Dishesfrommykitchen

CHERRY TOMATO CONFIT

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 03:11:00 +0000

CHERRY TOMATO CONFIT

This is probably the preparation that sees the biggest benefit from homegrown ingredients as homegrown tomatoes I feel are sweeter, have less skin, and just intensify the umami of a great preparation.

CHERRY TOMATO CONFIT

Ingredients:

Cherry tomato - 4 cups full

Olive oil - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup.. ( I usually make with 3/4 cup because once tomato are over..the oil itself tastes so good with all umami goodness and can be used in various ways #flavorpunch)

Sea salt - 3/4 Tbsp

Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tbsp

Garlic - 10 pods sliced ( not very thin)

Zest of 1/2 lemon

Oregano few sprigs

Basil few leaves

Sugar - 1/2 tsp ( optional)

Method:

1. Wash and wipe all the cherry tomatoes.

2. Cut them to halves.

3. Spread them in the oven safe glassware, I usually don't prefer aluminum baking sheet for this.

4. Preheat the oven to 300f .

5. Add halved tomatoes and Olive oil.

6. This takes almost 11/2 to 2 hrs.

7. After an hour add all other ingredients and slow bake/ cook them until the water content in the tomato is reduced almost to half, garlic and tomatoes starts caramelizing.

8. Once done let them cool in the room temperature overnight and store them in the airtight glass bottle.

Tastes so good with bread, pasta, topping for grits, omelettes, Risotto etc so many infinite ways...to Use them. Truly delicious.

STRAWBERRY FIG TART

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 23:07:00 +0000

STRAWBERRY FIG TART

Tart dough

Ingredients:

Flour - 180g
Butter - 120g
Egg - 25g
Icing sugar - 70g
Almond powder - 30g

Method:

1. Sift the almond powder together with the flour.
2. Then sift the icing sugar (separately).
3. Mix the icing sugar with the butter in a bowl using a spatula.
4. When the icing sugar is well combined with the butter, mix in the egg until smooth. This may take some time. You will get a homogenized mixture.
5. Next mix in the sifted flour and almond powder.
6. Keep mixing until a soft ball is formed do not over work.
7. Flatten the dough, then wrap the dough in plastic and put it in the
fridge for at least one hour.
8. Roll out the dough to a sheet that is large enough to cover the tart pan.
9. Fold, lift and place the dough in the tart pan without stretching it.
10. Crimp the edges with your fingers and cut off any excess dough with a knife.
11. Prick the bottom with a fork to prevent blistering.
13. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in your pre-heated oven at
180°C(350°F)

Almond Cream

Ingredients :

Almond meal- 120g
Butter - 100g
Sugar - 100g
Egg - 2
Salt - 1 pinch
Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp
Walnuts chopped - 100g
Chocolate chips - 20g

Method:

1. Mix the sugar with soft butter, then add the egg, salt and vanilla extract.
2. Clean the side of the bowl from time to time.
3. Mix in the almond powder, spread the layer of almond cream on the tart bottom.
4. Sprinkle the chopped walnuts and Chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 min in 190°C (375°F) oven.
6.Transfer the tart to a wire rack, unmold and let it cool completely before adding the roasted fig mixture.

NOTE: If figs are in season you can use the fig mixture else you can omit the figs and use Chocolate Ganache only.

Fig or chocolate make a choice and follow the below direction ......

Fig mixture

Ingredients:

Fresh Figs - 300g (quatered)

Method:

1. Cut figs into small pieces and cook over medium heat for about 10 min(do not over cook).
2. Let it cool and chop roughly. Spread the mixture on the top of cooled tart.

Ganache

Ingredients:

Dark Couverture - 80g
Heavy cream - 80g

Method:

1. Place chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring cream just to a boil.
3. Immediately pour cream over chocolate and let it sit without stirring for 1-2 minutes.
4. Slowly mix well until you get smooth Ganache. Once it is cooled (still pouring consistency)
5. Spread the Ganache on the top of fig mixture evenly.
6. Once the Ganache is firm, then decorate.

Decoration:
Arrange the Sliced fresh strawberries and figs (15-20) on the top of the tart beautifully.

KHANDVI

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 00:05:00 +0000

One of our favorite guilt free snack to munch with masalachai........ Do you love this?

Khandvi is a Gujarati delicacy made using Besan/ Chickpea flour #glutenfree . This cute little yellowish thin sheets( made using cooked chickpea flour)which is rolled to bite- sized pieces are flavored/ topped with tempering of mustard, sesame seeds, spicy green chilies and toasted coconut are #addictive.

KHANDVI

Ingredients :

FOR THE KHANDVI

Gram flour/Besan - 1 cup

Yogurt - 1 cup ( I prefer to use little sour yogurt)

Water - 2 cup

Ginger paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Green chili paste - 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 Pinch

Salt - as needed

Oil - 1 tbsp

FOR TADKA

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Grated coconut - 1 to 2 tbsp

Sesame seeds - 1 tsp

Green chili - 1 sliced

Cilantro for garnishing(chopped)

Method :

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the gram flour, yogurt, water, salt, ginger and green chili paste, turmeric powder and oil. Mix well with a hand blender until it has no lumps.

2. In a heavy bottom(medium sized) pot pour the batter and bring it to a boil, stirring continusely keeping the flame in low to medium. It starts to thicken and keep mixing.

Cook this mixture for 20 minutes making sure there is no raw smell of the besan. Now test a little by spreading on a plate after a minute check to see if it peels out easily.

3. If it comes out easily from the plate without any delay switch of the flame, take a large steel plate or granite top grease it very slightly with oil. Pour a ladleful of this batter, spread it as thin as possible with the back of a large spoon or bread dough scraper (works very good). Do the same with the remaining dough.

4. When this cools , cut to vertical strips and carefully roll them tightly. Transfer them to the serving platter

5. In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard and sesame seeds. Once it stops spluttering add green chili and immediately pour the tadka over Khandvi rolls.

6. Garnish with grated coconut and chopped cilantro.

Serve with your favorite chutney. I served with mint chutney and garlic chutney.

Vegetarian Japchae (Chap Chae)

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 22:35:00 +0000

A favorite noodle of mine in any weather is Japchae ((Stir-fried veggies & Tofu with Sweet potato Starch noodles/glass noodles). The reason I really love japchae is because it's relatively light, refreshing, tasty, and great as a side-dish or main. Today, a delicious vegetarian Japchae with stir-fried veggies and tofu made for a great meal, that's tasty and easy to prepare.

Vegetarian Japchae (Chap Chae)

(Stir-fried veggies & Tofu with Sweet potato Starch noodles/glass noodles)

Ingredients :

Sweet potato starch Vermicelli - 340 gm

Extra firm Tofu - 340gm

(small cubes, sautéed in the pan with a tsp of oil and a pinch of salt. Fry them till it turns golden brown on all the sides)

White button mushroom - 7 to 8 (sliced)( you can use any of your fav mushrooms as well)

Spinach or any greens - 2 handful (I used Kale today)

Carrot - 1 (Julienned)

White onion - 1 sliced (small)

Red pepper or your choice of colored pepper - 1 (cut to strips)

Garlic - 2 pod (very finely chopped)

Soy sauce - 3 tbsp

Sesame oil - 3 tbsp

Green onion(green part , save the white part for noodles) - 1/4 cup sliced

Sesame seeds

Salt if needed ( Since Soy sauce has enough amount of salt its not necessary)

Sauce ingredients for the Noodles :

Soy sauce - 3 tbsp

Sesame oil - 1 tbsp

Sugar - 2 tsp (you can add tsp extra if u like little sweeter)

Korean red chili powder (Gochugaru) - 1/2 tbsp

Garlic - 3 minced

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

White part of spring onion

Method for Preparing Noodles :

1. Cook the Noodles as instructed in the package and wash in cold water 2 to 3 times , drain and keep it aside.

2. Heat the pan, add the sauce mixture for the noodles, let it cook for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the cooked noodles, switch off the stove immediately and give it a good mix. Let it cool down.

Preparing the veggies :

1. Stir-fry Mushroom, Onion, Carrot and peppers separately and keep it aside.

2. Blanch Kale or greens in the boiling water. Drain immediately, squeeze and add dash of soy sauce and sesame oil. Massage and keep it aside.

3. In a bowl add the stir-fried veggies, greens, prepared noodles, tofu and add all other ingredients ( garlic, soy and sesame oil).

4. Give it a good mix. ( You can add more soy or sesame oil if you want)

5. Give it a taste test and add sliced green onion.

6. Serve them as a side or main ... sprinkle sesame seeds on the top while serving.

Note :

1. You can serve this in room temperature or even cold. This tastes so good after an hour, the more it soaks the better it tastes.

