) peerkkangai(ridged gourd), onion, vazhakkai(Raw plantain). Of all these veggies I would say Brinjal bajji is the easiest one. The pain of peeling the skin of peerkangai or shedding tears with onion, having black spots in the hand with plantain are not there with Brinjal. Just Wash it,chop it,dip in the batter,fry it! That's it!;) ;)

Ingredients
Half of a big Egg plant/ Brinjal
Besan/kadalai mavu-1/2cup
Rice Flour-1tablespoon
Baking soda- a pinch
Chilli powder-1 teaspoon
Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon
Hing/asafoetida - 2 pinches
Salt,Water and Oil to deep fry

Method
Combine besan,rice flour,salt,baking soda,chilli powder,cumin powder,hing in a bowl and mix well.
Add water little by little to make the bajji batter.
Wash, and cut the egg plant into big chunks.

Heat oil over medium heat. Dip the veggie in the batter and drop it in the hot oil carefully. Deep fry till it turns out golden in colour. Take it out, drain the excess oil in a paper towel.

Quick snack for a cold n rainy evening! Enjoy with your tea or coffee. :)

Mushroom Roast

2011-05-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
For the stuffing
Button Mushrooms-100g
Onion-1
Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon
Ginger-garlic paste-1/2teaspoon
Chilli Powder-1teaspoon
Coconut milk powder-1
Garam Masala powder-1/4teaspoon
Cilantro for garnishing
Salt
Oil
Dosa Batter

Method
Wash and chop the mushrooms.
Chop the onion and tomato.
Heat oil in a pan,add cumin seeds followed by g-g paste, onion and tomatoes. Sauté them till the onions become transparent. Add the mushrooms,cover the pan and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the chilli powder-salt, cook for couple more minutes.
Add the coconut milk powder,mix well and switch off the stove, add in the Cilantro leaves,garam masala powder and let it cool completely.

Make thin dosa, spread the stuffing evenly,drizzle the oil...

Fold the dosa into a triangle, flip it over..

Mushroom Roast is ready to serve. Serve hot with your choice of chutney/sambar.

We had it with Coriander chutney. If you can make coconut chutney too, the 2 chutney combo will be super perfect. You can bring in a (South Indian)Restaurant effect at home with Mushroom roast,2 chutneys and sambar!;)

White Kurma

2011-04-25T16:15:00.000-07:00

I got this recipe from a friend. We happened to spend one Sunday evening together and the chit-chat was continuing till dinner time. She made this kurma and one more kurma and roti's. While the original recipe called for coconut milk,She substituted fat-free milk..so this is a diet version of white kurma! :)

Ingredients
Mixed Veggies (chopped into small pieces)-1cup
Onion(medium size)-1
Green chilli-2(adjust to your taste)
Cumin Seeds-1teaspoon
Crushed ginger&garlic-1teaspoon
Few curry leaves and Cilantro
Red chilli-1(optional)
Pepper powder-1/2teaspoon
Fennel powder-1/2teaspoon
Corn flour-1tablespoon
Milk-1/2 to 3/4 cup
Oil
Salt

Method
Heat oil in a pan,add cumin seeds. Let them splutter. Then add chopped onion-g.chillies-red chilly-curry leaves. Add the crushed ginger-garlic and fry for a while.
Add the chopped veggies,salt, cook for 2- 3 minutes.
Mix the corn flour with little water, add it with the veggies, add pepper and fennel powder too.
Cover the pan,cook the veggies till tender. Reduce the heat to low and add the milk.
Let it boil for a few minutes, then switch off the stove, garnish with Cilantro.

White kurma is ready!

Enjoy with hot roti's.

