Diwali Wishes!

Mahi's Kitchen Wishes Everyone A Very Happy Diwali!

 

Our Diwali with Butter Murukku & Sweets from India..

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Capsicum Paruppu Usili

Ingredients
Capsicum -1 (Its a big sized one, I got approximately 11/2 cups of chopped capsicum pieces)
Channa dhal -1/4cup
Red chilly-6  (adjust to your taste)
Hing - 1/8 teaspoon
Turmeric powder -1/8 teaspoon
Mustard seeds -1 teaspoon
Urad dhal -11/2 teaspoons
Few curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Method

Wash and soak the dhal for an hour along with dried red chillies.
Drain the water and grind the dhal,red chillies along with enough salt and a generous pinch of hing to a coarse paste.

Heat oil in a non-stick kadai, make the tempering with mustard seeds,urad dhal and curry leaves. Then add the chopped veggie with little salt, and cook for a couple of minutes.

Now take the capsicum from the kadai, keep it aside and add little more oil. Add the ground dhal paste and fry it on low heat till it gets cooked.(Sprinkle little oil once in a while and keep stirring..it won't take more than 5-6 minutes, non-stick kadai makes the job easy! :) )

Finally add the capsicum, mix everything well, cook for 2-3 minutes and put off the flame.

Note
You can use thoor dal / split moong dal instead of channa dhal, or you can combine the dhals as well.
Take care and don't overcook the capsicum.
Instead of frying the raw dhal paste in oil, you can steam/microwave the same and use it for a more healthier option. Personally We prefer the usili in this way! ;)

I have noted down this recipe long back from a blog, unfortunately don't remember the site and could not link back to the original recipe.

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Onion Chutney

Ingredients
Onion -1
Red Chilli Powder -11/2 teaspoon (adjust to your taste)
Hing Powder- 2 pinches
Small piece of  tamarind
Salt
Oil
For tempering
Oil
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Urad dhal-1teaspoon
Few curry leaves

Method
Chop the onion into big chunks.
Heat Oil in a pan and add the onion and tamarind. Sauté the onions till it becomes transparent.
Finally add the chilli powder, hing powder and put off the stove. (Take care, the chilli powder has to be cooked only by the heat in the pan, you should not burn it.)

Let it cool, add salt and grind it to a fine paste. (No need to add water, add very little water if required.)

 

Heat oil in a pan and make the tempering with mustard seeds, urad dhal and few curry leaves.

Spicy chutney is ready to serve. Enjoy it with idli/dosa/roti.

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Kanchepuram Idli

 

Ingredients - For the batter
Raw rice - 1 cup
Boiled rice -1 cup
Whole urad dal - 6 tablespoons [little less than 1/2cup]
Curd - 1 tablespoon
Salt

Ingredients - For tempering
Gingelly  Oil - 2 teaspoons
Ghee- 2 teaspoons
Ginger -2" piece
Broken cashew - few
Pepper corns - 10 to15
Cumin Seed - 11/2teaspoons
Channa dhal  - 2 teaspoons
Urad  dhal - 2 teaspoons
Mustard seed-1teaspoon

Method
Wash and soak the rices together for 6 hours.
Wash and soak the urad dal for 11/2hours separately.
Grind the rice with little water to a coarse paste.
Grind the dal with little water to a fine paste.
Mix the rice batter , urad dal batter with a tablespoon of curd and enough salt. Let it ferment for 8 to 10 hours.

Crush the pepper corns and cumin seeds separately.
Heat ghee in a small pan and roast the cashews.
Heat the gingelly oil, and add the mustard seeds, once they crackle, add in the dhals and chopped ginger, fry them till they turn golden colour.
Add all these ingredients to the fermented batter and mix it well.

Heat enough water in the steamer. Grease small ever-silver cups / tumblers and pour the idli batter (3/4th of the cup).

Steam the idlies for 20 minutes. ( Steaming take more time because we use cups to make the idlies)

Take the cups out of the steamer and let it cool..

..and take idlies from the cup. Spongy and spicy Kanchepuram idlies are ready to serve.

Instead of steaming them in individual cups, you can steam it in a big ever-silver plate as we do for Dhokla. Adjust the steaming time according to the size of the plate and amount of the batter you are using.

I used a small plate and it took 20-25 minutes to cook. After the plate has cooled down, run a sharp knife around the edge of the plate, revert it onto another plate, slice it and serve.

  

We had these yummy kanchepuram idlies with  coconut chutney.

  

I have used my spice box (anjarai petti) cups to make these cute idlies, you can use any other small cups you have. Instead of having the regular idlies, these different shaped idlies are interesting to make and eat! :)

  

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Mushroom Matar

Mushroom Matar with pav bhaji masala & half n half..weird?? Nope...its yummy-o-yummy!  

