Diwali Special

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

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

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Happy Diwali!

Wish you All a Very Happy and Prosperous Diwali!

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Mini Soya chunks& Veggie Biriyani

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.

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Idiyappam / Stringhopper

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.

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Chilli Bajji/ Molaga Bajji

Ingredients
Yellow Chillies/ Bajji Milagai -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.

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Garlic-Ginger Chutney

Ingredients
Garlic- 12 to 15 cloves
Ginger- 3" piece
Red Chillies-6 (adjust to your taste)
Small piece of 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!!

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Capsicum Gravy

One lazy evening, I wanted to make some side dish for roti's and did a google search! ;) This dish attracted me in 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/ capsicum curry is ready! Enjoy it with roti's or rice.

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I am back!

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

Will catch you all soon!

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Aloo-Gopi-Mattar

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.

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Khandvi

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.

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Savoury Buttermilk Cookies

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.

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Naan

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.

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Idli upma

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!

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Empty Salna

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.

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Noodles with Grilled Veggies

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! :)

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Navaratna Kurma

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.
  

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