2015 Special|Kashi Halwa|Ash Gourd Halwa

    A sweet end to the year 2014 that started with karupatti paniyaram.A sweet start to the year 2015 with this kashi halwa ...I am sure this coming year will bring all the joy and all the goodness you want.I will post recipes with very good pictures,my new year resolution.What is your resolution for the new year?
      Lets get started with Kashi halwa Its a very popular dessert served in udupi-konkani marriages,recently i saw this recipe in samayal samayal when chef venkatesh bhat told he learned the recipe from chettinad palace.

Different names of ash gourd:
      Ash gourd is called by so many different names, for those who browse by the names "vellai poosani" in Tamil,"elavan or kumbalanga in Malayalam" ,"kumbalakkai" in kannada,"boodha gummidikkai" in Telugu.Don't guess this halwa is made only in kashi a city in benaras. kashi phal -in Hindi means ash gourd so this halwa is called kashi halwa.

Medicinal Benefits of ash gourd:
       Kashi phal has got 95 percent water content and high calcium content .Ash gourd is good for weight loss and it helps to maintain blood pressure as well.
What all  you can make with kashi phal:
         You can make arachuvitta sambhar, regular sambhar,moru curry or kootu with kashi phal..apart
from making this wonderful kashi halwa.
How to choose Pumpkin for kashi halwa:
             Ash gourd has to be heavy and also it should not be soft .that means its mature and its good for making halwa.If its soft there is a chance that you get very less ash gourd after filtering the water or it may get mushy while cooking.Texture of the halwa is very important..

Masala Dosa|Dosa Recipe

    Masala Dosa-A very famous dosa among Indians and in places where Indians live.Masala dosa is a south Indian speciality.Its a dosa with crispy outer layer and soft sweet and spicy potato filling inside..It is really easy to make masala dosa at home if you have idly-dosa batter.Dosa batter is readily available at Indian stores .If you can't make it at home, get some before you start making this dosa.Make potato masala, stuff them inside dosa  and enjoy.
    Key thing to note here is masala has to be little sweet compared to poori bhaji,so be careful not to add too much spice.I added carrot and red onion to make it sweet ,if you are short of carrots you can ad fresh or frozen peas to make the masala.Otherwise add some sugar to make the masala sweet .Dosa layer has to be crisp,to do so leave it tava/pan for some more time after the dosa is done.If its too much crisp it will spoil the masala dosa texture.Here is how to make masala dosa ?

Gujarati Kadhi|Side Dish For Roti

       Gujarati kadhi-is a yogurt based sweet and spicy curry with chickpea flour along with spices and tempered with ghee.Its an authentic Gujarati preparation served along with phulkhas,roti,kichdi etc.Even though there are varieties of kadhi's like Punjabi kadhi,rajathani kadhi.This Gujarati kadhi has it unique flavours and taste.If you have some leftover curd or at times when there is no vegetable available this Gujarati kadhi comes to rescue..
     My landlord is Gujarati and she makes many yummy Gujarati dishes, i never tried to make any of them..few days back when i wanted to make something with homemade curd which got little curdled not smooth, i thought about making this kadhi.This recipe is adapted from tarladalal but altered to our taste buds..
    This Gujarati kadhi is the base of any other kadhi recipe like kadhi pakora,kadhi bhindi,methi kadhi etc.This kadhi resembles few of the south Indian dishes like Moru curry a yogurt based curry
 with ground coconut and spices and a andhra yogurt curry menthi majjiga which is a tempered yogurt gravy.I love both these south Indian curries alike when it comes to rice. This Gujarati kadhi we had with methi thepla, its the best combo ever..If you want to have it for rice add more green chilies and avoid adding sugar to it.You should think of adding red chilies too while tempering.
   
Believe me its so tasty and will be ready in just 15-20 minutes.
 

How To Make Chocolate From Scratch|Homemade Milk Chocolate

What type of chocolate is this?  
     In this post I describe how to make milk chocolate using regular butter and cocoa powder.I used milk powder too to make it a milk chocolate. I used brown sugar so the chocolate tasted and looked like caramel. You can use regular sugar instead. Mine set after two days just when I thought I failed in my attempt to prepare chocolate. I made chocolate tofu pie using the chocolate. Reduce the water that goes in here to make it set early.You can also try grinding the dry milk to fine powder and follow this same procedure. I used carnation non-fat dairy milk powder.
 How to be careful, if it fails how to fix?
  Getting the single thread consistency of the sugar syrup is very important. Make sure you grease the plate for molding completely before adding the chocolate mixture. If you get runny chocolate don't panic make it set in refrigerator for few more hours or days.

