Favourite recipes -Event Announcement

Hi everybody ,
I am very happy hosting one more event this month for my fellow blogger and  wonderful person swathi of ZestySouthIndianKitchen.She is running this favourite recipes event for more than 1 year now.There are so many recipe collections out there go check it out by yourself if you wish to host one or to get a recipe from the previous events .
Cook your favourite "Snack/Dessert/Sweets"  recipes and link it to this event.Simple right ?Non bloggers are also welcome ,you can send your recipe with one photo to my email address mentioned below (in the rules section).

Coming to the rules of the event :

• A linky will be open from 1^st of May to 31 st May
•  At least  one new recipes and  two recipes from the archives. For old post update the post with logo or worded link. 
• Recipe can be  gluten or vegan free.
• You have to link this announcement post in the recipes; using logo is welcome but not mandatory. 
• Recipe must be linked to (this announcement page) and to ( swathis event announcement page)
• Non-bloggers are also welcome, send me full recipe with a photograph to the mail id below.
• Bloggers can link their recipes using the linky tool.Bloggers who find it difficult or find some problem to link can also send &Non-bloggers can send in their recipes to my mail(priyaculinary at gmail dot com)  with the following details-

Your Name-
Recipe Name-
Recipe Details-
Pic of the Dish


.

Cooking with Seeds-Event Announcement

        I am here with another event hosting .This time its seeds and its nothing but every indians all time favourite

"Cashews" 

pic 1 

        CWS Event is been running successful for almost four years with many seeds and there are so many wonderful recipe collections linked in this event.

        I am very happy that i am hosting this event and its very special for me because cashews are my favourites and i guess everybodys  favourite too .

        When we have some functions like new year ,diwali,birthday,anniversary everybody do some kind of sweet .Cashew def takes part in the sweet celebration in everybodys house right .Its makes the dish so sweet and wonderful to have .

Some cashew story :

         I know very well how  a cashew grows and how its been deseeded.Don't think that i having cashew farm ,My hometown has many cashew farms ,when we were kids we use to visit the farms and get some fruits with nuts and eat cashew roasted in fire with the dried leaves .When the fruit is green it requires some time to ripe ,when its orange its the perfect fruit to have.Fruits used to be so juicy ,little tangy and sour (may be after eating your tongue and throat will feel like bit dry ).The fruit is picked from the trees using a long curvy iron tool .

Cashew fruit with nut(Pic courtsey :livesuperfoods.com)

The Cashews and fruits then get seperated from each other mostly manually

Labours seperating the fruits and nuts (Pic courtesy:thehindubusinessline.com)

Cashew with shells (pic courtesy:Dreamstime.com)

The cashew with shells are roasted and broken to get the real cashew nut.

Fresh cashews(pic courtesy:tasteenuts.com)

 Then the cashews are roasted and salted. Packed perfectly to get to your house .

Thats enough of cashew story coming to the rules of this event .

• Cook a dish with cashews (sweet ,savoury,veg,non-veg,whole or ground)
• Multiple entries from single person are accepted .
• Optionally you can post  your entries with the event logo (Pic 1) 
• Any number of fresh and old entries are accepted only if its posted with this announcement link and Priya-kas CWS link 
• Posts without these two announcement links will not be accepted.
• Event runs from may 1st-31 st

Ok friends and chefs start linking your cashew entries .

PeanutButterCookies/SimplePeanutButterRecipe

              Made some peanut butter which i was thinking of doing it for  a very Loooong time .My little one likes peanut butter a lot like her mother .She used to eat peanut butter as is.To enjoy the peanut butter flavour more i did these cookies .Believe it or not it was exactly like Britannia cashew cookies ,if i have added some cashews then its exactly that cookie .hmm So So yummy and we thoroughly enjoyed it a lot .Even though it was little high in calories we ate little less than our daughter  did.If you are looking for a soft and flaky cookies this is the one.Enjoy making it for your loved ones and don't forget to write back to me

If you are looking for how to make peanut butter check here.

