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Sunday, December 29, 2013

2014 Special-Chettinad Karupatti Paniyaram / Palm Jaggery Fritters(கருப்பட்டி பணியாரம் )


Karupatti paniyarams are synonymous with festive occasions like pillaiyar nonbu and special padaippu
(offerings to ancestors) in chettinad. When we make this, festive season will be around the corner. Like some people say cake baking during winter gives the festive feel. Usually my mom or mother-in-law will give me the dough. Last year I made the dough myself and was so happy. This time too I tried it again and it came out super yummy.
I made this paniyaram for pillaiyar nonbu. I made vadavellai paniyaramidly  and sambar along with it and offered it to Ganesha. All of them were very good and we enjoyed it.

Karuppati paniyaram

Preparation time:1 hour(Except keeping them at room temperature for 2 days)
Cooking time :1 hour
Yields:32

Friday, December 27, 2013

Fresh mango pickle/மாங்கா தொக்கு

Mango is one veggie which has fiber ,vitamin A,Potassium and lots of mineral in it .Include mango in your diet often.This is family favourite of ours , my mom used to do it and we used to gobble it up. This pickle can be an accompaniment for curd rice or sambhar rice as well as for dosas. The freshness of mango ,little jaggery, chili powder will blow your taste buds away. There are no preservatives and its very fresh so you can give it to kids.

If you are looking for sidedish with mango try Mangodal curry



Preparation time:5-10 min(grating the mango)
Cooking time:30-40 min
Yields:1/2 cup

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Eggless Oatmeal Cookies|Healthy Cookies

     Egg less oatmeal cookies is a light sugary ,crunchy, healthy cookie with wheat flour.Because of the addition of butter its on high calorie end.You can use eggs instead of milk.You can skip the milk and use water too.Its a healthy cookies because there is a lot of oats in here ,i used wheat flour instead of regular flour to bind the oats.
    Cookies are every body's favourite especially here in US ,even grown kids(adults) love it. This Oatmeal cookie has more cinnamon which makes a heavenly aroma while baking  and gives a nice touch of flavour while eating. For this holiday season this is the best recipe to bake for your kids and for yourself.
Eggless Oatmeal Cookies

     To understand the difference between baking soda and baking powder use this link. The recipe ask for baking soda but I had only baking powder so  used the above link to substitute 1 tsp of baking soda with 2 tsp of baking powder.
    Recently i did this Oatmeal cookies to gift our neighbours they are vegetarians so i tried egg less version and got a chance to picture these Healthy oatmeal cookies again.
 
Ready to gift cookies



Monday, December 23, 2013

Sabudana kheer/Javarisi payasam(ஜவ்வரிசி பாயாசம் )

For a festival or a celebration commonly we make sweets to express our happiness and share our joy.In south india only during diwali time people used to make sweets (these days we do it whenever , I am talking about may be the last generation). For smaller festive occasions like full moon day or navarathri people make kheer because it is very easy to make and its loved by everyone in the family. I made this kheer for a small family occasion.
Check similar white desserts like Candy Rice,Cocoa-Coconut fudge,Kaju Katli


Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:45-50 min
Serves:2-3

Saturday, December 21, 2013

10 minute kanda Poha (அவல் உப்புமா )

Poha is flattened rice which has lots of vitamin c and iron in it. Its very filling whenever we eat this, for breakfast or snack or dinner. The color the poha gets is from turmeric. You can add potato to this I never tried it though. I usually add peanuts to give a little crunch and make it even more healthier.
I am a fan of this upma. When we lived in India my cook used to do this for morning breakfast .I learnt it from her, the way she do it with love for cooking and with a smiley face, I love her a lot. I miss her a lot here ....
This recipe is very easy to make and it will be ready in 5 minutes. When you come from office tired this gives you much energy to prepare a delicious dinner for your family .

Check other upma varieties like Lemon semolina bath,Rava kichadi




Preparation time:10 min
Serves:2

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

black channa in peanut curry (கொண்டை கடலை)

I make black channa dishes often.I am vegeterian and to get more protien in my diet I add dal varieties. I have a special liking to this channa inspite of others dals, I don't know why .This channa is very good for eye health and is very rich in protien than white channa. I regularly grind onions and tomatoes and add it to the curry if I make parathas, rotis . But this time I thought of doing something different and bhawnas recipe got my attention and this is my take on the same.