Other methods of making chocolates :

     Some people use cocoa butter instead of regular butter for preparing chocolate(Cocoa butter is a butter made with cocoa beans). Chocolate can be prepared by grinding the cocoa beans too. But this seems to be bit long and complicated process.You can use cocoa powder only to prepare regular chocolate.You can also use milkmaid but the chocolate won't hold its shape(just roll them and dip in nuts and set in refrigerator).So my preference is this simple milk chocolate recipe.

How to do variation in this milk chocolate recipe?

• Add chopped nuts like cashews, badam/almonds
• Add cardamom powder.
• Add cinnamon powder.
• Add nutmeg powder.

HomeMade Dinner Rolls|Pav Recipe

 Homemade dinner rolls or pavs -is a bread used to make Indian street food vada pav.
         Lately, I am into baking bread ..My long time dream..I failed many attempts of wholewheat bread baking.But succeeded somehow my oven makes me think twice before I start the bread preparation.
     My little one was asking me for burgers, so I am determined to do it. I tried whole wheat burger buns, but not satisfied with the texture of it.This time, I thought I would do half by half ( half whole wheat and half all purpose).
      Pavs turned out to super soft and delicious without eggs and with 50 % goodness of wholewheat..I baked the buns in a circular plate that's why they are circular.If you use rectangle or square plate for baking, pav buns will be rectangle.
     The secret of making the soft and perfect bun is Knead until elastic, make them rest and rise.Bake them until brown ..Inspired from Vegrecipes.

Kara Kulambu|Kathirikai Puli Kulambu

   Kara Kulambu-This is a tamarind based gravy with coconut.Kara kulambu is the best alternate to poondu puli kulambu,Brinjal kulambu,paruppu urundai kulambu for rice.
   Kulambu is basically a south India accompaniment for rice and has so many variations like any other..This kathirikai Kara kulambu /puli kulambu is similar to enna kathirikai kulambu but the brinjalis not stuffed here..
    Even though i had many many post in draft this kulambu we licked latest (its that delicious) its so delicious i couldn't resist myself sharing with you all.
     This recipe is shared by my friends friend native of andhra.So i can say this kara kulambu is smiliar to vangaya pulusu/"vangayam" in telugu means brinjal ."pulusu" means tamarind.So i call it vengaya pulusu with coconut .
    For gravy thickening you can use any one of cashews,poppy seeds,coconut,bengal gram(kadala paruppu),roasted gram(pottu kadalai) .I used coconut ,poppy seeds and badam.Add more brinjals if you are fond of it.This time there is no step by step pics .Will update as soon as i do it next time.

Masala Pav Recipe|Mumbai Street Food

      Even though i did many guest post to my blogger friends ,this is the first time somebody is doing guest post in mykitchenodyssey..Something new and exciting right ?Because mykitchenodyssey is getting recipes other than admin (me priya).
    With the same excitement we can welcome our guest sooriya, who blogs at Delectable flavors. What a coincidence, we both share a common hometown (Karaikudi).Yes she got many chettinad recipes too really many non-veg recipes.. .I love all of them ..So if you are non-veg lover you sure can try some from her site.
    I  asked her for some non-veg recipe but ...She lost the final picture of the one she decided on ,so  no non-veg this time.Its been a long time since we committed to do guest post.so she shared this amazing masala pav instead.Now in her own words.

 Big hi to all the amazing readers of My Kitchen Odyssey!!!

I am Ree/ Sooriya Kasirajh from Delectable Flavours. I was so happy when priya requested me for a guest post, being an amateur blogger, such requests are a big happiness. So, I take the opportunity to thank priya for the guest post!!!

About My Kitchen Odyssey and Priya, its an amazing blog where you can find authentic recipes which are well explained with pictures and easy to follow even for a beginner. Priya is a very friendly person to interact with and I am very happy to have known her. Chit chatting over the past few days, I came to know she is very adjusting and helpful :)

Chocolate Banana Smoothie|Breakfast Smoothie

What is a smoothie?What is a milkshake ?What is the difference between smoothie and a milkshake?

•     Smoothie is a drink made  without ice cream or even without milk.Basically thick kind .
•     Milkshake is a drink made with milk ,ice cream or both.Milkshakes can be thin with or without fruit.