Note
I have added Potato,green beans and peas. You can add carrots-cauliflower-broccoli too.
Adjust the number green chillies and red chillies as we are using pepper powder.
You can very well use coconut milk instead of cow's milk. :)

Banana-Walnut Cake

2011-04-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

My Hubby never eats cake,that's the reason I stopped baking cakes at home. To my surprise one day he said he used to go to Starbucks near his office and became a great fan of Chai-latte & Banana-Walnut cake. grrrrrrrrrrr! The very next day I baked this cake and thereafter it became our favourite evening snack. :)

Ingredients
Bananas-2
Walnut(broken into small pieces)-1/2cup
All purpose flour-11/4cups
Sugar-1/2cup
Baking Powder-1/2teaspoon
Baking Soda-1/2teaspoon
Cinnamon powder-1/4teaspoon
Pure Vanilla extract-1/4teaspoon

In Room Temperature
Butter-1/4cup
Milk-1/4cup
Eggs-2

Method
Sieve the flour with Baking powder-baking soda-cinnamon powder twice and keep aside.
Separate the egg whites and yolks.
Cream the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks-vanilla and beat well.
Then add the flour and milk alternatively, mix well.
Mash the bananas, fold it with the flour mixture.
Beat the egg whites and fold it with the cake mixture.
Finally add in the walnut pieces,mix well.
Pour it in a buttered baking dish and bake it for 45 to 50 minutes in a 350F preheated oven.

Cool the cake for 2 hours..slice it and enjoy with tea!

Amazingly soft cake with nice crust.Be ware,won't be able to stop eating! :P

Sending this recipe to "Healing foods -Banana" event event started by Siri & hosted in Krithi's Kitchen.

Baked Potatoes -Indian Style

2011-04-18T20:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Small Red Potatoes -10
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Cumin powder-1/2teaspoon
Olive Oil-1tablespoon
Garlic-3 cloves
Salt
To Garnish
Chopped onions-1tablespoon
Chopped cilantro-1tablespoon

Method
Wash and chop the potatoes into big chunks.
Boil 2 cups of water..add the potatoes with little salt and cook for 3 minutes and drain them.

Add chilli powder,cumin powder,grated garlic,salt,oil with the potatoes..

Toss it well and keep aside for 30 minutes. Then transfer the potatoes to a baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 350F, bake the potatoes for 30 minutes(stirring once in between). Garnish with chopped cilantro and onion..

and bake again for 5 minutes.Serve hot n enjoy!

Minced Chapathi with egg

2011-04-13T13:40:00.001-07:00

This is a simple and tasty recipe to finish off the left-over roti's! ;)

Ingredients
Chapathi/Roti -5
Egg-2
Onion(medium size)-1
Chopped Capsicum -2tablespoons
Green chilli-1
Chilli powder-1/2teaspoon
Sakthi Curry Masala powder-11/2teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method
Cut the chapathi(roti's)s into small pieces.
Chop the onion-green chilli.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai and fry the onion-green chilli-half of the capsicum pieces with little salt, till the onions become soft.
Add chilli powder and one egg, mix everything well.
Now add the roti pieces,give a quick stir, then add the other egg.
Cook till the egg is done and add the curry masala powder-mix well and switch off the stove after a minute or two.
Garnish with the remaining capsicum pieces and chopped onion.
Enjoy it with Onion-raitha or plain curd.

Note
Be careful while adding salt,as roti has salt too!

Thattai

2011-04-08T10:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Boiled Rice-11/2cups
Dhaliya(Pottu kadalai)-3/4cup
Red Chilli-10 (adjust to your taste)
Cumin Seeds-2 teaspoons
Channa Dhal-2tablespoons
Salt
Oil

Method
Wash and soak the channa dhal for 2 hours.
Wash and soak the rice with red chillies for 4 hours.
Powder the dhaliya in a grinder and keep it aside.
Grind the soaked rice and chillies with little water to a fine paste.
Combine the dhaliya powder-cumin seeds-salt with the rice-chilli batter.
Drain the excess water from channa dhal,add it with the rice-chilli batter.
Mix everything together to form a stiff dough.
Meanwhile heat the oil in medium heat.
Once the oil is hot add 2 tablespoons of hot oil with Murukku mixture and knead well.
Make small balls out of the dough,flatten it with your fingers on a greased plastic sheet.
Carefully take them off from the sheet and deep fry them in the oil.