You can check other curries like Rajma gravy,Vegetable kuruma





Preparation time:12 hrs(soaking the channa)
Cooking time:15 min+15 min
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:

  •  1 cup black channa(soaked overnight)
  • 1 medium size onion
  • 1/2 country tomato
  • 1 green chili.
  • 1 tsp ginger garlic paste.
  • Oil for tempering.
  • A pinch of turmeric
  • salt as required.

Roast and grind:

  • 10 groundnuts.
  • 1/4 tsp sesame seeds.
  • 1/4 tsp cumin seeds.
  • 2 red chili.
  • 1/2 tsp methi seeds

To temper:

  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds.
  • 1 inch bayleaf
  • 1 cloves.

Method:



  • Soak the channa dal overnight.
  • Cook it in a pressure cooker until it turns soft.
  • Roast and grind the ingredients in roast and grind list to a coarse powder.
  • If the groundnuts are raw you can roast them seperately.
  • Grind the tomatoes in to puree.or chop them .
  • Cut the onions very thin.
  • Temper the hot kadai with oil in items to temper.
  • Add onions,green chili and saute them for a minute.
  • Add ginger garlic paste and saute it until the onions are translucent.
  • Add the ground tomato paste/tomato and saute it until cook through.
  • Add pinch of turmeric .
  • Cook it for 2-3 min .
  • Add the cooked channa,groundnut mixture to it.
  • Add water if required .
  • Let it come to boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • If the gravy is too thin add 1 tsp rice flour to 1 tbsp water and add it to the curry.
  • Serve it with hot rotis,chapathis,parathas of your choice.
  • Serve them with variety rice like coconut rice,lemon rice,plain biriyanis as well.


Linking it to 
priyas event hosted by nandoo





Cusine delights



Monday, December 16, 2013

Wheat Dosa(Step By Step Pics)

         Wheat Dosa :This a quick and easy Breakfast recipe. Whenever you run out of dosa batter or when you are not in the mood to do anything fancy like Poori, Adai dosa or Pesarattu ,you can try this Wheat Dosa. All you need  is wheat flour... you can make this in a jiffy( i added onion,chilies and coriander for added flavour).
      These Wheat  dosa's come in handy when you have had a real long day and but you don't want to wait for any take out orders.I love these Wheat dosas very much ,they go very well with mint-corinader chutney

Wheat Dosa


Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:30 min
Yields:10-12 dosas

Friday, December 13, 2013

Home made rice noodles(இடியாப்பம்) Guest post

         I want to start my post with a few words about Shruti .She is a bubbly and a lovely lady with lots of energy and enthusiasm for cooking and blogging. She has a wonderful blog and her clicks are wonderful too. I first met her through blogging world when I was taking baby steps in blogging. I am amazed by her blogging abilities, she is very quick in posting recipes and I wonder how she is able do it. 
I had requested her about a guest post and she was gracious enough to say yes and also gave me ample time to get a good post. I enjoy her chatting in post and sharing virtual treat for her friends n family birthdays and special occasions.Check her website here and enjoy her recipes like me .
Today I am goign to share with you a unique Idiyappam recipe from Chettinad. Idiyappam is famous in Tamilnadu and Kerala and usually gets served with Kuruma, Stew and some times with Milk. The Chettinad version is tempered and its served with kosumalli.
   


Idiyappam

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Tangy Kofta Gravy (பருப்பு/கோலா உருண்டை குழம்பு )

This is an authentic and famous chettinad dish. This dish is usually prepared during festive occasions and as a special for guests. It takes a little work compared to normal kulambu but trust me this is worth the extra effort. Just taste this once and you will be hooked. You can eat this with rice and simple vegetable like cabbage curry,Pumpkin curry.

kola urundai kulambhu



Preparation time:1 hour(soaking the dal)+10 min
Cooking time:30-40 min
Serves:3


Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Aloo Bonda (Urad Dal)

Usually aloo bonda is made with besan (gram dal flour), in this recipe besan is replaced by urad dal flour.

During weekends and holidays my little one and my hubby demand an evening snack. I always have a lot of questions on what to make, whether its healthy  and what is available in the pantry. This past weekend these questions and I came up with this Aloo Bonda recipe.

Aloo Bonda is popular snack in South India made with potatoes as filling inside besan flour. Its deep fried which makes it yummy. I had some Urad dal batter left over from the previous day and I used this instead of besan and made allo bonda.