Interested in some baked goodies check

Oats cookie(whole wheat flour)
Strawberry cake(With fresh strawberry)
Avocado cupcake(whole wheat flour)
Oats banana muffins(whole wheat flour)
Granola bars(no bake)

Preparation time:10 min
Baking time:8 min
Yields:24-28 Medium size cookies
Recipe source:here

HomeMadePeanutButter/EasyPeanutButterRecipe

         I like peanut butter . I wanted to do it  for a very long time and the day has come,I made a perfect peanut butter .With peanut butter i did some cookies too.My daughter had it with her dosa ,bread everything, she is gone crazy for peanut butter so I wanted to do this one again and again .Very simple recipe with only 3 ingredients and it gives full satisfaction of making your spread home .This peanut butter is no less than store bought peanut butters like skippy etc.
         You can store them at room temperature for couple of weeks if its stored in water free,bug free  airtight container.No water while grinding makes the shelf life longer of this peanut butter.

Preparation time:15 min (peeling the peanuts)/Peeled peanuts save your time
Cooking time:22-25 min
Yields :Little less than half cup

Recipe source:Emma
Ingredients:

•  1 1/2 cups raw peanuts.
• pinch of salt.
• 1 tsp oil(or more for desired consistency).

Method:

• Roast the raw peanuts for 12 mins in high flame
• Reduce the flame and roast it for another 10 mins.
• Most of the peanuts peel of the skin when roasted.
• Peel the remaining peanuts by hand (takes around 4-5 min)
• Transfer the peanuts  to the blender/Mixer while they are hot.
• Grind the peanuts continuous for 2 min without adding any water.
• When the peanuts are almost done grinding add salt and oil and grind it for a minute or two until its smooth.
• Scrape the sides and store it in an airtight container.

• This can be stored for at least couple of weeks

Note:

• You can use peeled peanuts or roasted peanuts to save the time .I made peanut butter with unpeeled raw peanuts .
• When the peanuts are roasted then the skin will be peeled off by itself.
• Roast the peanuts until they become little brown
• If you have oven then you can roast them in oven with an oven safe plate for around 10 min (remember the oven should be already preheated).
• You can add so many variations to this peanut butter (chocolate chip or honey flavoured sounds like a good idea)
• You are not able to spread the peanut butter .May be you have grinded it too coarse .If not ,Add olive oil and mix it well .Now you can spread it ,right ?
• Some ideas of including peanut butter 

1. Cookies
2. In sandwich
3. Dip the fruits
4. Making peanut butter chocolates.
5. Adding to your favourite juice

linking this to kids delight event of srivalli hosted by priya
Linking this to parisevent and shruti

Linking this to Legumelove affair conducted by FoodandSpice and Wellseasonedcook hosted by Avika
Linking it to Harinis bloganniversary event giveaway
Sending this to "cheap and cheerful" event happening at Bangermash and eatyour veg

TomatoChutney/ThakkaliChutney/EasyChutney

       A very easy and mind blowing chutney with a little kick of ginger and coriander leaves .This chutney you can see everywhere in hotels that serve dosas without ginger and coriander leaves of course.Without much work and with in schedule we can make this chutney .You can add some garlic too ,if you wish .
         When i ground this chutney i eat more dosas than normal .My huss can eat the whole cup of chutney with 4-5 dosas or lick them as is .I make this at least once in a week ,but the count goes to 3 sometimes .This proves that we are very much tomato chutney fans.

Looking for some other easy chutney recipes ?Check

Bell pepper Chutney
Mint-Coriander Chutney
Carrot Chutney
Beetroot Chutney
Toordal Chutney
VaraMilagai Chutney

Preparation time:5 min
Cooking time:10 min
Serves:1-2

Steamed Veg momos/Mushroom dumplings

Veg Momos are authentic starters of tibet and nepal .There are many variations to shape and fillings of momos from mushrooms,veggies,meat .Because i am a vegeterian i tried a veg version of momos .Making of shape is  little bit tough for first few momos ,after that you get used to it.Its like saree folding .
I googled and mixed many versions and here is the final version of mine .I loved a very detailed recipe of how to make the dough and shapes present here.Knead the dough well and put enough oil while streaming,roll them thin (between transparent and thick ) and serve them hot ,that way you can enjoy the streamed momos .You can Deep fry them or shallow fry them if you like to eat a fried version of it (i haven't tried them yet).
We ate it after clicking the pic so it was little hard .so enjoy them hot hot ...