Crispy thattai is ready. Store it in air tight container and enjoy! :)

Note

Adding hot oil will give the nice crispness to the Thattai for sure,but still you can add a tablespoon of butter (in room temperature) to dough while kneading. [I was running out of butter,so didn't add it,but no difference in the taste. ;)]
Heat the oil in medium heat,once its hot,reduce the flame to uniform low medium heat. Don't adjust the flame every now and then, as it will spoil the colour and texture of the thattai.

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Am sending Thattai recipe & some more recipes to Gayathri's "Walk through the memory lane" Event.

Murukku

Opputtu/Coconut Poli

Uppu Paruppu
Spinach Masiyal

Back home, Murukku and thattai are the snacks usually done for every Pongal. To read the stories( in Tamil) behind these snacks, click here.
Other recipes are our regional specials, of course, I learnt from my mom. :)

Oats Rava Dosai

2011-04-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Oats-1cup
Aata-1/4cup
Rava-1/4cup
Rice flour-2tablespoons
Green Chilli-1
chopped Cilantro-2tablespoons
Cumin seeds-1teaspoon
Water
Salt
Oil

Method
Powder the oats in a mixer.
Combine oats flour-rava-aata-rice flour-salt...add water little by little and mix it to dosa batter consistency.
Keep it in the fridge overnight.
Add chopped cilantro-green chillies-cumin seeds to the batter and mix well. Add little more water to make the batter thin.

Pour as thin dosa's in hot griddle..drizzle little oil. (Don't panic by the look of the dosa in the photo below..it tastes awesome! :) )

Flip the dosa, cook on the other side..

And enjoy with your choice of chutney/sambar.

Note: I have used both old fashioned oats and instant oats for this dosa,both are giving nice taste.

Spring Onion Dhal

2011-03-29T11:40:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
Spring Onion -1 small bunch
Moong dhal-1/4cup
Red chillies-2, Green chilly-1 (adjust to your taste)
Mustard Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Cumin Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Ghee-1/2teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method
Wash and trim the edges of the spring onions..chop them finely. Chop the green chilly.
Pressure cook the moon dhal with enough water and keep it aside.
In a pan,heat oil..make the tempering with mustard-cumin seeds followed by g.chilly,red chilly and fry for a minute.
Add the chopped spring onion and sauté them for 2-3 minutes on low heat.

Then add the cooked moong dhal,turmeric powder and salt.
Bring it to boil. Finally add the ghee and switch off the stove.
Simple spring onion dhal is ready to serve.It goes well with with white rice.
Mor milagai will be the perfect side dish for these kind of dhal! :P :P

Cabbage-Carrot-Beans Poriyal

2011-03-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we will have little quantity of the veggies, by then, the combination poriyal comes handy to finish of those veggies.Adding moong dhal enhances the taste and make the poriyal wholesome and healthy!

Ingredients
Cabbage-100grams
Carrots-2
Beans-7
Moong dhal-11/2tablespoon
Grated Coconut-1tablespoon(optional)
Onion(small)-1
Green Chilli-1
Red Chillies-2
Mustard Seeds-1/2teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Channa dhal-1teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method
Was and soak the moong dhal for an hour and microwave it with enough water for 3 minutes and keep it aside.
Wash and chop the veggies into fine pieces. Chop the onion and green chilli.
Heat oil in a kadai,make the tempering with mustard seeds followed by urad dhal-channa dhal. Then add the onion-g.chilly-red chilly and sauté for a while.
Add the chopped veggies, sprinkle some water and add salt. Cover the pan and cook for 4 minutes.. add the cooked moong dhal,adjust the salt and let it cook for couple more minutes.
Finally add the grated coconut and, and switch off the stove.
Serve with white rice - sambar/kuzhambu..this will go well with roti's too!