2. You can also add omelette strips to this.

3. You can always reduce the amount of sauce and sesame oil as per your taste and need.

HOW AND WHY I GREW MICROGREENS, AND WHY YOU SHOULD TOO !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Thu, 13 Aug 2020 18:20:00 +0000

Growing Superfoods at your home were never easier.

My Introduction into Microgreens

My story for this started a while ago when a local Microgreens company reached out to me and sent me some microgreens to try and share on my Instagram. At that time, I was not a frequent user of Microgreens. I knew that it was nutritious and aesthetically pleasing on a dish, and it could bring quite a bit of flavor to the dish. So I made some of our meals and incorporated these tiny little plants into my dishes, and my family loved the taste of it, as I could bring pronounced flavors to dishes. I loved Microgreens, as the versatility was astounding; If I wanted a hit of peppery flavor in the dish, I could just put some arugula microgreens, and If I wanted a hint of nuttiness in each bite I could just finish it with sprigs of Alfalfa. So I thanked the local Microgreen company that sent me some, Instagrammed it, and went on about my business. Time passed by and I got tempted to start using Microgreens in my dishes again, as they are simply wonderful, but the gardener in my mind started to get curious about growing these wonderful super-greens.

The reason why I thought about growing Microgreens

You may know me as a passionate gardener, and you are right. I love nature and growing anything, but the place I live, we happen to have 4 seasons resulting in the need to replant everything in the spring. So, in the summer and the spring, I can grow anything at home outdoors , but once winter comes around I cannot do it anymore. I especially love growing fresh greens to incorporate into my family’s diet for the wonderful health and flavor. So that left me with one option, and that was to grow inside my home, and this got me thinking about growing microgreens at home. The benefit was that If I grew inside, I can grow year-around, and winter would not be a roadblock. I did some research and found out that there are hundreds of varieties of Microgreens that I could grow, and many were not even available at the store.

Why I grew Microgreens inside, and why I chose to do it this way

Now technically, you can grow anything inside your home, be it regular Greens or Microgreens or even full plants, but some facts led me to find out that Microgreens are extremely easy to grow hydroponically. You can grow many plants hydroponically, but some plants grow easier than others in this method, and in the case of Microgreens, you do not need fancy equipment or grow lights to get started. The benefit of growing hydroponically is that you do not need soil or fertilizer, and that makes growing it a no-mess job. Another benefit of growing hydroponically is that replanting is even easier, just throw the paper towel away (or compost it), and you can start all over. As I said before, growing microgreens inside makes weather a non-issue and I love how it brightens the space and looks so natural. Growing anything inside your house automatically makes it a piece of functional-decor:)

I will be showing you how to grow regular non-microgreens in your home hydroponically as well, without fancy equipment in a following post. Also, this process is extremely fun, and It’s a wonderful activity to do with your kids as well.

Why you should incorporate Microgreens into your diet

With all that fun stuff out of the way, let’s get into how I grew microgreens and how you can too!

The Materials Necessary

If you were not aware before, let me debase the facts. Microgreens are very healthy, and depending on the variety have a plethora of health benefits. Some of the top microgreens that are extremely healthy include Arugula, Kale, Amaranth, Broccoli, Chia, Radish, Mustard, etc. More importantly, when some of these greens have a Macro (Larger Full size) type, you might wonder how are the smaller Microgreens any better in terms of health to its larger cousin?

According to sources, Microgreens are healthier than their Macro-cousin. Studies show microgreens typically are more nutrient-dense compared to their larger cousins. I will link a study here. I will also be doing another article soon, with more data on these comparisons as the information on the nutrient content of microgreens is quite fascinating. However, a consideration to be made is that putting Microgreens on top of unhealthy food doesn’t make it necessarily healthy, but it will enhance the taste.

There are a couple of things to get started.

You’ll need-

Kitchen Paper Towels

Small Plastic and wooden containers, I will elaborate on this

Seeds and Grains- I will elaborate on this

Water and preferably a sprayer

With that out of the way, let’s get started!

Step 1- Pick your containers

Containers are very important in the process of growing microgreens in your house. The container facilitates growth, passively maintains the moistness that is integral to the growth of your Microgreens. You can choose many types of containers, but I recommend clear plastic containers for small seed microgreens. An example would be the clear disposable plastic box that Costco packs their strawberries inside. I would choose disposable clear plastic containers, as you want to be able to poke holes into this, big enough for water to flow through. To poke holes, I would simply heat a thin knife or fork on the stove, and then poke the plastic with that. These containers never have to be new, and all the containers you see in my pictures have been recycled numerous times, in the past. For example- the blue container is just an average mushroom container that you see at Costco.

Plastic Containers are fine to use, however you may use foil containers as well if you desire.

Step 2- Kitchen Towel Procedure

This sounds insane, but the medium for growing microgreens is going to be your garden variety kitchen paper-towel. Take 1 sheet that’s big enough for your container, and cut a second one the same size and lay both of them together. Take these two-layers of tissue and dampen them with water, and then lay the wet towel in the container of your choice.

Step 3- Sprinkle The Seeds

The method that I am discussing thus far, pertains to the usage of a smaller variety of seeds. These varieties include flax, chia, mustard, radish, buckwheat, the list continues. Sprinkle your seeds on top of the damp tissue that is laid in the plastic container. It is Imperative to sprinkle evenly, but not sparsely, as this is what can ensure the microgreens will grow evenly like grass.

On the left is flax seeds, that I just sowed. On the right is how the flax will look like when they sprout after a couple of days!

Step 4- Tuck them in their new room

This is the room they will stay in for a bit. A dark cabinet.

At this point, you should lay a damp kitchen towel over the seeds to cover them, and then find a dark place for the whole thing and let it reside there for 3–4 days for it to sprout.

· Keep the seeds moist. This is where the water sprayer comes in handy, and each day you should check to see if the seeds and tissue are moist. Remember that, seeds need adequate moistness to germinate.

· If your seeds do not sprout on the 4th day, your seeds may be damaged and be ungrowable. You can give it another day or two, but it is unlikely that it will sprout. Usually, seeds that do not sprout are due to the seeds being old. Buy some brand new seeds and then, try the process all over again.If your seeds have sprouted, you can proceed with the next steps.

Use a Sprayer, to keep the seeds moist. Later on, use a sprayer to keep the leaves moist.

These guys are starting to sprout, on the left is Alfalfa, on the top-right is buckwheat, and on the bottom right is a mix of broccoli seeds and flax in one box. Yes, you can mix microgreens seeds, I will elaborate later in the post.

Step 5- Notice the Changes

Around the time that the seeds sprouted, you should start to see tiny yellow leaves forming. This indicates that your seeds are growing correctly. At this point, you should remove the damp tissue that is above the seeds, and move the entire container to an area with indirect sunlight. When the sprouted microgreens get exposed to sunlight, within 60–90 minutes the yellow leaves will become green. This yellow to green conversion is due to Light-Dependent reactions in plant leaves. When the plant is exposed to sunlight, chloroplast’s chlorophyll, start having reactions and green pigmentation occurs. (I know this is a simple explanation, but this isn’t biology class!)

Looky Looky, Yellow Leaves!

I chose a place like this near the windows to keep my microgreens. By the way, the plants in the bowls are greens that are grown hydroponically. A post on how to grow these is coming up soon!

Additionally, to maintain moistness in the paper towel, lay your box of microgreens on top something like a baking tray.

See the baking Tray? That will keep your Microgreens Moist. The varieties shown in the picture from left to right are Chia, Mustard, Flax.

Pour enough water that a thin layer forms underneath the Micro-Green boxes and sides. This will maintain water moistness inside your boxes and paper-towels. Why? Water is a molecule that has the effect of osmosis. Water flows to an area of less water from an area that had more water, so if your box has less water than what the tray has, the micro-greens and the tissue will absorb the water to maintain equilibrium with the tray. Doing this in tandem with spraying the leaves on top will keep your micro-greens spry and tender till you decide to use it.

Step 6- Break-in Point is complete, real growth begins now!

At this point, your micro-greens will start showing real growth in the coming days. When it grows to a length that you like, cut some of it and use it in garnishes, salads, Lentils, sandwiches, and more!

These are buckwheat microgreens, and they taste AMAZING!

Additional InformationYou can put a variety of different seeds into one growing box to make a medley of grown greens. However, you need to put seeds of similar sizes, so if you want to mix flax with something, mix it with Chia.

Some of the pictures that I have shown in this post have greens that were not covered in the post. These are just regular greens, grown hydroponically. These include the greens in the wooden bowls and many other greens you are going to see in the coming posts.

If you Google online about growing hydroponically, you are going to get an onslaught of products, and methods for growing hydroponically. From my personal experience with growing Microgreens, you do not need any specialized products to grow microgreens and that includes fertilizing the water. However, you can use such products and I will make a post explaining the various tricks on how to use such products to boost the growth.

