Happy New Year 2015!

Wish You a Very Happy New Year 2015!  May this bring happiness, health and wealth to you & your family! ...

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Diwali Wishes..

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Taking a break..

 I am traveling to India this week and will be back in the end of September. See you then with some interesting posts. Thanks for the support friend...

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Easy Chutney for Idly & Dosa

Ingredients Onion(big)-1 Tomato(big)-1 Green chilly-3 (adjust to taste) Roasted peanuts- one fist full Tamarind- tiny piece Oil  Salt Method Chop the onion and tomato into big chunks. Heat oil in a pan, add the onion-green chilly, sauté them for 2-3 minutes on medium heat.  Then add the tomato and sauté until it becomes soft. Add the roasted peanuts and tamarind. Fry for a minute and put off the stove. Let it cool, then grind it into a fine chutney. No need to add water, the tomatoes we added will do the...

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Cabbage & Wheat flour Adai

Ingredients Wheat flour-1cup Chopped onion-1/4cups Chopped green chillies-3 (adjust to taste) Chopped cilantro-2tablespoons Grated coconut-1tablespoon Salt Water Oil  to saute  Oil-1teaspoon Cumin seeds-1/2teaspoon Chopped cabbage-1/4cup Method Heat a teaspoon of oil, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter.  Add the cabbage and sauté for 2-3minutes. Let it cool down completely.  Combine wheat flour-chopped onion-chopped green chillies-chopped cilantro-sauted cabbage-salt-grated coconut in a...

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Vendaikkai Poriyal/Okra Stir-fry/Ladies Finger Stir-fry

This is a quick and delicious stir-fry. I posted it long back, but now the pictures are missing in that post. Thought of updating the recipe with fresh pictures. :) Ingredients Vendaikkai/Okra/Ladies finger - 20 Chilly powder-2teaspoon(adjust to taste) Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon Salt Oil To Mince Coconut-2tablespoons Cumin seeds-1teaspoon Onion-1 Method Wash and pat-dry the okra/Vendaikkai. Trim the edges, slit them into 4 pieces. Mince the items in a food processor/mixie to a coarse paste.  Heat oil in a wide pan,...

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Freezing Coconut Paste

Coconut paste is used in lot of kurma varieties and kuzhambu varieties in South Indian cooking. Making the coconut paste in bulk and freezing it will be handy. I used the cute ice cube trays to freeze the coconut. Ingredients Whole coconut/Freshly grated coconut Very little water Method Wash the ice cube trays and keep it ready. Break the coconut, and using a sharp knife, take the coconut, chop into small pieces. (If using freshly grated coconut, you can skip this step) Take the coconut in a mixer/food processor and pulse it for 3-4...

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Methi Leaves Stir-fry/Vendhaya Keerai Poriyal

You might wonder cooking methi leaves alone will result in a bitter dish. But try this recipe, I bet you will love it. Its healthy, quick..more than that its delicious! :) Ingredients Methi leaves -1small bunch Chopped onion-2tablespoons Red chilies-2 (or) 3 Tomato-1 (small) Grated coconut-1tablespoon Mustard seed-1/2teaspoon Channa dal & Urad dal-1/2teaspoon each Sugar-1/4teaspoon Salt Oil Method Keep the onions-tomatoes-redchilly and other tempering ingredients ready. Clean and wash methi leaves. Heat the oil in a pan, add...

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Soya Puli Kuzhambu/Mealmaker in Tamarind Gravy

Ingredients Meal maker/Soya chunks - 20 Onion-1 Green chilly-1 Tomato-1 Garlic-10cloves Few curry leaves Turmeric powder-1/4teaspoon Shakti Vatha kuzhambu podi-3teaspoons[can be replaced by 11/2teaspoons chili powder + 11/2teaspoons coriander powder] Coconut milk powder-1tablespoon Tamarind juice(thick) -1/4cup Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon Methi seeds-10 Salt Sugar-1/2teaspoon Gingely oil - 1tablespoon Method Wash and put the soya chunks in boiling water, cook for 3 minutes. Drain them and squeeze out the water and...

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Wholegrain Bread Pudding with Condensed milk

Ingredients Wholegrain Bread - 4 slices Condensed milk-1/4cup Eggs-2 Butter-1tablespoon Milk-1/2cup Sugar-1tablespoon Raisins-one fist full Cinnamon powder -1/4 teaspoon (or) Vanilla essence-1/2teaspoon  Method Cut the bread into bite size pieces and keep it ready. Take the condensed milk and butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for a minute, whisk it well and let it cool. To that, add 2 eggs, sugar and 1/2cup milk, cinnamon powder (or) vanilla essence and beat everything well. Add the chopped bread,...

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Quinoa Paniyayarm

Ingredients Wild quinoa/Quinoa -1cup Brown rice-1cup Methi seeds-1teaspoon Urad dal-1/4cup Salt Method Wash and soak the rice-quinoa and methi seeds for 4 to 5 hours. Wash and soak urad dal for 11/2 hour.[Can soak it separately or with quinoa itself, I soaked with quinoa] Grind everything to a fine batter, add enough salt and let it ferment for at least 8 hours. Check the consistency of the batter, add water if necessary while preparing paniyarams. Heat a paniyaram pan on medium heat with little oil in each of the hole. Pour a small...

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Ridge gourd Stir-fry / Peerkangai Poriyal

Ingredients Ridge gourd - 1 (chopped 1 cup) Chopped onion-2tablespoons Green chilly-1 or 2 Grated coconut-2teaspoons Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon Channa dal & Urad dal-1/2teaspoon each Oil Salt Method Trim the edges and skin of the ridge gourd and cut it into desired shape pieces. [I like veggies to be on the bigger size so chopped them into small cubes] Heat oil in the pan, add the mustard seeds and let them pop-up. Add the channa and urad dal, let them turn golden in color. Add the onion, green chilly, sauté for a minute and...

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Lemon Pickle/Elumichai Oorugai

Ingredients Large Lemons -5 Chilli powder-3tablespoons Methi seeds-2teaspoons Hing/Asafoetida - 1/2teaspoon Salt-1/4cup Mustard seeds-1teaspoon Oil-1/4cup Method Wash and pat dry the lemons.  Cut them into desired size pieces. [As I had big lemons, I have cut each one into 16 pieces] Add salt, mix it well with the lemon pieces and keep it aside for a day.   The next day.. Dry roast the methi seeds and hing/asafoetida. Let it cool, then grind it into a fine powder. Mix the chilly powder with the lemon pieces. Heat...

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