Stuffed Brinjals

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

Read More

Beetroot Kuruma

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!
~~~
~~~

Read More

Butter Biscuit / Benne Biscuit

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. :)
~~~
~~~

Read More

Sabudana Kichidi / Javvarisi Upma

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! :)

Read More

Quiche/Savory Tart

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"

Read More

Mushroom & Mealmaker Biriyani

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.

~~~

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

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


Dum Biriyani

~~~

Tomato Biriyani

~~~

Mint Pulao

~~~
Mini Soya Chunks & Veggie Biriyani

Read More

Aappam with Coconutmilk

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 griddle 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 powder 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"

Read More

Spinach Stir Fry / Spinach Poriyal

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.
  

Read More

Granola Bars

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! :)

Read More