If you live in area where the tap water is hard water, please use RO (Reverse-Osmosis) water or purified water when watering or sprinkling water in any way when growing microgreens. Hard water may kill your microgreens and render your seeds useless.

Stay tuned on how to grow these!

Once you start growing microgreens in a container and harvesting them, you will eventually run out of microgreens in a container. At that point, ball up the tissue in the bottom, with the unwanted roots, and throw them away. (Of course, this makes for great compost, nothing shall be wasted!) However, remember to recycle the container and use it again to grow more microgreens. The goal is to keep this affordable and sustainable.

These Buckwheat Microgreens are dying to be used in a salad.

Final Thoughts

This is how I started growing Microgreens at my house, but this is only a start. In the coming posts, you’re going to see many more interesting methods of growing greens, and microgreens, newer ways to grow, and much more! Stay tuned on my Instagram and comment here if you found this helpful.

If you were inspired by this post, and end up growing microgreens or greens at your house like this, please tag me on Instagram, and I will share your pictures on my IG Story. Additionally, once you start incorporating into your dishes tag me as I'd love to see what ways you all come up with.

Here are some pictures of Microgreens used in my dishes!

These are a Mix of Microgreens, and in a dish populated with roasted mushrooms and cheese, this gives a sharp fresh bite that pairs well with the other flavors.

These are Buckwheat Microgreens. In this dish, it gives a delicately sweet and mildly tangy flavor that helps cut through the salty cheese and pesto in this dish.

The Microgreens used in this Picture are Flax. It gives a fresh a subtle bite, that compliments well with the deep flavors of the Egg and Tomato.

THANKS FOR READING AND STAY TUNED !

KITCHEN ORGANIZATION MY WAY I

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 16:55:00 +0000

Hi all,

I get lots and lots of requests to show my kitchen. I like to do a video but not soon, I promise will do it. Before showing the full kitchen tour, let me share some pictures of my kitchen cabinets one by one. What makes a kitchen great is not so much about the space, it’s about how you organize it. I am not an expert in everything but try my best to keep it organized the way I love , it makes my cooking easy even in the busy mornings.

I don't have a big pantry but I do have lots of kitchen cabinets so I arranged things grouped based on my usage. Also my kitchen is not a modular kitchen (wish I had), it is absolutely traditional design. “Make it work with what you have”

Here is how my nuts/smoothie cabinet/healthy snack cabinet looks like... Since we enjoy having lots of smoothie/ bowls, overnight oats etc. I have clubbed those related things along with nuts that are used for baking, honey/sweetener and also some bread spread. I tried to put all those related things in one cabinet.

I usually buy nuts in small quantities and refill them when they run out.

Container Used :

I will not say my kitchen is zero percent plastic.. I try to keep plastics at a very minimum.

The glass containers are from Home goods and TJ maxx.

What is inside the Cabinet ?

First Rack from the top :

1. Organic molasses

2. Honey with comb

3. Brown rice syrup

4. Peanut butter

5. Mulberry

6. Chocolate hazelnut spread

7.Date sugar

8. Date syrup

9. Homemade hot chocolate mix

10. Edible gum

Second Rack

1. Cashew nuts

2. Almonds

3. Walnut

4. Pepitas/ Pumpkin seed

5. Pecans

6. Dates

Third Rack

1. Flax seed

2. Goji berry

3. Hemp

4. Cocoa nibs

5. Chia

6. Coconut sugar

5. Red dates/jujube

Apart from those above nuts , other nuts and fruits like pistachio, Hazelnut, Sunflower seeds, bee pollen etc. are stored in the freezer and few dry fruits (which I rarely use) like dried apricot, raisins, cranberry etc. are refrigerated to keep them fresh.

Few of the packages I keep them this way and place them behind the bottles. These are nicely sealed so I don't transfer them to bottles.

Packages :

Raw Cacao powder

Raw Cacao Paste

Raw Cocoa butter

Super 5 Grass juice blend

Above things are ordered from Amazon.

Hope you enjoyed this post... will try to post more ...so stay tuned.

Do shoot your queries in the comment section. Let me know what do you love to see from my kitchen? Will post one by one.

WHOLESOMELY LOADED BAKED SWEET POTATO

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 28 Jan 2019 01:33:00 +0000

Wholesomely Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

Here is my take on Baked Sweet Potato loaded in a healthy and nutritious way with garbanzo, avocado etc. I served it with Baked Kale chips and sunny side up eggs... Its absolutely wholesome for Breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato: 4 mediums

For the Filling:

Cucumber: 1 Cup Chopped

Cherry Tomato: 1 Cup

Garbanzo beans: 1 Cup (Cooked)

Jalapeno: 1 (deseeded and Chopped finely)

Garlic: 1 Clove (very finely chopped)

Cilantro: 1 TBSP (finely chopped)

Lemon Juice: ½ TBSP

Sour Cream: 2 TBSP

Kosher Salt: ½ TSP or as needed

Purple Radish: ½ Finely Chopped [Optional]

Avocado: 2 (mashed)

Method:

1.Preheat Oven to 400 F. On a baking sheet, prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork.

2.Bake until tender, 45 to 50 minutes

3.Let it cool completely, then split the tops open with a knife

4.Mix all the filling ingredients in a bowl and fill in the baked sweet potato

NOTE: If you want to make this Vegan, substitute Sour cream with coconut yogurt.

Here I served with Baked Kale Chips and sunny side up egg for a balanced meal.

Here is the process for Baked Kale Chips

Here is another CREAMY AVOCADO POTATO SALAD if you love to try

CREAMY CASHEW ARTICHOKE SPINACH SPREAD

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 03:14:00 +0000

Creamy Cashew Artichoke Spinach Spread

Ingredients:

Marinated Artichoke hearts ½ cup

Unsalted Raw Cashew ½ cup

Milk 1 Cup

Spinach 1 Cup

Garlic 1 pod [Finely chopped]

Shallots 1 [Finely chopped]

Nutritional Yeast ½ Tbsp

Pepper ½ Tsp

Salt As per taste

Olive Oil 1 Tsp

Method:

For making Cashew Cream:

1. Using a blender, blend the cashew and milk until completely smooth.

2. Heat olive oil in a pan, Saute garlic and shallots.

3. Add chopped artichoke and chopped spinach. Once the spinach gets wilted, add nutritional yeast and cashew cream .

4. Season with salt and pepper.

5. When the sauce thickens, switch off the flame. Let it cool.

6. Use as a spread for the crackers, bagel , breads or as a dip.

Garnishes:

Colored Bell pepper bundles and edible flowers

ROASTED BEET CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 01:46:00 +0000

ROASTED BEET CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

Ingredients:

Cream cheese - 1/4 cup

Roasted Beets puree- 1 tbsp

Lemon Juice- 1 tsp

Garlic- 1 clove minced

Smoked Paprika- 1 tsp

Salt- As Needed

Topping Ideas:

Sliced Tomatoes

Olives

Red Chili Flakes

Dill Leaves-Finely chopped can be used for Garnishing

Method:

Add the cream cheese, roasted beets puree, lemon juice, minced garlic, smoked paprika and salt in a bowl. Mixed with a hand mixer until the cream cheese fluffy. Taste for salt/tanginess and add lemon juice or salt as desired.

This spread can be used for crackers, breads and bagels. Top it with above mentioned topping ideas.

BOTTLE GOURD CURRY LEAVES DETOX DRINK

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 16 Jul 2018 15:29:00 +0000

BOTTLE GOURD CURRY LEAVES DETOX DRINK

A wonderful detox drink that has innumerable good things. Consume in the empty stomach in the morning to get most benefits out of it.

DISCLAIMER :

** ALWAYS TASTE THE VEGETABLE BEFORE YOU COOK OR MAKE JUICE, SOME BOTTLE GOURD TASTES BITTER IN THAT CASE DO NOT CONSUME IT.
** IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO GOURDS DO NOT CONSUME IN THE EMPTY STOMACH
** I AM NOT A NUTRITION EXPERT I AM SHARING WHAT I MAKE , DO THINGS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Benefits :

I am listing few of the benefits of this detox drink but there are still more.....

1. Promotes Weight loss

2. It helps in maintaining a healthy heart and brings down bad cholesterol levels.

3. Rich source of vitamin C, K and calcium.

4. Highly beneficial for diabetes patients.

5. Good to reduce high uric acid in the blood.

6. Improve your complexion and help you get a glowing skin.

Ingredients:

Bottle Gourd - 1 small size or 2 cups roughly chopped

Greek yogurt - 2 tbsp heaped

Water - 3 cups (chilled or room temperature water)

Curry leaves - 1/8 cup

Salt - couple of pinches

Optional Ingredients :

Roasted cummin powder - couple of pinches (or)

Black salt - couple of pinch (or)

Dash of Lemon juice (or)(This makes rich in Vitamin C)

Ginger a small piece (or)

You can also add all these optional ingredients along with the above ingredients but I usually keep it simple and add very little salt. Its even good for health without salt, again depends oh how you like it.

