GayathriRaj - Heaven on a Spoon!!!

Chicken Kurma

2019-12-04T12:11:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Chicken: 1 whole chicken (around 3lbs- cut into pieces)
Onions - 1 Big finely chopped
Tomatoes - 1
Green chillis - 4
Salt to taste
Chilli powder - 2 tsp
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cashews - 10
Poppy Seeds/Gasagasalu - 1tsp
Dry Coconut/Fresh grated coconut - 10 pieces/ handful if taking grated coconut
Turmeric - 1/2tsp
Water - 1 cup
Whole Garam Masala : 4 each whatever you have- Cinnamon stick, cardamon, Cloves etc.
Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1tsp
Coriander- for garnishing
Oil - 2tbsp

Procedure:

In a big kadai heat oil and add whole garam masala and fry for 1 min and add the chopped onions and green chilis and fry till the onions turn golden brown.
Add Ginger Garlic paste and fry until the raw smell is away.
Add Tomatoes, cumin powder, chili powder, turmeric, and salt to taste and fry until the tomatoes turn mushy.
Add the cut chicken pieces into it and mix well and adjust the chili powder and salt if needed.
Put on high flame for 5 mins and cook continuously until the rawness of chicken is gone.
Meanwhile make a smooth paste of soaked cashews, poppy seeds and coconut together and keep aside.
Once the water is oozing out of chicken add this paste and mix well and add 1 cup of water and put on low flame and put the lid on and cook for 15 to 20 mins.
Check the consistency and add little water if you want more gravy. Adjust salt and spiciness and add garam masala and cook for another 5 mins and garnish it with coriander and serve.

Raagi Sweet Dosa/Uthappam/Adai

2016-11-03T11:11:00.004-07:00

Ingredients:

Raagi Flour- 1/2 cup
Wheat flour - 2 tbsp
Jaggery/Bellam - 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut - 1/3 cup (optional)
Cardamom powder - 1tsp
Nuvvula Oil/ Gingelly Oil - for frying or cooking the dosa

Procedure:

In a mixing bowl, add ragi flour, wheat flour, grated coconut, cardamom powder and mix well.
In a microwave safe bowl heat 3 to 4tbsp water and to it add the jaggery and dissolve it.
Now filter the jaggery mix to remove any sand or dust in it.
Add the jaggery mix to the flour mix and mix it well by adding water to the mix.
The mixture has to be not too thick nor watery. It has to be thicker than the dosa batter.

Heat a dosa pan and add ghee/ oil on the pan.
Put one laddle full of batter on the heated pan and spread it from middle to sides very slowly.

It will take for 2-3 mins to cook.
Now put little oil on the dosa and flip it to the other side and cook for another 1 min and serve.
Repeat the process with the remaining batter and serve it hot.
This is a very good and healthy breakfast for both kids and adults.

Tips:

This will not be very thin as dosa and not as thicker as uthappam but medium in size.
If you try to turn or spread the batter hard and fast on the pan it may not be perfect but crumbles. So be careful while spreading the dosa.
Without the grated coconut it may be little harder but tastes good too.

Eggless Whole Wheat Chocochip Cupcakes

2016-11-03T10:57:00.004-07:00

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Pinch of salt
Choco chips - 1/2 cup
Vinegar/Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp
Vanilla Extract - 1tsp
Oil - 3tbsp

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a bowl sieve all the dry ingredients wheat flour,baking soda and salt and keep aside.
In a mixing bowl mix 1/2 cup water and 3tbsp of oil.
To this add Sugar and mix it with a whisk or beater till all the sugar is completely dissolved.
Now add vinegar/lemon juice whichever you are using, vanilla extract, choco chips and give a turn and do not over mix the batter else cup cakes may turn flat.
Lightly grease the cupcake pan (or line with muffin cups and grease muffin cups).
Add the cake batter with a small laddle one after the other and fill the cupcake pan. Only 3/4 cup is filled as it will rise once cooked. (as shown in the below pic)

Bake for around 20 mins to 30mins until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack to room temperature and served. Store in a air tight container and enjoy for at least a week.