Ingredients

Button mushroom-6

Frozen peas -1/2cup

Half n half milk-3 tablespoons

Onion-1

Green chilly-1

Tomatoes-2

Pav bhaji massla-2 teaspoons

Turmeric powder-1/8teaspoon

Fennel seeds-1/2 teaspoon

Salt

Oil

Method

Clean and cut the mushrooms.

Chop the onion,green chilly and tomato.

Heat oil,add the fennel seeds. Let them splutter, add the onion-g.chilly and fry for a few minues.(till the onions are transparent)

Now add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft n mushy.

Add the pav bhaji masala,turmeric powder,salt with 1/2 cup of water. Let it boil nicely.

Add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes.

Add the frozen peas and continue cooking for 5-6 minutes.

Reduce the flame to low, add the half n half milk, stir it gently. Put off the flame couple of minutes later,garnish with cilantro.

Serve with roti/paratha/rice or any kind of Pulao. 

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Phirni /Chawal ki kheer/Rice kheer

Glad to see you all after a break..let me start the blogging with a sweet dish! :) 

Ingredients
Raw rice /Basmati Rice - 1 fist full
Milk -2 cups
Water -1/2cup
Sugar -1/2cup [adjust to your taste]
Cardamom - 2
Ghee -1teaspoon

Method
Wash the rice, and fry it with a teaspoon of ghee.
Once the rice has slightly puffed up, add 1/2 water + 1/2cup milk.
Reduce the flame to medium low after the milk started boiling.
Stir it occasionally and keep adding milk, 1/4cup at a time, till the rice gets cooked.

The quantity of milk may vary according to the quality of your rice. I added almost a cup, in 4 equal intervals.
Mash the rice with the back of ladle and then add the sugar. Let it melt.

Add the final addition of milk, reduce the heat and cook for a few minutes. Crush the cardamom, add it to the kheer and put off the flame.

Note: The kheer becomes thick once cooled, so you can reserve some milk and add it while serving. Can add the dry fruits and nuts as well.

Recipe Courtesy : Here

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Linking this post to "Serve It - Boiled" event happening at Krithi's kitchen. & Denny's kitchen.

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Rosemilk Agar-Agar / China Grass Dessert with rose flavour

Ingredients
Agar-agar /China grass - 20 strands (~ 20grams)
Sugar-1/4cup
Coconut Milk -1 cup [I used 3 tablespoons coconut cream powder in a cup of Luke warm water]
Rose essence -few drops
Red Food colour- few drops (optional)
Ice cube trays (optional)
Water -1cup

Method
Cut the agar-agar strands into small pieces and soak it in a cup of water for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Take the soaked agar-agar in a sauce pan and heat it till the agar-agar dissolves..

Add the coconut milk and sugar after the china grass has dissolved completely, Remove from the heat, add 2-3 drops of red colour and rose essence.

Mix it thoroughly, filter it once and fill in the ice-cube trays. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes and then keep them in the fridge.

After 2-3 hours, loosen them with a knife and take out from the ice-trays.

Simple and healthy pudding with a pleasant colour and flavour is ready!

Note: The pudding made with normal milk will be little delegate, if you compare them with the one's made with coconut milk. Also, if you use fresh coconut milk, the colour of the pudding may vary. :)

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Dear friends, I am going on a vacation. See you all in a while!

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Set Dosa/ Sponge Dosa / Kal Dosa

This dosa is served as a set of 2 and thus got the name. :)

Ingredients
Raw rice - 1 cup
Boiled rice -1 cup
Whole urad dal - 6 tablespoons [little less than 1/2cup]
Curd - 1 tablespoon
Salt

Method
Wash and soak the rices together for 6 hours.
Wash and soak the urad dal for 11/2hours separately.
Grind the rice with little water to a coarse paste.
Grind the dal with little water to a fine paste.
Mix the rice batter , urad dal batter with a tablespoon of curd and enough salt. Let it ferment for 8 to 10 hours.
Take the required amount of batter, add very little water to make it into pouring consistency.
Heat a griddle on medium heat, pour a big ladle of batter, make thick dosa. Sprinkle oil and cover it with a lid.
Take it out once dosa is cooked. Spongy and soft dosa is ready to serve..enjoy it with your choice of sambar / chutney / podi.

I always make Idli batter with the ratio 4:1(boiled rice : whole urad dal) with a teaspoon of methi seeds and a few castor seeds. It will be good enough for idli as well as dosa. This time I wanted to try "Kanchepuram Idli". Googled here and there and prepared the batter. ;)

I was running out of time for doing the rest of the process for kanchepuram idli in a morning rush, and ended up in this recipe. Glad that I did! :) Dosa's were perfect with sambar & podi! :)

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Almond & Chocolate chip Biscotti

Biscotti is an Italian cookie, which is nothing but twice baked biscuit. Here I have prepared the biscotti's with almonds and semi-sweet chocolate chips...a perfect snack with a cup of coffee are tea.