Method :

Add all the above ingredients in the blender with half amount of water to a smooth paste then dilute with remaining water. DO NOT strain consume as it is.

Serving Suggestion :

** Serve chilled or room temperature.

** Consume immediately as soon as it is made.

** Most important thing is Consume in the empty stomach in the morning to get most benefits out of it.

** To make vegan version of this drink omit Greek yogurt and add all other ingredients.

Stay tuned for more detox drinks.......

FREEZING FOOD - PART II

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Thu, 21 Sep 2017 15:19:00 +0000

This is the part II of freezing food post. I had covered the Menu planning, Shopping things for Menu, and Cooking Strategy in the Freezing Food Part I post. In this post, we will look at Cooking Strategy, Packing and Freezing, Consuming the food.

I created this blog post by taking all your questions and have answered them to my best in part I and Part II. If there is any question that I have not covered in the post, I have answered it separately at the bottom of the post. If you still have questions, please do comment in my blog post.

Do check my Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dishesfrommykitchen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dishesfrommykitchen/?hl=en) for regular updates of day to day cooking and lunch boxes.

I am by no means saying that you must do it the way I have shown here. Please try to understand and follow what works for you. Test in small batches before you do it for large portions.

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on freezing food or a nutritionist. The outcome of freezing food is dependent on various factors like temperature of the refrigerator, temperature of the house, type of food etc.

Check Menu Planning and Shopping things for Menu in FREEZING FOOD PART I

1) Cooking Strategy

2) Packing and Freezing

3) Consuming the Food

1) Cooking Strategy:

Shopping for Vegetables: Do the vegetable shopping the day before you plan on cooking. The idea is not to store the vegetables for long time before cooking.

Planning the cooking: Based on the time it takes for you to cook, breakdown the items into manageable groups. Also identify the common things needed for cooking all your dishes and account for those to be done in one shot. For example, ginger-garlic paste can be prepared in one shot. I prepared ginger-garlic paste and chutneys before the other cooking.

I planned my cooking for 2 full days and broke the items accordingly.

Timing the cooking: Its best to do the cooking and freezing closer to the date you start your trip, so that it reduces additional days the food is going to be in the freezer.

Below are the variety of food items I cooked

Break Fast Items:

Break Fast Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings]

Overnight Oats

Pesto Sandwich with grilled vegetables

Muffins

Banana Bread

Idly

Granola – Need not freeze (To be consumed with Yogurt and fresh fruits)

Lunch Items:

Lunch Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings]

Lemon rice, cauliflower, Green Gram/Whole Mung curry

Brown rice, Rajma/Red bean masala, Mixed vegetable dry curry using carrot, beans and Green peas

Vegetable pulav, Channa/Garbanzo masala, Broccoli

Brown rice, Sambar, Beetroot dry curry, Eggplant dry curry

Tomato rice, Chayote dry curry

Buckwheat, Cabbage Green peas dry curry, Squash dhal/Lentil

Dinner Items:

Dinner Items: [Each was prepared for 5 servings unless stated differently)

Two chutneys: Tomato chutney, Coriander/Cilantro chutney

Sambar

Chapathi

Channa masala (3 portion)

Paneer butter masala (3 portion)

Vegetable upma

Vegetable vermicelli upma

Pasta with vegetables

Quinoa with vegetables

Poha

Idly

2) Packing and Freezing:

After cooking the food, it is important to properly fill the food into the containers for freezing. First thing is to portion the cooked food into portion sizes based on the number of portions. It is important to wait for the cooked food to cool to room temperature. Make sure you don’t leave the food for longer than 2 hours after cooking. Fill the food into the freezer containers and then store them into the freezer (before storing into freezer make sure the food is cool, if you feel it is still warm put the boxes into the fridge until it cools down and then transfer to the freezer).

*** Its best to freeze food when it is still fresh so that it tastes the same way when it is defrosted.

*** Don’t put HOT food into the freezer as it messes up the internal temperature of the freezer and ends up spoiling other things in the freezer

*** After you fill all the boxes into the freezer, open the freezer only when needed. Frequently opening the freezer is going to reduce the shelf life of the food.

To minimize wastage of food, plan and store the portion sizes based on your individual needs. So that you have the right amount per meal, the reason being that if there is unconsumed food it cannot be re-freeze.

I froze the chutney by storing into the ice cube tray and covered them with cling wrap. After it is solidified unmold them and store into the freezer Ziploc bags.

For Sambar, I followed the same process as the chutney, but stored them in small cups instead of ice cube trays.

*** Label the boxes with a sharpie before storing into the freezer. I labelled it with the name of the food item stored.

I cling wrapped individual muffins/sandwiches and stored them in the freezer bag. The banana bread I stored them in individual freezer bag as per the serving quantity.

*** Do not choose breads that are very soft for the sandwiches, because it will make the sandwich soggy.

*** Make sure there is no air in the freezer Ziploc bag after filling the food. Also flatten the Ziploc bag after storing the food, so that it freezes evenly and makes storage easy.

SAMBAR:

3) Consuming the Food:

ATTENTION! Do Not re-freeze unconsumed food. It is important to plan your consumption. If you plan to consume the food for breakfast or lunch, take those boxes and put in the fridge the night before going to bed. In the morning after getting up take the breakfast box and put it outside the fridge and microwave it before you eat.

Take the box for lunch from refrigerator 2 to 2.5 hours before consumption. When you get ready to eat, warm it in the microwave.

You are ready for a scrumptious breakfast and lunch!

For dinner, take the box from the freezer in the morning and put it in the fridge. Take the box from the fridge 2 to 2.5 hours before consumption. Microwave before eating.

For consuming the Chapathi, do it like a frozen Chapathi. I will try to share how to freeze Chapathi in a future post.

For idli, transfer the idli into a glass container and sprinkle few drops of water on the idli before warming it. Close it with a lid while warming in the microwave. It is very important not to overheat any of the food stuffs, which will make the food dry. You can warm for a short period and check and determine if you need it to be warmed more.

Anything stored in freezer Ziploc, should be transferred to glass container and covered before warming. If the freezer boxes you use can be microwaved, then you can directly warm the box in microwave. If not transfer the contents to a glass container and warm it.

*** After warming and consuming it, if you have left over food DO NOT REFREEZE or REFRIGERATE. It is best to throw it away. This is what I follow.

Depending on the food/meal that should be consumed first Eg. Muffins, Sandwich and Banana bread should be consumed first compared to Idli and other breakfast foods.

I created a time table which says what to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the 30 days. The idea is to spread out the foods so that it does not feel like a repetition of the same thing.

How to Organize in the freezer

I emptied the freezer for this purpose and stored the food. Make sure the label on the Ziploc/boxes faces outwards. Group foods by Category like breakfast, lunches, dinners, Chapathi, chutneys and Curries. You can also store the food in the chest freezer if you have one. I stored them in my refrigerator freezer. As I said I did not had any plans on doing blog post on this so I did not take any pictures of my freezer.

Questions on freezing food:

How long will I store these foods?

I kept it for 30 days and it worked for me. Beyond that, there are various factors which play a part.

How do you freeze rice and defrost?

Portion size the cooked rice and freeze it. Defrost them when needed. Please refer to the post for more specific details on the same.

Will the food still tastes same? For Example, lemon rice that you have displayed in the picture

Yes, it tastes the same.

Can we freeze roti atta?

I have not done this.

Freezing means deep freeze or just refrigerating??

I freeze in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator.

Do you add any preservatives??

No.

Items like onion, coconut ... Will you add them yet food will be fresh after freezing and heating?

Yes. I used onion and frozen coconut in my dishes. I did not have a problem.

Is the rice here half cooked?

The rice is fully cooked. Make sure anything you cook is not mushy.

Can you let us know how to store Chapathi?

I will do it as a separate post.

Is oven mandatory for reheating; Are all the dishes are fully cooked or require couple more steps before eating?

Yes, microwave is needed for reheating. All dishes are fully cooked and no additional steps are needed. If you don’t have a microwave, you can warm it on the stove top provided your items are frozen individually.

Will food lose its nutritional value when frozen or refrigerated?

I am not a nutritionist, so I cannot answer your question. Based on my research in the Internet, I found that the nutritional value is not lost if cooked and frozen correctly. Moreover, freezing is not a regular activity in our house and it is only done very rarely based on situations. The bottom line is freezing home cooked food and eating is better than eating outside food for 3 times a day for 30 days. You are welcome to do your own research.