    I really had a hard time planning the title of this post.But finally i decided to go with smoothie.
     This smoothie i did for cooking secretly challenge started by priya suresh sis .This month my pair is sailaja reddy .She gave two wonderful ingredients ,Cocoa and banana..After hearing the ingredients i decided to do this smoothie ..Because drinks are rare happenings in mykitchenodyssey right ?
    I won't click and post smoothies and drinks which my daughter always demands.The ones i posted are strawnerry milkshake when strawberry is in season, lemon sharbath during summers,peach lassi when i buy peach.
   This is a skinny version ,you can very well add full fat milk and a very large banana and add more cocoa powder to make it more sweeter and thick smoothie.I personally don't like much sweet, so used less cocoa powder and no honey.Adding of peanut butter is optional.But it gives a nice touch to the smoothie.
     This is very filling smoothie.If you are in a hurry for a breakfast but forgot or don't have anything to cook .This smoothie is the best option.

Chocolate Pie|Tofu Chocolate Pie

            Chocolate pie -i actually came across this pie when i failed to make homemade chocolates.When i searched for chocolate recipes ,i found this heavenly chocolate pie recipe. This caught my attention ,because its very easy and very appealing. As usual i substituted with ingredients at hand and made a wonderful dessert.

   Pie is a baked Dish made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet and savoury ingredients.This pie don't have a pastry, instead uses crackers as the base and indian cheese,chocolate and tofu puree as the filling.

*****This is not vegan or vegeterain pie it has eggs and indian cheese.

     This chocolate pie is mild sweet without any cream topping.When you eat it after a meal ,its just all you want.If you feel its less sweet you can melt some chocolate and top it.I did this later to please my daughter.  

For substitution :

• I used Marie biscuit for base ,you can use graham crackers or orea instead.
• I used yogurt .you can use cream cheese in  the original recipe as well .
• Use silken tofu.I used firm tofu so the pie has little texture problems.                     
  
  
  

       

Almond Cookies|Easy Cookie Recipe

        Almond cookie- Easy cookie recipe which is light sugary ,nutty,cardamom flavoured with no baking powder/ baking soda or no egg.You can pack and gift your friends and loved ones this cookie ,they get surprised if you say them i baked these almond cookies.If you want to bake a cookie from scratch without any ready made ingredients then this cookie is just for you.See the below points for any substitue .

Substitutions/Alterations:

• Can use almond flour instead of whole almonds.
• Can substitute whole wheat flour with all purpose flour.
• Can substitute butter with oil if you want a lesser saturated fat(but don't substitute with coconut oil ,this has larger saturated fats than butter).
• Can replace almond with other nuts like walnuts too.

If you are using a aluminium tray for baking this cookie then sure it will be ready in 10 minutes .If you use a thick pan then it will take 15 minutes for the almond cookies to be ready.

Looking for easy cookies? try

1. Lime cookies.
2. Peanut butter cookies.
3. oats cookies.

actual recipe is from here (altered).                                  

   

Coconut Chutney|Side Dish For Idli Dosa

         I do love fresh coconut in chutney's.Coconut gives a fantastic taste to pulov,Richness to sweets,desserts.Flavor to stir fries.This simple coconut chutney taste great with freshly grated coconut.People who don't have fresh coconut can use frozen coconut kept in refrigerator the day before.
      I usually do tomato chutney,carrot chutney,bell pepper chutney,Mint-coriander chutney for breakfast.When i am bored of these regular chutney's i do this coconut chutney -easy and tasty chutney ever.You can skip red chili to tempering if the chutney is too hot.You can skip garlic too.But it gives a nice aroma and taste to the chutney.
     In hotels of tamilnadu you can taste a sweet version of this chutney.They don't add roasted gram to the chutney.With fresh coconut and with chilies the coconut chutney is just mind blowing.