Check other urad dal recipes Urad dal fritters,Urad dal vada


Preparation time:2 hour (soaking urad dal)+10 min
Cooking time:30 min
Serves:3


Monday, December 9, 2013

Pressure cooker Cabbage Curry(கூட்டு )

I often buy purple cabbage because it tastes awesome and you can make a colorful plate with purple cabbage.You get it in mexican stores .I usually do a mexican dish with it, this time i wanted to make something traditional using purple cabbage. I decided on making kootu.This goes very well with kuzhambu and rasam rice. You can eat it with chappathis too.

Check other side dish varieties tangy okra curry,Tindora fry,Rawmango curry

Preparation time:5 min

Cooking time:15 min

Serves:2

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Home made pizza sauce with fresh tomatoes

I wanted to make pizza at home for my little one.Like my pizza crust I decided to make pizza sauce from scratch. I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes.One recipe caught my attention here. This is a very easy recipe and it is good for 2 medium pizza.So making a pizza sauce sauce from fresh tomatoes is not a big task any more .



Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time: 40 min
Yields: 1 cup (good for 2 medium pizza)

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Whole-wheat pizza from scratch

I always love to make everything at home that too from scratch .Its a little tough sometimes but its fun and when i eat them  i will be more than happy.My little girl loves to eat pizza who doesnt love pizza ?So  i wanted to do pizza at home .My concern is  it has to be healthy too .So i searched for whole wheat recipes and i landed here .

This pizza is very soo good as we make it home and we can give kids as much as they like.This wheat pizza uses your pantry ingredients except instant yeast .So enjoy making pizza home and dont forget to write me.

Check my other dinners specials like Pasta with whitesauce,Pineapple salsa,Totillas from scratch




Preparation time:5 min
Rest time:45-50 min
Cooking time:30 min
Yields:2 medium pizza.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Carrot chutney/Easy chutney recipes

This is a spin on the popular red chili chili and tomato chutney.This is healthy ard very easy to make. Also this is an easy to way get veggies in to your kids diet. Getting little ones to geat veggies is not an easy task, trust me I know. When were kids my mom used to make this and beetroot chutney often and she still does.



Preparation time:10 min
Cooking time:10 min
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:
  • 2 onions.
  • 1 small tomato.
  • 1 carrot grated.
  • 2 red chilies.
  • Oil for tempering.
  • Salt as required.
For tempering:
  • 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds.
  • 1/2 tsp Urad dal.
Method:
  • Cut onions and tomato into 1 inch pieces.
  • Heat the sauce pan and add oil to it .
  • Add mustard seeds and let it splutter.
  • Add urad dal and wait until changes color.
  • Add onions,red chilies and saute them until onions are translucent .


  • Add tomato and saute until tomatos turn soft and get cooked through.
  • Add the grated carrot and saute it for 3 -4 min .
  • Cool it and grind it with required salt.


  • You can use this as a dip for dosa,idly and finger foods.



Note:
  • Carrot is sweet so you want to adjust the chilies according to it.



Check other chutney recipes like Coconut chutney,MintCoriander chuntey


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Biryanis – The Best Food to Just Eat


“What does the word ‘biryani’ conjure up in your mind?” I asked my group of friends one fine day. And here are the responses I got, in their own words.
“Chicken biryani!”
“Nah, mutton… Biryani is more synonymous with mutton, that’s how you get the actual flavours…”
“Eid at Fatima’s place every year.”
“Spicy Hyderabadi dum biryani… Mmmmm, can’t have enough of it! Can we go have it someplace now?”
“The latest I heard is they’re making prawns biryani… I mean, just imagine, prawns... Seafood biryani in the offing, eh??”
“Wish my mum knew how to make it. She’s tried umpteen times and all it turns out to be is simple chicken rice, sans any biryani taste!”



Just one person in our circle had remained silent till now. Upon prodding, she meekly replied: “I know it’s a delicacy made of rice and all. But I’m a vegetarian so don’t know much.”
Overall, I concluded, a large majority of the people loved the dish. As for myself, I simply adore it and grab any and every chance I can get to sample lip-smacking biryanis!
They say the recipe has come down from the erstwhile kings in India who popularized the dish in their own times, especially the Mughal rulers. Though we can only conjecture how the earliest biryanis might have been (probably like some bland rice one of my friends talked about earlier!), the biryanis of today surely cater to a wide variety of tastes. What’s more, on some restaurant menus, you can even find what is known as a ‘vegetable biryani’ – a probable substitute for the extremely popular non-vegetarian delicacy!