Considering Indian power cuts, would you suggest freezing? I mean, can the food stay good with 2-3 hours of power cuts (it may get partially thawed)?

Power cut is a big problem for freezing food. If you know power cuts will happen, then my suggestion is not to freeze food.

Can we freeze almost everything we cook? Even the ones with tomatoes as one of the ingredients?

I am not a specialist of freezing. I did my research on the things that I planned to cook as to seeing if they can be frozen or not. Please do your research based on what you plan to cook.

Yes, my dishes had tomatoes as ingredients.

FREEZING FOOD - PART I

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 19:26:00 +0000

When I shared few pictures of meal boxes (for freezing) with my friends and in social media, many of them came up with lots of questions about freezing and planning related to what I did. Freezing food is NOT what I do on regular basis, I only froze the cooked food only when I go for long vacation. I am writing this post to share my experience with everyone on what I did. Eating food that is not home cooked, is not healthy for my family especially 3 times a day for one and half months. This post is NOT intended to discuss on advantages/disadvantages of freezing food also this is not a recipe post.

My friends and followers who follow my blog http://www.dishesfrommykitchen.com, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dishesfrommykitchen/) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dishesfrommykitchen/?hl=en) knows how I cook fresh and healthy meals almost 3 times a day. I was brought up with the ideology of cooking healthy and fresh meals.

When I did all these, I did not have an intention to do a blog post on this. Also amidst planning and preparing the food and getting ready for trip made things very busy that I did not take enough pictures from the standpoint of a blog post. So, I am sharing whatever pictures I shot using my phone.

I created this blog post by taking all your questions and have answered them to my best in this post. If there is any question that I have not covered in the post, I have answered it separately at the bottom of the post. If you still have questions, please do comment in my blog post.

I am by no means saying that you must do it the way I have shown here. Please try to understand and follow what works for you. Test in small batches before you do it for large portions.

Before going into the details of the process, I want to list the steps to prepare frozen food:

1. Menu Planning

2. Shopping things for Menu

3. Cooking Strategy

4. Packing and Freezing

5. Consuming the Food

1) Menu Planning:

Determine the timeframe: Number of Days

Determine the no of meals: Total of (breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

Here is how I planned for a month.

Number of Breakfasts	Number of Lunches	Number of Dinners
30	30	30

I planned the meal combinations especially lunch to be healthy, and well balanced.

I decided to prepare each food item so that it could provide five full servings.

Determining the number of varieties of food to do is based on Total number of days/consumption times. 30/5 gives 6 varieties of food to be prepared.

2) Shopping things for Cooking:

Prepare the shopping list based on the things you need for cooking the above mentioned items (Grocery and vegetables).

Storage boxes/Freezer bags:

*** I used freezer boxes and heavy-duty freezer Ziploc bags. The size of the freezer box should be selected in such a way that there is not a lot of empty space in the box after you fill the food in the box (choose shallow container that best fits for the meal). There could be 1 to 1.5-inch space on the top of the box above the filled food (when food freezes it expands and there needs to be space for expansion). Choose freezer boxes labelled BPA free.

Why I did not use glass?

Many people had asked me on the usage of plastic containers and raved on the usage of plastic. I am aware of the good and bad of plastic. In-fact we don’t use plastics and non-stick at home. My freezer does not have enough space to store 30 glass containers. Moreover, I don’t have 30 glass containers that would fit for this purpose. Since I don’t freeze on a regular basis, I went with non-glass freezer boxes which are BPA Free and used it for one-time use only.

Need a marker for labeling the boxes and Ziploc bags.

3) Cooking Strategy:

Shopping for Vegetables: Do the vegetable shopping the day before you plan on cooking. The idea is not to store the vegetables for long time before cooking.

Ginger-Garlic-Chilli Paste

Tomato and Cilantro Chutney

I planned my cooking for 2 full days and broke the items accordingly.

Timing the cooking: Its best to do the cooking and freezing closer to the date you start your trip, so that it reduces additional days the food is going to be in the freezer.

Stay tuned for Part II of my freezing series.

WISHING YOU ALL HAPPY PONGAL 2017 ! GINGER CHUTNEY/PACHADI

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 04:55:00 +0000

" WISHING YOU ALL HAPPY PONGAL "

Chakkara Pongal/ Sweet Pongal, Rich creamy Paal(milk) Pongal with hint of salt is accompanied with Pongal Pulusu/ Kuzhumbu made with country vegetables is always regular and traditional menu on Pongal day. This time I also made Ginger chutney/pachadi which is a spicy one and a great accompaniment for paal Pongal. Since both the Pongal are rich and creamy, including more ginger aids in digestion as well. The pairing recipe for paal pongal which I am sharing today is my husband's maternal grandmother way of making it on Pongal day. She is such a wonderful person and a great cook as well. You can also have this chutney for south Indian Delicacies like Idli, Dosa, ven Pongal etc.

Recipes for

Paal pongal

Pongal Pulusu/ Kuzhambu

Chakkar pongal

Pongal Pulusu/Kuzhambu

GINGER CHUTNEY

Ingredients :

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Ginger - 1 1/2 inch piece

Roasted Gram dhal - 1 1/2 tbsp

Red chillies - 4 to 5

Tamarind pulp - 3/4 tbsp

Turmeric - 1/8 tsp

Salt as needed

For Tadka

Mustard - 1/4 tsp

Oil - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Method :

1. Grind all the above ingredients to smooth paste with little water.

2. Heat the oil, add mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to chutney.

3. Enjoy with Pongal or any other South Indian Delicacies.

Note :

This chutney is little bit on spicier side, you can also reduce the chillies according to your spice level.

Some more pictures from today.....

Sweet/Chakkara Pongal

GRITS WITH MIXED BERRY COMPOTE !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 09 Jan 2017 02:18:00 +0000

This is my first post for the year 2017. I did not make any New Year resolutions, except eating healthy which has been my key goal every year. As usual I try to keep fit by doing walking and exercising very regularly, also keep my blog busy with more posts and enjoy every moment as it comes. My blog posts going forward are going to be based on the recipe requests which I get from my followers/friends based on my food pictures posted on my FB page, Instagram and other social media groups. I will be prioritizing my posts based on the recipe requests.

If you are my follower of my social media page, please browse my albums and let me know which recipe you want to see in the blog and also share your New Year Resolution in the comment section or in my FB page. I would love to see those.

We had our first snow for the season on Friday, it is good to have snow once in a while. I was expecting snow for Christmas but Santa gave us a warm Christmas. It is a beautiful thing to see the flurries falling and the fresh snow getting filled everywhere, I really enjoy this. After all the snow on Friday and Saturday was a real cold day which we enjoyed with hot cocoa.

All Saturdays for us are very busy; taking my little one to classes, shopping for the week etc., so our Saturday breakfasts are simple yet healthy ones. This week I made grits with berry compote and rye egg toast with Avocadoes.. In-fact I did not plan to take the picture for the blog, as usual I was taking the picture in my phone. It was a sudden thought to take my camera out in spite of my busy schedule. We love Grits both savory and sweet, will share the savory grits when I make it next time. Since I had lots of berries, made Grits with Berry compote. It tastes very good with whole lot of berry goodness... The compote is so easy to make and you can alter the sweetness and spices the way you like. Since I wanted to make healthy I did not use lots of sugar, so adding sugar depends on how sweet you want to have.

GRITS WITH MIXED BERRY COMPOTE

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients :

Instant Grits - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup (You can also use Almond milk, Soy milk for vegan option etc)
Water - 3 cup
Salt - 1 pinch
Butter - 1 tbsp

Ingredients for Berry compote:

Mixed berries - 1 1/2 cup (I used Blackberry, Raspberry, Blueberry)
Brown sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

For Topping :

Topping is all optional, choose whichever you like.

I used Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), Chia seeds, Hemp, cocoa nibs
You can always drizzle Maple syrup if you think sweetness in Berry compote is less for you. This again gives unique touch to the Grits bowl.

Method for Berry Compote :

1. Macerate the berries with sugar and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
2. Then cook the berries till they become little mushy and switch off the heat adding little lemon juice and Vanilla extract. You can serve the compote with oats, grits etc.

Method :

1. Bring the milk and water to boil, stir in the grits and salt.
2. Reduce the heat to low, cook for 15 to 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve immediately.
3. I served with berry compote and toppings listed above.

Enjoy Healthy Breakfast !

My phone shots on Snowy day !

Snowy Backyard !