Interested in similar recipes check

Mushroom fried rice

Preparation time:10 min+15 min rest time
Cooking time:25 min(includes streaming time)
Serves:2-3(around 12 momos)

Cheerios bhel/Easy chat recipe/Party Idea

             I got a whole packet of cheerios lying in pantry untouched .Sometimes my daughter have it for her breakfast along with milk .Me and my husband never have serials for breakfast .I saw this idea from Manjula who is  a good friend of mine and fantastic blogger .My husband was asking for more of this eventhough he came late that day .Thanks manju for this fantastic idea
          I made a whole lot of bhujia and used some of them for this chat .For sweet chutney i made  dates chutney along with mint chutney to spread in the chat .My kid loved it to the core .You can prepare this for parties ,i mean keep everything seperately and people will mix whatever they want in the proportion they want.You can add some  chocolate pieces,some fruits like pineapple ,pomagranate to make the chat more colorful and people who like fruits will add more fruits to their chat .Fantastic idea right ?Ok now we see how i made it .

How to make bhujia 

Some less work snack recipes

• Chapathi noodles
• Aloo bonda(using ur leftover urad dal batter)
• Ribbon pakoda

Preparation time:1/2 hour (8 hours soakiing the channa)
assembly time:5-10 min
Servings:2-3

Oma podi/Bhujia/Diwali snack

                   This is very favourite of mine right from my childhood .Its a long story but i want to mention it so that my kid will know it  in future how i loved it .When i was aroud 4-5 years my father worked in nearyby town and i studied there .My grandpa used to get it for me every evening and i love it everyday .I guess he likes it very much and feed his grandchild the same snack he likes .He is no more now  .I love him a lot he is such a kind and loveable grandpa anyone will ever get .He loves me more too.This is my attchement to this recipe .My mothers mother used to do this snack when i was going college .I love it as usual.
                 I got a whole lot of gramflour lying in my pantry .I was thinking of doing it for such a long time ,this is the right time then .This is very easy peasy recipe even beginners can do it without any difficulty .
Rice flour is not for crispiness its to ease the sqeezing process .In tamil ajwain means omam thats why it got the name "oma podi" but without ajwain also it tasted so good .
                 This sev is you can simply munch them as a snack  or add it as a sidedish for your rice ,add them in chat items or mix them in ur mixture preparation .

Intrested in some other snack recipes check
Butter chakli
Ola pakoda
Thenkulazh murukku(with store bought rice flour)

Preparation time:10 min
Cooking time :40 min
Yields:1 - 1 1/2 kg (not sure about the weight measurement )

Chapathi noodles/Kids Snack Ideas/Leftover recipes

This is my very favourite item using the leftovers.I saw a TV show long time back and tried this recipe 2-3 times .My husband is not a fan of this dish,so i do it when he is not around .Very easy to put together when you have some left over chapathis in hand .Your kids will be pleased after you make them this noodles. Over all its a healthy colorful snack which vanishes in no time .
You can add  available veggies carrot,corn ,bell pepper ,cabbage ,peas ,broccoli  etc .You can add some tomato ketchup also if your kids like them .

Interested in some easy, healthy breakfast/snack  recipes like

Chili Vegetable kothu parotta
Brushchetta with Rusk
Ragi -oats dosa
Broken wheat upma
Paal kolukattai 
Grilled potato patty(in tava)

Preparation time:10 min
cooking time:10 min
serves:2

Special lunch/Puthandu special/Simple Southindian thali

"Puthandu" is a tamil word for new year .Its very special to everybody in tamilnadu and for tamilians who live in all parts of world .In new year we visit temple and wear new clothes and wish our neighbours and friends a very good year ahead.First month of new year is "chitirai".This is the starting of festival season and holiday season too .So enjoy this holiday and new year and wish everybody the same .
Another speciality is we share the new year with our neighbour state kerela which is  called gods own country.Full of greenaries and abundance of coconut trees makes this state get its name i guess.While i was working i stayed really close to one iyyapan temple where they celebrate vishu and onam in a grand manner .I love their saree,food ,santhanam a lot .

This lunch we did it for our sunday brunch and enjoyed a lot .Have a  food  feast on this new year .I will do seperate post on potato masala afterwards .

• Lemon rasam
• fenugreekleaves sambhar
• Papad
• Potato masala
• RawBanana fry(valaikai podimas)
• Rice 
• Curd
• Phulkha

Valaikai podimas :

Cooking time:25 min
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:

• 2 banana
• 2 green chilies
• salt as per taste

To temper:

• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal

Method:

• Wash and cut each of the banana in to two .

• Boil the bananas by immersing in  water with 1/2 tsp salt until it becomes tender(takes about 10 minutes).

• Peel the skin of the banana and cut them.

• Temper the oil with urad dal ,mustard seeds,green chilies and curry leaves.
• Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter.