Ingredients
All Purpose Flour/Maida -11/2cup
Sugar-3/4 cup
Baking powder - 3/4teaspoon
Egg -1
Butter -1/4cup + tablespoon
Vanilla extract - 1teaspoon
Roasted almonds -1/2cup
Semi sweet Chocolate chips -1/4cup
Milk -1 to 2 tablespoons

Method
Sieve the flour and baking powder a couple of times.
Separate the egg yolk and reserve it. Coarsely chop the almonds and keep it aside.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Cream butter+sugar + egg white with Vanilla essence.
Add in the flour and mix it gently.
Now add the chopped almonds and mix it thoroughly.
Add in the chocolate chips and a tablespoon of milk, combine everything to form a lumpy mass.

Transfer it to a lightly floured surface, divide it into 2 equal parts.
Make them into 2 logs as shown in the picture.
Brush the logs with the reserved egg yolk and bake it for 30 minutes.
Take it out and let the logs cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, reduce the oven temperature to 300F.
Cut the logs diagonally into long stripes and arrange them on the baking sheet.

Bake them for 20 minutes, flipping the biscotti's after 10 minutes.
Delicious almond and chocolate chip biscotti is ready. Store them in airtight containers and enjoy with your coffee/tea/milk.


Note
To roast the almonds, preheat the oven to 300F, spread the raw almonds on a baking tray, bake them for 10-12 minutes. You can roast cashews and peanuts also in the same manner.

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Arisi Vadaam / Murukku Vadam / Rice-Sago Fryums

Ingredients
Rice Flour - 11/2 cups
Sago /Javvarisi - 1/2cup
Red chillies -15 to 20
Cumin seed - 2 tablespoon
Hing /Asafoetida - 1teaspoon
Salt

Method
Wash the sago/javvarisi gently, soak it for 45 minutes with water, then strain the water and let it soak with the remaining moisture for 4-5 hours or overnight.
Soak the red chillies in hot water for an hour and grind it to a fine paste, then add sago with the chilli paste, and grind it again.
With this mixture, add all the other ingredients , and 2-3 cups of water to make it as a thin batter.
Take the vadaam batter in a heavy bottomed vessel, cook on medium heat, stirring continuously, till the batter come to gather.(Don't panic, it takes only 5-6 minutes. :) )

Transfer it to a bowl immediately and let it cool for half an hour.
Take a wide plate, spread a plastic sheet and wipe it off with the damp cloth.
Using a Murukku press (with star plate), press the dough into long stripes.
Let the Vadaams dry on sunlight for 2-3 days and your vadaam is ready.

Store the Vadaam in airtight containers. Deep fry them when ever needed. Here is a glimpse of a simple South Indian lunch..Rice, Uppu paruppu topped with ghee, beans stir-fry, Potato podimas, rasam mor milagai and of course, the crisp and spicy vadaam! :)

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Garlic-Tomato Chutney

Ingredients
Garlic - 12 cloves
Tomato-1
Red Chillies- 10 (:) adjust according to taste, mine were not spicy at all, so I added 10! ;) )
Tamarind - small piece
Salt
Oil(Preferably gingely oil)
For seasoning
Oil
Mustard seeds-1/2teaspoon
Urad dal -1teaspoon
Few curry leaves / Red chilly (Optional)

Method
Heat oil, and roast the items separately, without burning them.

Let them cool completely, then grind it to a fine paste with adding required water.

Heat the oil, add the seasoning ingredients, and pour it over the chutney..mix it well and enjoy with your choice of Idli/dosa.

I prepared this with the corn-meal idlies which was posted earlier.

Recipe Source : Here

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Kale Stir Fry

Kale is a leafy vegetable form cabbage family, which is packed with nutritions. This stir fry is having a south Indian touch with moong dal and garlic. I got this fresh kale bunch in the local Farmers market here, this stir-fry is a perfect match with rice as well as roti.

Ingredients
Kale - 1 small bunch
Onion(small)-1
Red chillies- 3 [adjust to your taste]
Garlic - 2 cloves
Cumin seeds -1/2teaspoon
Cooked Moong dal -2 tablespoons
Grated coconut - 1 tablespoon
Sugar -1/4teaspoon
Salt
Oil

Method
Wash the Kale leaves, remove the thick stem from the leaves and chop them finely.

Chop the onions, garlic and break the red chilles. Heat oil in a wide wok, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Add the onion-garlic and red chillies, fry them for a few minutes.

Now add the kale, sugar, sprinkle little water and cook for a few minutes. [Don't cover the pan, which will spoil the colour of the greens]

Add the cooked dal and enough salt..mix everything well.

Reduce the heat to low, cook for couple of minutes. Finally add in the coconut and put off the stove.

Delicious Kale Stir Fry is ready to eat..

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