Not everyone is endowed with the gift of knowing how to prepare an authentic biryani at home, so therein the question arises: Which city serves the best biryanis? Here let me tell you a fact: There is no particular city which serves the best biryanis – every city has a biryani speciality exclusively for itself, be it the Hyderabadi mutton biryani served with raita and brinjal curry or the yellow-grained Lucknowi biryani with its generously spiced mutton pieces. Hence, to help you take your pick from all the popular biryani restaurants in your area, be it Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai, we have nearly all of them listed here in one place, from where you can OrderBiryani Online. However, let me warn you that it can get a bit unsettling at times, what with such a great number of biryani outlets listed together but then each is special in its own way, so order away and find out which suits your taste buds the best. For instance, Biriyani Zone in Bangalore is well-known for the most flavourful Hyderabadi chicken biryani, which is a speciality of the place.
The chefs claim that preparing a biryani is no child’s play. To get that authentic biryani complete with the aromas wafting from it can take anything from two to four hours or more, with the lid of the biryani ‘handi’ as it is called, sealed with dough. But it is well worth the wait.

Contrary to popular belief, biryanis are not entirely non-vegetarian; a hint of potatoes or even a boiled egg lends a very special taste to it. And if you have those simple onion slivers dipped in vinegar plus a refreshing raita to go with it, nothing can be better than a wholesome biryani meal. However, if you’re somehow not one of those die-hard biryani fans (like me), no issues – simply log on to JustEat.in and choose whatever would best satisfy your palate!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Quick and Easy Low calorie Mushroom Biriyani

As the title says this is a quick and easy mushroom biryani recipe. It took me only 15 min to make this biriyani. No fancy ingredients are needed you can make this just with pantry ingredients. I just added 1 tsp of ghee for extra flavor.
Did i say i took this to my daughters school potluck party and everybody liked it .So next time for your party do try this .
Check my other one pot meals Bisibelabath,Tomato pulav,Mint Pulav



Preparation time:15 min
Cooking time:15 min
Serves:5

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Home made Milkmaid

Last week there was a thanksgiving potluck in my daughters school. I thought of a few dishes to make and had decided on masala vada. At the last minute I discovered that I was running low on channa dal and I had forgotten to buy extra. I thought hard as to what to do? That night I spoke to mother in law and she suggested that I make malai jamun with home made kova. I tried to make kova that night. I was tired and I wanted to finish the kova that night and make the jamun next day.Because of tiredness i finished the milk making milkmaid without adding sugar.
Making milkmaid at home is a little hectic with work involved but when u think about ingredients you need only milk .




Preparation time:50 min
Yields:1/2 cup

Ingredients:
  • 4 cups milk
Method:
  • Pour the milk in heavy bottom vessel (may or may not be non stick)
  • Let the milk come to boil.
  • After it comes to boil reduce the heat almost very low.
  • Stir it every 5 min for 40 min.
  • After 40 min when it will start to thicken (it needs to reduce to 1/8 the original quantity)
  • At this point keep stirring it continuously.
  • When it becomes thick switch off the flame .
  • Cool and store it in fridge.
  • You can use it to make coco fudge /kheer/rich gravies. 


                                            I made cocoa and coconut fudge using this milkmaid.

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Cocoa and Coconut fudge

I saw this recipe in ezcookbook and wanted to make this.The recipe called for milkmaid .I prepared milkmaid at home and will share it in my next post.This fudge uses milkmaid ,cocoa powder,rusk and coconut. Its very rich and I took this to my daughters school thanksgiving potluck. Everybody loved it.
Another wonderful  thing is no baking needed for this.Enjoy and do write me about how you enjoyed it.

Check other sweet recipes Apple halwa,Moongdal Ladoo,Kaju Katli,RockCandy Rice



Preparation time:1 hour( Making milkmaid)+half an hour
Yields:30 small fudge.

Ingredients:


  • 1/2 cup milkmaid (homemade)
  • 5 packs drinking cocoa.
  • 4 milk rusk.
  • 1/2 grated coconut.
  • Dash of milk.
  • 2 1/2 tsp sugar.
  • 2 paper wraps


Method:
  • Prepare milkmaid and cool it down.
  • Crush the rusk in a blender into a coarse powder.
  • Mix the rusk,half of milkmaid,coco powder, 1 1/2 tsp sugar well .
  • If the mixture is dry add a dash of milk to make them a firm dough.
  • Roll it in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin .
  • Mix the remaining milkmaid,coconut,1 tsp sugar well and store it in freezer to set.
  • After 15-20 min when it is little stiff roll it a another ziplock bag using a rolling pin.
  • Remove the rolled cocoa mixture and coconut mixture and set them on top of one another.
  • Place the cocoa mixture on the bottom to get a firm fudge.
  • Cover it with a plastic wrap again and keep it the fridge .
  • Allow them to set for 10-15 min.
  • Cut them and serve them .