• Add the chopped bananas and little salt water(already we added salt so little less salt do good) 

• Cover it with lid and let it cook for 10 minutes .
• Serve it with sambhar rice,rasam rice.

Note:

• You can add some grated coconut at the end (i didnt add it)
• You can peel the skin of the banana if its cooked thoroughly .
• If you cannot peel the skin then you have to cook them again.
• You have to cook the sliced bananas second time as i mentioned otherwise  it will be very dry .
• You can grate the bananas instead of cutting them in that case just finish off with some water added, no need to cook for 10 more minutes again .

Lemon rasam:

Cooking time:15+15 min
Serves:2-3

Ingredients :

• 3 -4 tbsp toor dal/tuvaram paruppu (pressure cooked)
• rasam powder (1 1/2 tsp)
• 1 small tomato
• 1 garlic
• 1 red chili
• turmeric
• salt as per taste
• 1 tsp oil for tempering
• 1 /2 lemon (around 1 tbsp)

To temper:

• pinch of hing
• curry leaves few 
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds/kadugu
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera/jeeragam

To garnish:

• Few corinader leaves/kothamalli

Method:

• Pressure cook the toor dal with turmeric ,garlic until mushy along with sliced tomatoes 
• Add rasam powder and required salt .
• Heat the tava and temper it with mustard and cumin seeds.
• Add curry leaves and hing.
• Add the rasam water mix to it .
• Cook it in low flame until it boils (takes around 10 minutes)
• Garnish it with coriander leaves.
• Keep it covered until you serve .

Note:

• For instant rasam powder: dry roast 1 red chili ,1/2 tsp black pepper.1/2 tsp corainder seeds,1/2 tsp cumin seeds and grind it .
• You can omit the toor dal if you are in a hurry but adjust the heat and sourness accordingly .
• Rasam always needs  a little kick of salt but this lemon rasam requires less salt compared to other rasams according to me .
• You can skip curry leaves and coriander leaves if you dont have it .But adding them will give a wonderful aroma and nice flavour to the rasam.

linking this to Gayathri's WTML event and prachis 


Linking this to parisevent and shruti

Kathi rolls/Paneer Kathi Rolls/North Vs south Challenge

For this month on north vs south challenge minne challenged south team members with her kathi rolls .When i saw that challenge  i was tempted to try it .First of all its savoury then its a  paneer kathi rolls .So i was waiting to try it.I made it for a special occasion on my hus birthday.
 This looks a bit of work but you can finish everything in an hour and half including the chapathis, not tough for a first timer like me making kathi rolls .Getting together all the ingredients is a bit of task .So gather the ingredients together then you can finish in no time .Thanks minni for the wonderful challenge and we enjoyed it a lot .

I didnt add black salt and sugar to salad even then it tasted awesome .I used homemade paneer which i made previous day and stored in refrigerator .For how to make the dough for kathi rolls check the posting here

Total time:1 and half hour
Serves:3

Tomatillos sauce/Verde sauce/Enchilada sauce

This is called tomatillo sauce because its made of tomatillo aka mexican tomatoes ..The tomatillos are usually covered with inedible paper like husk,that has to be removed while cooking. When tomatillos are  harvested ripen they are a little sweet compared to regular tomatillos and  used in jams.

           This sauce also called verde sauce because "verde" in spanish means "green". Mexican tomatoes have a lot of seeds which you can see in the sauce. This sauce usually is tangy but not very hot. You can add heat by adding jalapeneo pepper which is  a mexican pepper and little ting of garlic. These are the key ingredients which makes this wonderful sauce.Usually sauce is used for enchiladas and can be used as a dip as well .

             There are many variations to this sauce available ,this is my version and we like it a lot .I usually try to do little difference to our dinners with the ingredients available at hand .So feel free to add ur variations and dont forget to write to me .You can use this sauce for pizzas as well instead of regular tomato sauce.