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017 !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 02:25:00 +0000

Last couple of year’s blog has taken a back seat because of my family priorities. Heartfelt thanks to all those who messaged/emailed me during my absence, truly appreciate your love & Support in every way. Looking forward to do more posts going forward. See you all soon with lots of refreshing posts in the blog. I wish everyone a Wonderful, healthy and amazing year ahead, “HAPPY NEW YEAR 2017". This is my last post for 2016 and I am sharing some of my Christmas and New Year packages I did for my family and friends. Thanks y'all for stopping by. C'ya.

CHRISTMAS FRUIT CAKE 2016

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 02:03:00 +0000

Counting down the days to Christmas and New Year is just around the corner, I Love everything about the winter. It’s very festive everywhere, the Christmas lights, Holiday parties, School holidays, Lots and lots of baking, Gifting, family gathering, Curling up on the couch with warm Blanket sipping hot cocoa, Spiced Lattes....Mmmmm :) Its wonderful time of the year. My Oven is so busy for last 20 days. I love making Fruit cake every year and gift them to my friends and family(which is very much famous among my friends and family). Fruit cake is tedious and expensive one to make which needs lots of planning. The fruits are soaked 6 months before, then they are baked and basted with Liquor for few days/weeks. The more they age the tastier it is. Below is my Rich and Moist Fruit cake which I made this year.

I am yet to post my last year Christmas fruit cake pictures, decor and Table setting.. will update them later... Check out my previous fruit cake/ Christmas posts here

RICH RUM FRUIT CAKE !

DUNDEE CAKE !

VEGETABLE ROLLS / VEGETABLE CIGARS !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Fri, 16 Dec 2016 04:09:00 +0000

Vegetable Cigars/Rolls

Yields : 18 rolls

Ingredients :

Fillo/ Phyllo pastry sheets - 18 sheets (Thawed)

Potato - 2 medium sized (Boiled and cut to small cubes)

Beans - 1/2 cup very finely chopped

Carrot - 1/2 cup Grated

Green peas - 1/2 cup

Onion - 1 very finely chopped

Garlic - 2

Ginger - 1/2 inch

Green chilli - 1

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Tomato sauce - 1/2 tbsp

Lemon juice - from 1/2 lemon

Coriander - 3 tbsp finely chopped

Kosher salt - 1 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Brushing :

Butter - 1 tbsp

Oil - 1 tbsp

Melt the butter and mix with the oil. Keep it aside in a small bowl.

Stuffing :

1.Heat oil in a pan add finely chopped onion saute till they are slightly brown, now add Ginger+garlic+Green paste.

2.Once raw aroma disappears add finely chopped beans for few minutes until it is cooked 3/4th. Now add grated carrot, green peas. Saute for few minutes until they are half cooked. (Do not overcook the vegetables)

3.Add all the spice powders, ketchup, boiled potatoes and salt. Toss until everything is blended well.

4.Squeeze juice of half lemon. Finish it with chopped cilantro. Let the stuffing cools completely.

Making Rolls :

1.Take a sheet and gently brush with the melted butter and oil mixture. Place another sheet on top of the brushed sheet, again brush with the butter and oil mixture, similarly do it with one more sheet and brush with butter mixture. (Totally 3 sheets - > 1 sheet - Brush with butter mixture - 1 sheet - brush with butter mixture - 1 sheet - butter and oil mixture) Use pastry brush for brushing, do not over brush with butter mixture it makes the sheet soggy. Do it gently and slightly.

2.Using a knife cut the sheet to 3 equal columns as shown in the picture.

3.Take a tbsp of masala stuffing keep it in one edge and start rolling.

4.Once you roll 1/4 way through tuck in the sides as shown in the picture and roll till the end gently.

5.Similarly make all the rolls and keep it in the baking tray facing seam side down (Keep it closed using damp kitchen towel)

6.Once all the sheets are filled and rolled.

7.Brush the rolls slightly with the remaining butter mixture on top of the rolls and sprinkle sesame seeds.

8.Bake it in the 375F preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes until they are nice golden brown in color.

9.Serve with Ketchup and Green chilli sauce.

Note :

1. Always Keep the Fillo/Phyllo pastry sheets closed with damp kitchen towel to avoid drying.

2. For variation you can add finely chopped soya chunks, boiled corn, baby corn, mushrooms etc.

BAJRA / KAMBU / PEARL MILLET DOSA

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 05:01:00 +0000

LUNCH BOX : BAJRA / KAMBU / PEARL MILLET DOSA, MANGO PICKLE AND CUCUMBER

SNACK BOX : WAFER POCKETS, HOME GROWN CHERRY TOMATO, WALNUT & CURRANTS

BAJRA / KAMBU / PEARL MILLET DOSA

YIELDS - 10 TO 12 DOSA

Ingredients :

Bajra/kambu/ pearl Millet - 1 1/2 cup

Idli rice - 1/2 cup

Urad dhal - 1/2 cup

Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp

Salt - as needed

Oil or ghee for making Dosa

Method :

1. Remove any dirt or stones in the millet. Wash it atleast 3 to 4 times and soak them in the water for atleast 4 to 5 hrs.

2. Same way Wash Idli rice, urad dhal and Methi seeds. Soak them for atleast 2 hrs. Everything has to be soaked separately.

3. Usually I grind them in the Wet grinder like how we grind Idli batter, but you can also use any Blender.

4. First grind Urad dhal with methi seeds to smooth batter. (Add water in regular intervals) Once Urad dhal is ground to smooth batter remove it to the container.

5. Now add the millet and grind them for couple of minutes. When it is little coarse add the soaked rice. (Add water in regular intervals)

6. The batter should not be very smooth like Idli batter and very coarse like Adai batter. It has to be fine coarse texture. Now add the Millet batter to Urad dhal batter. Add salt and mix well (the consistency has to be like Idli batter).

7. During hot weather it’s enough to ferment the batter to 5- 6 hrs, but during cold weather it has to be fermented overnight. I usually ferment overnight.

8. Once fermented, Batter is ready for making Dosas.

9. When making Dosa add water to desired consistency. Take ladle full of batter and pour in the middle of hot skillet then go towards the edges of the skillet.

10. Add 1/2 tsp of oil, when it gets slightly brown at the bottom & edges flip over the other side, always keep it in the medium to low flame.

11. Add 1/2 tsp of oil and make it crispy or soft as desired.

For Making Dosa rolls like how I did for Lunchbox :

Carrot filling :

Carrot - 1 grated

Cilantro - 1 tbsp finely chopped

Salt - a pinch

Pepper - a pinch

Mix the above mixture in a bowl.

For Rolls :

Once Dosa is made take couple of tsp of Carrot mixture, scatter the mixture over the dosa and roll it. Cut the Dosa in the middle and pack it for Lunch box.

Note :

Don't make it too crisp or too thin if you are packing for lunch box, it will be difficult to roll and it dries up during the lunch time.

Enjoy the Healthy Dosa!

SAMAI ARISI KANJI / LITTLE MILLET PORRIDGE

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 07 Nov 2016 18:06:00 +0000

Samai Arisi Kanji / Little Millet Porridge

Porridge is one of the comfort food for breakfast. Porridge with rice and Mung dhal is very much regular in our house. These days I am substituting the same with Little millet or any other millet. Its so comforting and it tastes so good with roasted urad chutney, pickle or any other spicy condiments. If you want to use rice (sona masoori )use the same recipe just by replacing millet with rice. When using rice in the recipe tempering ingredients is absolutely optional.

Samai Arisi Kanji / Little Millet Porridge

Serves : 4 to 5

Ingredients :

Samai Arisi/Little Millet - 1 cup
Mung dhal - 1/2 cup
Water - 6 cups + 4 cups(use as needed to get desired consistency)
Milk - 1 cup
Coconut - 1 1/2 tbsp

Tempering :

Ginger - 1/2 inch very finely chopped
Green chilli - 3 slit
Cumin - 3/4 tsp
Whole Pepper - 7
Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Salt as needed

Method :

1. Soak samai arisi/ Millet and mung dhal for half an hour.
2. Add 6 cups of water and pressure cook for 6 whistles.
3. Heat oil in a pan , Coarsely crush cumin and pepper and add to the oil. Once it splutters add Green chillies, finely chopped ginger, Asafoetida and curry leaves. Saute for few minutes. Add coconut and switch of the flame.
4. Once pressure settles, slightly mash the cooked mixture using the ladle.
5. Now add the tempering mixture to the pressure cooked dhal and arisi/Millet.
6. Add Milk and water to get the desired consistency.
7. Let the whole thing come to a boil and switch off the flame.

Serve hot with Chutney/Thuvayal and Jaggery.

Urad Dhal chutney

Ingredients:

Urad dhal - 1 1/2 tbsp

Coconut - 2 tbsp

Red Chillies - 3 or 4 according to your spice level

Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tbsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt for taste

Mustard - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves for Tadka.

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan roast the dhal to golden brown and red chillies.