EggLess Cake|Whole Wheat Cake

     Its Christmas time and everybody is cooking Christmas cake, i cooked this simple Whole wheat cake instead.This is a egg less and less sugar cake.If you are a sugar lover then you can add a glaze of sugar and vanilla over the top to give a perfect sugary look.I referred priyas blog to make this Egg less whole wheat cake.
      I don't do much cakes. If i make one I want to give some healthy twist.So i haven't added any sugar glaze to this whole wheat cake.If you are beginner to baking, then you can refer my post basic for beginners.This post gives a perfect start for anyone new in baking cookies and cakes.
 My cakes will be strange like Cheerios avocado cake.But some times i make it simple like Banana oats muffin,
     If you want a simple Christmas cake without no further preparation then you can see my Christmas cake recipe.If you are a fruit lover then there is a Strawberry cake made using fresh strawberry puree.
  All the cakes i do have less sugar keeping in mind sugar will increase the calories intake and not at all good taken regularly.But once in a while to celebrate a fantastic birthday or to enjoy a party you can always add little more sugar ,glaze or frosting to your cakes
    This cake stay good for 2-3 days if stored properly.

Ragi Idli|Ragi Flour Recipe

There is a lot to talk about this ragi idli.

1. Its very healthy one .I hear you!!! you are saying,"i know ".But its more than what do you think .This ragi idli is made with ragi flour and urad dal ,there is no rice.
2. No need to clean,soak and grind ragi.You can simply use ragi flour.
3. You can grind the urad dal with a Indian mixer.Even blender works.

       You can make 14 ragi idlies with the mentioned quantity.This is not a instant idli ,you have to ferment the batter .If you want a instant one you can follow the same procedure like making  rava idli.Add curd and rava to ragi and make idlies out of it.But what ever method you do.Don't forget to eat them hot.

Kara Pori|Puffed Rice Recipe

Kara Pori 

    A spicy puffed rice recipe made as a evening snack.This puffed rice is favourite for lord muruga ,the star of "karthigai deepam".This festive falls on Tamil month "karthigai" ,the month lord muruga was born. Muruga ,the most beautiful god.In Tamil "murugu" means beautiful. There is a belief that 6 kid's(muruga's) were born(have seen it in a Tamil movie).So 6 is the number favourite to muruga. In Tamilnadu you can see 6 famous muruga shrines 

1. Thiruthani-Muruga married Valli here.
2. Swami malai-Lord muruga teaches meaning of om to lord Shiva
3. Thiruparamkundram-Muruga married deivanai here.
4. Thiruchendur-Muruga fought against soorapadma here.
5. Palani-Muruga stayed here after he fought with his family for a divine fruit.
6. PalamudirCholai-Muruga stays with his two wife's Valli and deivanai  here.

 I know 4 of the temples ,yet to visit 2 more .
    Now to the puffed rice recipe.I usually do Masala peanuts or poha chivda for evening snack if my dearies are hungry.These 2 are easy to make,But Kara Pori is the easiest of all of the snack.My grandma do this kara pori and pori urundai for karthigai deepam.I failed to make pori urundai this time.So at least i do this Kara pori for lord muruga.

    This kara pori is very simple even an amateur cook can do it.I haven't added peanuts(kadalai),Roasted gram(pottukadalai),curry leaves(karuvepilai).If you wish you can very well add before adding the masala.Roast both of them until they change colour.

    Instead of adding chili powder you can add mor milagai .To enjoy crunchy kara pori just roast  puffed rice(pori separate) 2 -3 minutes before adding to the masala.You can add some veggies,onion to make it masala pori too.

Arachuvitta Sambar|Sambar Recipe

    Arachuvitta sambar is a sambar made with freshly ground masala.This makes the sambar more aromatic and very different than regular sambar.This sambar is a boon for those who don't have sambar powder in hand.Restaurants will do this type of sambar to save lentils.This sambar is exactly brahmin style with no onions or garlic and is useful for fasting days.
   In South India people have a daily routine of making sambar. In my family eating sambar daily is a big no no. So i try to do rasam,dal,poondu kulambu,mor kulambu as variation. Sometimes I make variety rice like curd rice,bisibelabath,chickpeas rice to break the monotony. But the want for different tastes will not subside.
   I love iyengar style sambar very much. Its slightly tangy and slightly sweet, but rich and thick with extra dal. You can eat it with rice,idli,dosa or any breakfast item.
     When I saw this recipe in snehas site something clicked and I added some extra dal to my regular arachuvitta sambar and voila the result was super yummy ..
     I haven't added onion or tomato to this sambar feel free to add it .You can use ash gourd or bottle gourd instead of bell pepper.You can use little ghee to make it more rich. I added sambar powder for extra taste .You can omit it and add one more red chili instead.

