White Kurma

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

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

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

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

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

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.