 Check some other mexican recipes like

• Black bean-Mushroom soup
• Greengram burrito
• Pineapple salsa 
• Home made Tortillas
• Guacamole
• Bean enchiladas

Preparation time:20-25 min
Yields:2 cups

Kandarapam/Chettinad Specials/Guest Post

Hi all This is my 5 th guest post and its for "Menaga  akka" she  is one of my fellow blogger  and a good friend of mine .She has a tamil blog and its been like 5 years now she started blogging .She usually explains her recipes very easy and to the point .You can see many chettinad recipes as well in her blog like "kavuni arisi payasam","nandu masala".Among them i like her quick "Tirunelveli kothumai halwa" very much and waiting to try it because i don't get Whole wheat here .
One fine day i asked menaga akka "can i do a guest post on your blog ?".Immediately she said yes and she said "anything is fine ,but if you give me kadarappam i will be more than happy ".Then i asked my mom about the recipe and did it immediately .But akka was busy  shifting her house.After a month of wait now its time to enjoy the beauties in her space .I guess menaga akka will like it .Do check her space and enjoy her recipes in tamil .
Coming to the recipe .This is another chettinad delicacy and its loved by all ,especially kids because they are sweet .These cuties you can see in festivals or chettinad marriages .When you go to karaikudi for a marriage next time be sure to ask them kandarappam.
There are many different versions of this and this one is my moms recipe .To get a true taste you have to deep fry it with coconut as well.If you are a diet kindof person then you have to stay away from it .But you can make like sweet appam(dosa) and enjoy this.Guess unniappam will  taste like this .This is the first time i am making it so haven't got a proper shape .Check the kandarappam recipe here

Soaked rice and urad dal

After grinding the mixture in wet grinder

 Check whether its in proper texture before adding it to oil

Pour it in oil

 Browned kandarappam

Your sweet snack is ready .Enjoy with your loved ones .

linking this to Gayathri's WTML event and prachis 

Bean Enchiladas/Mexican Recipes/Easy mexican Recipes

Enchilada mean a corn tortillas(falt corn bread) wrapped in different filling like bean ,veg ,meat ,cheese and covered with sauce .I have made bean enchilada with tomatillo sauce.
There are three preparation in this recipe .One is stuffing (beans) next is sauce preparation (tomatillo sauce) next is assemblying .I am going to concentrate on filling and assembly in this post .Sauce ,i will explain it in my next post.
 I already mentioned many times our liking towards mexican cuisine -for its similarity to indian cuisine , there are many meatless option too that is a special reason why i love mexican cuisine.

I normally do

1. Soups
2. Quesadilla
3. Enchilidas
4. Burritos
5. Tortilla chips

 that suit our palates ( i mean there will be some indian touches here and there ).I normally dont check any mexican recipes but its inspired taste from the resturants we eat .

Quesadilla:
Quesadilla is made from corn or flour tortillas filled with cheese and sometime veggies and cheese to form a sandwich

Enchiladas:
Enchilada is a wraps/rolls with veggies,meat,cheese in corn tortillas along with roho(red) or verde(tomatillo) or mole sauce(chocolate sauce)

Burrito:
Burrito is a wrap with flour tortillas ,rice,beans /meat.


When we get bored of our regular dinners we used to do mexican varieties.This enchiladas can be made very special with oaxaca cheese which is a mexican cheese and with red /gree sauce covered with some more cheese .Thinking itself i am on cloud nine.

Are you Interested in  mexican recipes check

• Black bean-Mushroom soup
• Greengram burrito
• Pineapple salsa 
• Home made Tortillas
• Guacamole

Preparation time:10 min+8 hours (beans soaking time)
Cooking time:30 min
Serves:2

Roundup of "Dish-it -Out"

I was super excited to host an event in my space .I have to thank vardhini of cooksjoy for giving me this wonderful opportunity to host her event in my space .Overall it was woderful experiance to host an event and meet new people and fellow bloggers .Thanks for those who send their entries and may thanks for those who shared this event with their friends .
I got 40 entries totally and i was little sad that many of them are not side dish .Forgive me -those which are not "sidedish" are not listed here .I am giving links to the side dish entries for the event "DISH_IT _OUT" happened in my space from march 1 st to 31 st .Looking forward for your support for future event hostings and giveaways .

 Entries from bhawna :
                                                         Baigan ka bharta

Okra fry 

Entries from mrs homemaker:

Brinjal fries

Brocolidry manchurian

Mirch bhaji Pulusu

Entries from vardhini:
                                                              Palak tofu

Entries from linsy:

Kala channa curry

Garlic pepper rasam with uttapam balls

Entries from prachi:

Onion bhajis

Entries from tanya:

Ridgegourdcurry

Taro root fry

Chowchow kootu

Idly-podi

Corinder chutney

Tomato-coconut chutney

Thakkali thokku

Rawbanana puttu

Kovakkai fry

Beetroot fry

Garlic chutney

Snake guard raita