Dosa|Ragi Idiyappam And More[Breakfast Menu]

      Every body is lazy on a weekend.I usually do simple breakfast for our weekend .This week being a long weekend , i wanted to do something special for my dearies .So got a idea of trying this Breakfast Menu.
     I already posted a special lunch before which is a rice combo,This time its a South Indian breakfast.This breakfast menu has Dosa,Kavuni arisi,ragi Idiyappam and chutney .You can include sambhar in this menu which makes the platter more yummier.

Dal Palak|Keerai Kootu

    This is a south Indian style Dal palak (because i do it ,i say it south Indian).Dal palak is a very mild curry that goes very well with kulambu and sambhar.If added little more spice(chili or sambhar powder) you can have it for roti as well(Indian style flat bread).
     This curry can be made with any greens available,I made it with Spinach the Palak .We south Indians call it as pasalai keerai.This Spinach is mostly available in cities.So people who are trying this curry who don't have spinach/palak available go with other greens like arai keerai,mula keerai,Methi or vendhaya keerai(fenugreek leaves) etc.
     This Keerai masiyal is one of the tastiest mild curries of South.You can add toor dal instead of moong dal and temper the curry with mustard and urad dal after the curry is done.
      I pressure cooked the spinach with moong dal like my mom do,If you don't want the greens to be cooked in pressure cooker.Pressure cook the dal and mash it .Saute spinach and combine both of them together.

Sakkarai Pongal|Sweet Pongal

      Sakkarai pongal|sweet pongal is a rice made with jaggery.Its special in south india ,every household has tradition of making sakkarai pongal for special occasions.Specially sakkarai pongal takes the major place in pongal festival(a harvest festival) which occurs in tamil month thai, falls around January15 th every year.
    Brahmins do this sweet pongal with more ghee and milk its called akkara vadisal.I am hardcore fan of it,really makes any one mouth waters.hmmmmm
     Like any other recipe this sakkarai pongal also has many variations.My mom makes this style of pongal ,my mother -in law add some moong dal to the sweet pongal.If you are adding moong dal to the sakkarai pongal it has to pressure cooked along with rice.For 1 cup rice you can add 1/2 cup moong dal.

Variations to the sakkarai pongal:

1. Add moong dal/pasipayaru to add some protein.
2. You can add coconut flakes instead of grated coconut .
3. Increase the jaggery to make sakkarai pongal more sweeter.
4. Add more ghee and to make it more rich.
5. Add milk to make it more creamier.
6. Obviously you can substitute rice with any millets.

Golden Milk|Turmeric Milk

     Turmeric milk is also called golden milk because of its color.According to me it taste bit similar to masala milk(but very low in calories than that)
     This golden milk i usually do when we have cold or cough.Add little pepper makes it little spicy and good during cold days. Adding of turmeric gives a nice color to the milk,it has more medicinal benefits too(explained at the end of post).When my daughter catches cold i do follow all of the below mentioned points to give a quick relief(It takes at least 2 days).

These are some of the remedy my grand ma and my mom did for us .Now i am doing it for my daughter.
    When she has stuffy nose or when her eyes get wet during cold.I do "othadam" which can be done with kitchen towel wrapped.

• How to do Othadam:

                Heat a tava ,try to touch the tava with the base of wrapped towel.It should be hot.You can check the temperature when you are doing for kids .then try to put it in forehead ,neck ,below the eyes (can be done whenever it is paining)

• Try to take more vitamin c.
• Making a hot shower reduces nasal congestion.
• People apply some medicinal leaves that take the water out the head(cold air inside head is the cause for head aches)
• Add more veggies,pepper to your diet.
• Try to drink more warm water(heat in microwave for 20-30 seconds).
• Reduce the milk intake(try to dilute the milk and give the kids)
• Add this golden milk day,night.You can substitute honey with sugar too.(sometimes i do that)

Appam Recipe|Appam

   Appam a south Indian style pancakes or dosa made with fermented rice and urad dal mixture .Usually served with coconut milk or stew or kuruma.
   Appam is very famous breakfast item in kerela and chettinad.There are many variations of appam recipe like adding baking soda, eno or add sago pearls/Sabudana (later one i recommend you can do it ).But my mom never add anything to the appam batter ,but still the appam taste so good and be spongy.In case if you are trying to add sago/sabudana/javarisi to appam batter soak it with other ingredients and grind it or soak is and add it after its fermented.
     Best time to prepare appam is ,on a weekend .Why i say is, after having this delicious appam you don't really feel like having lunch and you feel drowsy too.so better have it as a brunch and go for light meal in the evening .
    Ladies first few appam will give a little tough time.You can use the coconut flakes(after taking the milk out) tied in a cotton cloth to wipe the bottom of the pan to give an extra oil layer .Its better to apply more oil for first few if you are not using non-stick pan like me .
    I have done a video on how to make appam in regular pan .Hope you guys will like it.In case of any doubts just comment or email me .