2. Now grind this with coconut and asafoetida to coarse paste.

3. Season with mustard and curry leaves.

You can serve this with above chappathi, rice roti, normal idli, dosa too.

Disclaimer :

PLEASE DO NOT COPY THIS RECIPE. YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO USE THIS RECIPE WITH DUE CREDITS.

KAJU KATLI

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 04:28:00 +0000

Kaju Katli/ Cashew nut fudge is very easy to make, with few ingredients. It’s one of the most popular sweets and almost every one's Favorite. Its perfect dessert/sweet which can be gifted to friends and family for any occasion. Enjoy this yummy rich dessert !

Kaju Katli

Ingredients :

Cashewnut - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Ghee - for greasing

I did not use any flavoring as we like katlis as is.
If you want you can use either use Kewra Essence (1 drop) or Cardamom (1 pinch).

Method :

1. Powder the cashew nut finely in a dry mixie/blender jar.
2. Mix sugar and water in a pan using a spatula. Once the sugar slightly dissolves switch on the flame, always keep the flame in low to medium.
3. At first the sugar starts to dissolve and you can see slight bubbles, after that sugar syrup starts to thicken.
4. Now we need to check the syrup for 1 string/thread consistency. One string/thread Consistency is when a thin string is formed between the tip of thumb and forefinger, When pulled apart gently it should not break.
5. Immediately put the flame to low and add the powdered cashew nuts. Instead of spatula you can also use whisk here. Mix well without any lumps.

6. Keep stirring in low flame using a spatula. Now we need to cook Cashew nut powder with the sugar syrup. First you can see the gooey dough as shown in the picture. Keep mixing.
7. At one stage you can see the mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan and starts to form a ball, at this stage take little amount of cashewnut mixture. Using your 2 fingers check to see if it forms a non sticky ball as shown in the picture.If it forms a ball immediately switch off the flame and pour the mixture in the plate greased with ghee.

8. Using a fork mix it well couple of times. It will be super hot so we can not work with it immediately.
9. When you are able to handle the heat, start kneading the dough without giving so much pressure. You will get a smooth dough as shown in the picture. It should be nice and Pliable.

10. Keep the dough in between 2 parchment paper and roll it using a rolling pin for about 4mm thick..Choosing the thickness is absolutely your choice. Mine is thin the way we like.

11. Now using a knife cut diagonally. Let it cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Note :

1. Powder the Cashew nut when it is in the room temperature. Make sure you the Blender jar is completely dry.
2. Like any other sweet, string consistency is very important. If the consistency is more than 1 string, then the katlis becomes brittle or you will not be able to form smooth dough.
2. Once the cashewnut and sugar mixture starts to leave the pan and forms a soft non sticky ball, stop cooking. If you continue to cook longer it will make the dough very dry.
3. As soon as you are able to handle the heat, start kneading the dough to a smooth ball immediately. If you wait longer, it will become dry soon and difficult to roll.
4. If everything is done correctly you will get smooth and Pliable dough, if you feel it is dry add little warm milk and knead again to get smooth dough. If milk is added the shelf life for katlis will be less if kept at room temperature, you need to keep it in the fridge after couple of days.

Hope I have given you all the tips that was in the top of my head. Do let me know if you have any doubts.

DISCLAIMER :

PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE RECIPE OR PICTURE. YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO USE THIS RECIPE WITH THE DUE CREDIT.

ADHIRASAM / ATHIRASAM

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 00:49:00 +0000

Wishing you All Advance Happy Deepavali

To kick start the festival of lights I started with Adhirasam. I have planned to do couple of sweets and savories for Diwali. Not sure I can share the recipe for those before Diwali. Anyways I will share the picture here after I make and later I will share the recipe. Do check some of my other Sweet and savories which I have in blog my already.

Sweets :

Apple Jalebi
Adhirasam/Athirasam
Badam Halwa
Besan Ladoo
Boondhi Ladoo
Obattu/puran poli
Suruttai poli
Easy Paalkova
Rasmalai
Karjikai/Kajjikai
Karjikai/Kajjikai 1
Kaju Katli

Savories :

Butter Murukku
Ginger Pakoda
Puluppu Murukku
Lychee Sandesh in Rabri/Rabdi
Mung dhal Murukku Ver1
Mung dhal Murukku ver2
Onion Murukku

Vadai / Bonda

Punnugulu/Bonda using Dosa batter
Mangalore bajji/Golibaje
Masal Vadai/Paruppu Vadai

Adhirasam/ Athirasam

Yields - 10 to 12 Adhirasam

Ingredients :

Rice - 1 cup
Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp
Dry ginger Powder - 1 pinch (optional)
Sesame Seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Oil for deep frying
Ghee/ oil for greasing
Polythene sheet

Note : You can use Maavu Pacharisi or any raw rice. I used Sona masoori. Also it’s good to use Paagu vellam (Jaggery) for making Adhirasam. As I don't have all these where I live. I used regular Jaggery.

Method :

1. Clean and Wash the rice thoroughly. Let it soak for atleast 1 to 2 hours. But don't soak more than that.
2. Drain the water completely and spread in the clean kitchen cloth towel until the rice is 3/4th dried. (Make sure the rice is not completely dry, it should still retain moisture/Damp enough)
3. Now powder the rice in the Mixer. The texture of the powder should not be very fine, it should be like fine Sooji/ Rawa. Make sure it’s not coarse too. If you still have doubt, you can sieve it.
4. Once it is sieved, immediately transfer it to a container. Keep the flour covered as it has to retain moisture throughout the process which is very important.

5. Now in a pan heat Jaggery with 1/4 cup of water, once it is dissolved completely.. filter it to remove all the impurities.
6. Heat the Jaggery again (Always keep in Medium to low flame), stirring occasionally. Now the syrup will thicken and you will be getting nice bubbles (this happens very faster as we added little amount of water) this is tricky part so keep a close watch. Take a small plate or bowl filled with little water. Keep checking the sugar consistency by pouring little syrup in water. At first the syrup will dissolve in the water (you can check couple of times frequently. At one stage the syrup will settle in the bottom and when you gather in your fingers you should be able to gather and make a soft ball. At this stage switch of the flame.
7. Add Sesame seeds, cardamom and ginger powder to the powdered flour. Keep this ready.
8. Add the hot syrup to the flour and keep mixing with the whisk or any ladle.
9. Very loose and sticky dough will be formed which is the right consistency. Later it gets stiff when the dough cools down.

10. Now transfer the dough in airtight container for resting. The dough has to rest atleast 24 hrs before we make Athirasam/Adhirasam.
11. When making Adhirasam, equally divide the dough to small lemon sized balls.
12. Heat Oil in the kadai, Oil should not be too less for frying. Once oil is hot, put the flame in low.
13. Take a Polythene sheet or any Ziploc cover. Grease it with ghee or oil. Flatten the ball using your greased fingers.
14. The discs has to be thick (Do not make it thin). Now carefully drop it in the oil. The flame has to be low throughout the frying process.

15. Like doing poori, slightly pour oil on the top of the Adhirasam slowly. It rises up, immediately flip to other side gently and let it cook for couple of seconds and take it out immediately. Using another ladle give it a press to take out extra oil. Don't press too much as it has to retain little oil to keep it soft and moist inside and little crispy outside.
16. Keep it in a slanted plate like I have kept, don’t stack. So that extra oil drains out. Make all the Adhirasam.

17. Once all Adhirasam are made store in the air tight container lined with kitchen tissue.

Some of the things has to be Noted Before you attempt Adhirasam :

1. The texture of flour is very important.. Which should be like Very fine Sooji and moisture should be retained in the flour until it is added to Jaggery. So keep it covered.
2. The Jaggery should have soft ball consistency.
3. The consistency of the dough should be very loose/ Sticky dough.
4. Always cook it in low flame. Don't cook too long after Flipping. It makes Adhirasam harder because even if you take the Adhirasam out of the oil it will be still cooking from Inside because of Jaggery content, Jaggery takes time to cool.
5. The amount of Jaggery or flour can't be altered. If you follow everything correctly the ratio for rice flour and Jaggery I have mentioned, it will work exactly. But you can always make extra Jaggery syrup (that is instead of 3/4th cup make syrup you can make syrup with 1 cup of Jaggery but we may not be using all the syrup. when you add syrup to the flour keep mixing the dough with whisk or Laddle. When the sticky dough is formed stop adding the syrup.
6. The Dough gets stiff after it cools down. But not very hard. Even after 2 days the dough has to be pliable.
If you think the dough is very hard you can add little milk and knead.
7. You can make dough and make Adhirasam after giving atleast 24 hrs of resting time. You can also keep the dough in room temperature for 2 to 3 days. If you are not going to use it immediately.. you can store it in freezer or keep it in fridge. Use when needed, after it is thawed or gets to room temperature.