Scrambled Egg with Veggies

2011-03-16T20:54:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
3 Large Eggs
Half of a Red Capsicum
Few Broccoli Florets
One (small size) onion
2 Green Chillies
One (small) Tomato
Cilantro to Garnish
Salt and Pepper Powder
Olive oil

Method
Chop all the veggies into big chunks.
On high flame,heat oil in a skillet, add the veggies except tomato, sauté them for a minute.

Add in the tomato pieces,salt and pepper.

Cover the pan and cook them for a minute.

Transfer the veggies to a plate and keep aside.

Beat the eggs with salt & pepper,pour it in the same skillet.

Spread the veggies on the egg mixture and sprinkle some oil.

Mix the veggies & egg..cook for a minute,switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy the Quick breakfast with a cup of juice and bread!!! :)

Aloo-Matar

2011-03-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Ingredients
Small potatoes-12
Frozen green peas -1/4cup
Onion(medium size)-1
Green chilli-1
Tomato(big)-1
Gignger-1/4" piece
Garlic-2cloves
Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon
Chilli powder-1teaspoon
Coriander powder-1teaspoon
Cumin Seeds-1teaspoon
Oil
Salt

Method
Boil the small potatoes and peel the skin. Shallow fry them with little oil and keep it aside.

In the same pan,add crushed ginger-garlic,chopped onion-g.chilli and fry till the onion becomes transparent. Then add chopped tomatoes and cook till it becomes mushy. Add the spice powders,cook on low heat till the raw smell goes.

Let it cool. Grind the masala with little water to fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan,make the tempering with cumin seeds, add the masala with enough water and bring it to boil.
Add the (defrosted) green peas and the potatoes.
Cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Switch off the stove and garnish with cilantro.
Aloo-matar is ready to enjoy with roti/poori.

Horsegram Dosai/Kollu Dosai

2011-03-07T12:01:00.000-08:00

Last week while talking with my mom, i was telling about kollu idli/dosa recipes,she was also interested to see the outcome. At last tried it and had a healthy and yummy breakfast on this week end. Thanks Malar for the recipe! :)

Ingredients
Brown Rice-2 cups
Horse Gram(kollu)-1/2cup
Fenugreek seeds(vendhayam) -1 teaspoon
Salt

Method
Wash and soak the horse gram, rice & methi seeds for 6 hours.
Grind the rice and fenugreek seeds together and horse gram separately. Add enough salt, mix it well and keep aside for 8 hours for fermentation. (fermentation time varies according to your weather though! :))
Make dosas and enjoy it with your choice of chutney/sambar.

Crispy dosas with Mint Chutney

Recipe Source: http://www.kitchentantra.com/

Thepla

2011-03-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

Being a South Indian, I am not aware of many speciality dishes of North India. Accidentally I came across this recipe Here. Adding coriander powder-chilli powder-kasoori methi..hmm,interesting!! :) Had all the ingredients mentioned there,and prepared it for a Saturday lunch. Turned out to be really delicious!

I took pictures,they were lying in my laptop for long! To my surprise, saw thepla's in many of the fellow bloggers spaces lately.There are lot of variations,and this one is a simple yet yummy recipe.

Ingredients
Aata -1 1/2cups
Curd -1/2cup
water-1/4cup
Kasoori Methi-1tablespoon
Chilli Powder-1teaspoon
Coriander Powder-1teaspoon
Sugar-1teaspoon
Oil-1teaspoon
Salt

Method
Add the water with curd and beat it well.
Combine all the ingredients in a wide bowl..

Knead well to form a smooth dough.

Keep it covered for (at least) 15 minutes and make the roti's as you do for normal chapathi's.

Serve the thepla's as such or with pickle/kurma/chutney or Honey. It was totally new for me to have roti's with honey. As I don't like honey, I never tried it. My hubby compelled me to try that,at last I had it. It was really yummy!! Unfortunately,that was the last one. Somehow managed to click this for the blog! :)