Baingan Bharta Recipe|Step By Step Pics

     Baingan bharta is a easy Indian style curry made with Aubergine the large eggplant.Eggplant is called by different names like brinjal,baingan,aubergine,Kathirikai(in tamil).
     Baingan bharta is done by roasting aubergine in gas and then smoke it.I instead roasted in oven (broiled in oven).Its was smokey,tangy,spicy ..and its a best dip i can say.If you want to roast in direct gas then refer dassana post ,she explained dhungar method(infusing the coal flavor to baingan).I got the idea of oven roasting from Sony who is a blogger friend of mine.
    Usually people in India have baingan bharta for roti an Indian flat bread.we  had it with bread and it was quite amazing..
    This recipe i did it for shhh.... cooking secret challenge hosted by priya suresh sis .This month my partner is priya sis .She gave me onion and aubergine as the secret ingredient .I normally do kosumalli with small brinjals apart from that i can think about baingan bharta ,my fav.
    I have given step by step pics as well for amateurs.I used 1/2 tsp chili powder as we are spice lovers.If you guys don't want much spice reduce the chili powder to 1/4 tsp .You can also include 1 green chili with 1/4 tsp chili powder.
 

Baingan Bharta/Aubergine Curry

    Oven broiled baingan bharta(aubergine curry) for roti ,dosa,bread.

Cuisine: Indian Category: Side Dish Yields: 2 cups Prep time: 30-40 Minutes Cook time: 10 minutes Total time: 40 Minutes.


Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound aubergine/eggplant/kathirikai(around 450 grams)
• 1 onion
• 1 small country tomato
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• Few coriander leaves for garnishing

To temper:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp jeera/cumin

Method:
Preparation:

• Oven roast the baingan .Broil the eggplant for 30 -40 min until it breaks or until skin soften.

• Remove the peel and mash it very well.

• Chop the onions and tomatoes .

Cooking:

• Heat a tava with 1 tbsp oil.
• Add jeera.Let the jeera gets the aroma.

• Add ginger garlic paste and saute it for 2 seconds.

• Add onions and saute it ,until  translucent(takes around 2-3 minutes on a hot tava).

• Add tomatoes and cook it thorough.

• Add turmeric and chili powder and saute it for a minute without burning it.

• Add the mashed eggplant/ baingan/aubergine to the tava.Add required salt as well.

• Let it sit in tava for 2 minutes in low flame.
• Garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with roti/dosa.
• Actually we had it with bread, it was so awesome.

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How To Make Coconut Milk

    This post is about how to make coconut milk a basic recipe.Though many people know how to make coconut milk ,there are people who don't know much about it.

    I never made coconut milk after coming here to US.Not  because of it is a difficult thing to do ,it is rare to get fresh,good,old coconut.First of all many people don't buy the whole coconut here.So its rare to see the whole one.It is available only in Indian store or in my nearby Mexican shop.Even though it is available ,it is rare to get a good one .Most of the coconut are very old and will be rotten .The ones that we get in Indian store is costly and too young.Those coconut will not be sweet or we don't get good amount of milk from it.After sometime now i am able to pick a good one.I grate it and store some in refrigerator and remaining in freezer.If its difficult to get coconut ,then how will i be making milk with it ?

      This time i was lazy to get coconut and break it and grate it .This process takes sometime to do .I am in no mood to do that.So i got frozen coconut.I want to make Aapam(dosa) and coconut milk that day.So kept the frozen coconut in refrigerator the day before and kept it outside 1 hour before i started taking the milk out.used warm water to get milk .To get best results grind the coconut along with warm water and extract the coconut milk .
      If you are using the coconut milk immediately then fine, otherwise store the milk in refrigerator or freezer until use(Guess this has shorter shelf life). 