TAWA PULAO ! KIDS LUNCHBOX !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 19:32:00 +0000

Lunch Box : Tawa Pulao, Cucumber and Avarekaalu (Fried field Beans snacks) !
Snack Box : Seasoned Black Channa and Peaches !

Do check my Facebook Page for More lunch box ideas and also click this link for more Lunchbox recipes Click this Link Lunchboxes.

Tawa Pulao

Ingredients :

Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1 small (Finely Chopped)
Tomato - 2 small (Finely Chopped)
Carrot - 1/2 cup (Chop lengthwise)
Beans - 1/2 cup ( Chop lengthwise)
Potato - 1/2 cup (Chop to small cubes)
Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Green Bell pepper - 1 small (chop to small cubes)
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala - 1 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Kasoori Methi - 1 generous pinch
Garlic - 3
Ginger - small piece
Juice of Half Lemon
Salt as Needed
Coriander few Chopped
Oil - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp

Method :

1. Clean and Wash Basmati rice. Soak them for 20 minutes and cook rice with 1 1/2 cups of water. Cool them and make sure the grains are separated. If you are going to make this recipe for lunch box in the morning. You can Cook the rice and refrigerate night before. Left in the fridge overnight, the rice grains will firm up, making it easier to separate and decreasing the chances of Tawa pulao turning out mushy.
2. Steam all the vegetables and Keep it aside. Make sure vegetable are nice and crisp. Don't over cook them.Its enough if you cook 3/4th.
2.Heat oil and butter in the pan. Add Cumin seeds.
3.Add finely chopped onions when it become translucent, add Ginger + garlic paste. Saute till raw Aroma disappears.
4.Add chopped tomato and little salt. Add spice powders. Saute until tomato becomes Mushy.
5. Now add all the vegetables and crushed Kasoori Methi. Stir them couple of minutes and add cooked rice.
6.Add salt and squeeze Lemon juice. Toss the rice until everything is mixed well and rice is nicely coated with the vegetable Masala Mixture. When Rice becomes hot enough switch off the flame.
7. Garnish with Chopped coriander.

DISCLAIMER :

PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE RECIPE OR PICTURE. YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO USE THIS RECIPE WITH THE DUE CREDIT.

PUDINA / MINT POHA ! KIDS LUNCHBOX !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 19:43:00 +0000

Posting Lunchbox here in my blog after a long time. Since I am getting lots of recipe requests I will try to post lunchbox recipes whenever possible. Do check my Facebook page for More lunch box ideas and also click this link for more Lunchbox recipes.

Lunchbox : Pudina/Mint Poha, Radish Raita, Boiled egg !

Snack Box : Pomegranate, Cucumber, walnut and Dates !

Pudina/Mint Poha (Beaten or Flattened rice)

Serves 4 to 5

Ingredients :

Thick Poha - 3 cups

Red Onion - 1 sliced

Tomato - 2 small

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Oil - 5 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp (optional)
Green peas - 1/2 cup (this is optional)

Salt as needed

Mint/Pudina Paste :

Mint - 2 Handful

Coriander - 2 Handful

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Lemon - Juice from 1 1/2 lemon

Green Chillies - 20 (mine is not super spicy)

Salt as needed

Oil - 1 tbsp (This is optional, adding tbsp of oil avoids discoloration. Color of green will be vibrant)

Grind all the above ingredients to smooth Paste.If you are using this for lunchbox you can always make this ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. We will not be using the whole paste only 3/4th of this paste will be used.

Method :

1. Clean and wash poha very well. Since I used very thick poha this has to be soaked for 3 to 4 hrs. Add water and little salt, pour just enough water to cover it. Don't add more than that. ( Do this procedure in the night and keep it in the fridge if you are preparing and packing lunch)

If you are using less thick variety of Poha follow this. Wash poha thorougly atleast 2 to 3 times. Drain water and keep it aside for 10 minutes. Then follow the same procedure as below.

2. Heat oil in the pan. Add Mustard and urad dhal.

3. Add Sliced onion when it is translucent add Tomato and little salt.

4. When tomato becomes mushy add 3/4 th of the ground paste and Green peas. Saute well until it starts oozing oil.

5.Now add the poha and saute in the low to medium flame until poha is cooked (4 to 5 minutes). Be gentle while you stir the poha in between. Add tbsp of ghee.

6. Now switch of the flame and cover the pan tightly with a lid for couple of minutes.

Serve hot or pack it for lunch with Raita or any snacks !

Note :

Variations you can make

* You can also add vegetable of your choice. Like mixed vegetables (carrot, beans, green peas and potato). Only aloo and matar, only aloo, I some time add Eggplants alone. Everything tastes great.

* If you like ginger and garlic you can add couple of garlic and piece of ginger while grinding the pudina paste. But I want to keep it simple for lunchbox also aroma of mint to be dominating.

* You can add whole spices like clove, cinnamon and cardamom instead of Mustard and urad dhal.

DISCLAIMER :

PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE RECIPE OR PICTURE. YOU ARE MOST WELCOME TO USE THIS RECIPE WITH THE DUE CREDIT.

DRUMSTICK LEAVES / MORINGA LEAVES DOSA !

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 01:53:00 +0000

Hi all ,I am Blogging after so many months ...No no after a year. Yes I been busy with so many things, so my blog has taken a back-seat. I got a lot of messages from so many friends asking whether I stopped blogging. Definitely I don’t want to stop blogging. Priorities change all the times, so I took a big break from blogging. I used to spend hours together every week for daily cooking, shooting and posting in blog. I really miss those days and feel guilty of not doing those now. That being said, does not mean I am not cooking and taking pictures, I am very active on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM. I do cook a lot and take pictures (Using my phone) .. During the time of the day when I shoot pictures, I don’t have the luxury and time to take pictures with my camera :(. When I post pictures in social media, I get lots of recipe requests, which is a one thing that made me comeback to blogging. I should thank my wonderful friends and followers who encouraged me to do my blog again.

I want to bring to all of your kind attention, I have been tired of hearing people writing my relative or school friend taught me or gave me this recipe and end up taking an other person's recipe and do very slight change to the recipe. You are most welcome to use this recipe with due credits. I have done my home work and have not found any recipe in the Internet, that is remotely close to what I have.

To start off with I will post recipes requested by so many friends and followers in FB and Instagram. I am going to use the pictures taken with my phone, I don’t want to redo the dishes again just for taking the picture. Let me post whatever picture I have and try to update them with DSLR pictures when I do them in future. Hope to see you all regularly here .. Stay tuned.
Here is the recipe for superfood Moringa Dosa/ Drumstick Leaves Dosa.

I usually don't get Moringa leaves in Indian grocery store where I live. But off late I am getting these leaves. These are one of my favorite greens. I have been making so many dishes using this leaves, which I have been missing all these years. So I am putting them into full use :) :) Moringa/ Drumstick leaves which is commonly touted as a superfood since it is rich in nutrients, antioxidants and other beneficial compounds. Back home in India Moringa leaves / drumstick leaves are given to new moms which helps in improving and boosting Lactation.

Sharing one of my favorite dosa. It is so flavorful and its wonderful combo with Spicy garlic chutney. Even though seperating each leaves from the stem is a tedious process.. it’s always worth it and you will feel the amazing aroma of the green goodness. Let me know if you are interested in more Moringa/ drumstick leaves recipes.... Do comment below.

MORINGA / DRUMSTICK LEAVES DOSA

INGREDIENTS :

Idli rice - 1 cup
Fresh Moringa/ drumstick leaves - 1 1/2 cup (Remove the leaves from the stem and use leaves alone)
Salt as needed

Here is the Recipe for Spicy Garlic Chutney

Method :

1. Wash and soak rice for 3 to 4 hrs.
2. Grind the leaves and soaked rice smoothly with required salt.
3. Ferment the batter overnight.
4. While making dosa dilute it with water. Batter has to be like Rava Dosa consistency.
5. Heat the skillet. Pour a ladle full of batter starting from the edges of the skillet in a circular way.
6.Since the batter is loose it auomatically fills the middle part , unfilled part can be filled with the batter using the ladle.
6. Add 1 tsp oil , when it turns slightly brown on the edges flip it over and make crisp on other side too.
7. Serve with Spicy Garlic chutney. Dosa tastes great with Idli spice powder, tomato chutney , onion chutney or coconut chutney as well.

Enjoy the yummy aromatic and healthy Dosa !!!

HAPPY DIWALI 2015 !!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pavithra Elangovan) — Mon, 09 Nov 2015 17:27:00 +0000

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY DIWALI !

I know its been a year I posted in my blog. Thank you every one who messaged and

mailed me inquiring about my absence. But definitely see you all soon here ! Stay tuned :)