  • Rigid base with chewy top layer and the richness of milkmaid and the home made satistaction makes the fudge divine.





Cocoa Coconut fudge is ready to be devoured

Note:
  • The time I stated is approximate as I was in a hurry to prepare the fudge for the party.
  • If the fudge does not set allow it to set again by placing it in the freezer again.
  • Store them in freezer, otherwise they might go bad.

Linking it to Gayathris event and sahasra page



Soumya and paris page





Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Tangy hot Fish Kulambu

This recipe is prepared and shared by my sister .They are very much non-veg lovers and do alteast once a week some non-veg .This time its fish kulambu .This kulambu can be served with rice,dosa,idly.They taste very good the next day.Because every masala blends together with fish flavours and gives it a great taste.Over to my sis.

Check other non-veg recipes like Chili chicken fry,Chili chicken gravy,Chettinad Egg gravy



Preparation time:10 min
Cooking time:20-25 min
Serves:2

Ingredients:

  • 1 pound fish(pampano)
  • few small onions (optional)
  • 1/2  tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • oil for tempering.
  • salt as required
  • 3/4 tsp tamarind paste

To saute and grind :


  • shallots -10 or large onions-1 small
  • 1 Tomato
  • 3-5 strands curry leaves
  • 2 green chilies
  • 6-8 garlic pods
  • 2 inch ginger



To temper:


  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek
  • few curry leaves(optional)


To garnish:

  • 5-6strands Coriander leaves


Method:

  • Wash and clean the fish and add little turmeric to remove any germs.
  • You can pan fry the fish if you wish to give the fish more richness and rigidness.
  • Roast the ingredients in roast and grind .Cool them and grind it.
  • Add oil to heavy bottom sauce pan/kadai .
  • .Add the items in to saute and grind one by one and saute them nicely.
  • Cool them and grind it to smooth paste.
  • Add some more oil to saute pan and add items to temper .
  • Add the ground paste and saute it for few minutes.
  • Add corinader powder ,chili powder to saute pan and saute for  few minutes .
  • Add water and tamarind paste and required salt .
  • Boil it for 5 min .
  • Finally add the pan roasted fish and allow the kulambu to boil for  5 more min.

  • Fish kulambu is ready to be served .
  • Serve it with  rice of your choice.



Note:

  •  Fish Kulmabu taste very good the next day.
  •  Fish will be much tastier if you marinate them with chili powder and Corinader powder with little oil .
  • You can make  kulambu.with any kind of fish .

Linking it to  Sapanas event

Monday, November 25, 2013

Tangy Bhindi & Toor dal Curry (வெண்டைக்காய் பச்சடி )

Vendaikkai Pachaddi (வெண்டைக்காய் பச்சடி) is something you will find in every chettinad kitchen. This gravy is made along the lines of sambar, but with less water and toor dal remains whole instead of being mashed up. A similar curry can be made with sundaikai (சுண்டைக்காய் ) which is one of my absolute favourites. Chances of getting sundaikkai are almost impossible here, so I usually use baby okra.

You might be intrested in similar tangy curries like RawMango curry,TangyOkra curry



Preparation time:10 min
Cooking time:20 min
Serves:2-3


Ingredients:
  • 1/2 pound baby okra
  • 1/4 cup toor dal.
  • 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste.
  • 1 green chili.
  • 1 tbsp sambar powder.
  • 1 small Onion.
  • oil for tempering.
  • salt as needed.
Method:
  • Cut the okra in to 1/4 inch pieces.
  • Cook the toor dal for 2 whistles (should not be mushy).

  • Cut the onion in to small pieces.
  • In a hotpan temper oil with  items "to  temper".
  • Add onions and green chilies saute them until translucent.
  • Add okra and saute them until the slime of the okra cooks out. The okra should not stick together.

  • Add sambar powder and saute it for a min in low flame until the raw smell dissipates.
  • Add required water and add tamarind paste and salt.

  • Add the cooked toor dal.
  • Boil the gravy until it becomes thick .
  • Your bhendi -toor dal gravy is ready to eat .
  • Serve it with rasam or curd rice . 


Note;
  • Okra should not be sticky fry them until the stickiness leaves.
  • Adjust the water content accordingly.If its too dry you can't eat this one.If its too watery this wont' taste good.
Linking it to Gayathris event and sahasra page




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