Rajma Dry Curry|How to make Rajma Curry recipe

    Kidney bean/Rajma dry curry -is a easy North Indian style curry  made with rajma,bell pepper,ginger,garlic and some masalas .Even though i make rajma gravy,chana gravy , mushroom gravy for poori ,roti.I made this dry curry very first time thought it would sound bit different than regulars.
    In this rajma curry i used pureed fresh tomatoes.No double sauted masala's,So it takes times for the raw smell of masalas dissipates and also the curry becomes dry.
      Using of kasuri methi is completely optional for this curry .But i prefer you use some for enhanced flavor.To make the curry yummier rajma has to be cooked very well(soft) so it should be soaked for at least 8 hours.Tomato puree and bell pepper makes the curry slightly sweet, If you don't like pureed tomato in the rajma curry use chopped tomato instead.If you prefer the masala to be spicy in case of using pureed tomatoes add 1/4 more chili powder .

Preparation time:6-8 hours (soaking)+20 min (pressure cooking)
Cooking time:20 min
Serves:2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rajma (soaked for at least 8 hours)
• 1/2 bell pepper.
• 1 onion
• 1 tomato (pureed)
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 1/4 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• pinch of turmeric
• few dried methi leaves/kasuri methi.

To temper:

• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp jeera/Cumin

Method:
Preparation:

• Soak Rajma for 8 hours or overnight.

• Pressure cook it for 4-5 whistles or until its soft.
• Chop onion very fine.
• Puree the tomato .
• Make ginger garlic paste .
• Chop bell pepper as well

Cooking:

• Heat  tava and add oil to it .
• Add jeera .Let the jeera change colour.

• Add chopped onions and saute it for sometime .

• Add ginger garlic paste and cook them through.

• Add pureed tomato .Let the juices get evaporated .
• Add bell pepper and saute it for a minute.

• Add masalas chili powder,coriander powder ,turmeric and mix it well,

• Add water rajma is cooked and add required salt (make sure not to add too much of salt because ts going to be dry not gravy)

• Add garam masala and kasuri methi and boil it until it thickens.
• Add pressure cooked rajma .Let it get thick and coat with masalas.

• Rajma curry is ready .Serve it with chapathi ,roti ,etc

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200th post-Kavuni Arisi/BlackRice Pudding

        This is my 200th post .I want to share a dessert which is close to my heart.This kavuni arisi (pudding) ranks first among my favourites.I make payasam with kavuni arisi, then i make this pudding.This Black Rice Pudding is really easy to make if you plan ahead.Rice has to be soaked for at least 12 hours to get Best pudding.
        Kavuni arisi is costly compared to other rice varieties and has more iron and fibre(because  its unmilled and has husk in tact).kavuni arisi rice when cooked turns purplish.In china people make cake,porridge,bread with it.
     This black rice pudding is served during breakfast in chettinad marriages and in festivals and is considered really special.

Soaking time:12 hrs
Cooking time:20 min
Serves:2-3

Palakai Kootu Curry-Chettinad Style(Step By Step Pics)

        Palakai kootu curry is yet another chettinad speciality.Me and my husband are very fond of this type of curry (Our grandma's make this curry yummier ).Here in US its very rare to get raw/tender jack fruit .I saw some in Indian store ,without any second thought i got raw jackfruit.
       When i asked my mom about it .She told there are varieties of raw jack fruit like fruity(which has more seeds) and raw one which don't have many seeds.I really was upset because i already got one which has more seeds.Its really hard to clean the seeds out ,But after i make this kootu we really enjoyed it a lot with Tomato rasam.
     This Jackfruit Recipe is mild and goes very well with rice.

Cleaning Time:15 min(if there is more seeds)
Preparation time:10 min

Cooking time:10 min

How To Make Yogurt

How to make yogurt ?

       Most of you would have thought ,No big deal right? The reality is its not easy to make yogurt  in cold countries or in cold weather naturally.
If you ask me, So you never bought yogurt outside? Sometimes I do, But only when the weather was too cold for fermentation. To me store bought yogurt lacks in freshness and most importantly taste.
   This post will teach you a technique or two and a few tips on how to make yogurt at home even in cold weather and or cold countries.

So what it yogurt ?
    It is a product of bacterial fermentation of milk. Bacteria which makes yogurt is called "yogurt cultures".

So I made yogurt, now what do I do with it ?

Dishes using yogurt

• Prepare Gravies like yogurt gravy.
• Use it in chats like dahi vada,dahi poori.
• Use it in raita.
• Use it for preparing buttermilk 
• Prepare  lassi with it .
• Make Yogurt rice .
• Mix it with fruits and make Flavored yogurt.