Sweet Pongadalu with Coconut

2016-11-03T09:49:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 1 cup
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Cardamom pods -5 tsp
Grated jaggery - 1 1/2 cups
Wheat flour - 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

Soak raw rice for 1 -2 hours.
Drain the water completely and grind the rice first in a mixie.Then add little water, grated coconut, cardamom pods and grind it to a smooth paste.
Add grated jaggery to it and mix well till it dissolves.
Then add wheat flour and mix well .The batter should be of dosa batter consistency, so adjust accordingly by adding the flour.
The batter need not ferment, you should make pongadalu immediately after grinding it.
Heat oil in a small kadai, keep it in medium flame, take a small amount of batter in a small ladle or ice cream scooper and drop it gently into the oil. One pongadam at a time is preferred.
When it puffs and float on the oil, turn over and cook the other side also till golden brown(refer notes if it is not comes out in the correct shape). Drain the oil using a slotted ladle and take it out from the kadai.
Repeat the same process for the rest of the batter.
Sweet pongadalu is ready to be served. It can had as a tea time snack.

Notes:

If it sticks to the pan when the batter is dropped into the kadai, then the batter is thin and need to adjust the consistency by adding little wheat flour.
If the pongadam gets squeezed and rises up rather than puffing up in the middle and flat on the edges then the batter is thick and need to adjust the consistency by adding little water of 1 tbsp at a time.

Eggless Wholewheat Dates Cake/Cupcakes

2016-01-11T15:17:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Dates - 18 to 20 (preferred seedless)
Milk - 3/4th cup
Sugar - 3/4th cup
All purpose Flour/ Maida - 1cup (or) Whole wheat flour - 1cup
Oil - 1/2 cup
Baking Soda - 1tsp
Cashews/Walnuts/Pecans/Almonds - 1/2 cup (chopped) use any nuts you have.

Procedure:

Soak dates in warm milk or just microwave for 5 mins till warm so that the dates turn soft enough to grind.
Add sugar and along with the milk and dates into a blender and grind it to a smooth paste.
Take this in a large mixing bowl. Add oil and mix.
Sieve together flour and baking soda in a separate bowl.
Add the flour 1 tsp at a time and mix well with a spatula.
Add nuts and mix well. Do not over mix it.
Preheat oven at 350F. Bake the cake in a greased oven proof dish for 35-40 mins or till the knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. (or) Pour the batter in the cupcake molds. But it takes only 20- 25 mins to cook the cupcakes.
Cut it into pieces and serve the cake. For cup cakes transfer them onto the cooling rack and serve when cool.

This cake is more yummier the next day.

Tomato Brocolli Pachadi/Pickle

2016-01-11T15:11:00.005-08:00

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 3 medium
Brocolli - 1/2 medium
Green Chillis - 4
Tamarind - small piece for taste
Garlic pods - 3
Jeera - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Popu/Tadka:
Oil - 1tsp
Urad Dal - 1/2 tsp
Mustard - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 6 to 7
Red Chillis - 2
Hing/Asafoetida - pinch

Procedure:

Heat a pan, add little oil and add the green chillis. Once they start turning color add the tomatoes and broccoli to it and let it cook till the tomatoes and broccoli turn soft.
Add the tamarind to it and switch off the flame.
Transfer this mixture to the mixie jar and add jeera, salt, garlic and let it cool.
Once cool grind it to a fine paste without adding any water and take it in a bowl.
Now heat oil in a small pan and add the tadka/popu items and add it to the prepared pachadi.
Mix it well and serve it with hot rice/ idly/ dosa/ uthappam etc. This goes well with any breakfast dishes.

Prawn Fry in Kerala style with grated coconut

2016-01-11T15:08:00.004-08:00

Ingredients:

Prawns - 1lb (peeled and cleaned in vinegar water)
Onions - 2 medium size
Green Chillis - 3
Cilantro/Coriander Leaves - few
Curry Leaves - 10
Oil -2tsp
Salt to taste

To grind:
Onion - 1/2
Dry Coconut - 1tbsp
Fennel Seeds - 1tsp
Dry red chillis - 2
Garlic - 3 cloves
Cloves - 2
Cinnamon Stick -1 inch

For Marination:

Chilli powder - 1tsp
Jeera powder - 1tsp
Turmeric - pinch
Dhaniya powder - 1/2tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1tsp
Lemon Juice - juice from 1 lemon
Oil - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Add all the grind ingredients mentioned above in a blender and make it a paste without adding any water.
Clean the prawns in vinegar so that the smell goes away. Now add all the marinate ingredients mentioned above into the prawns and marinate it at least for 15 to 45 mins.
Heat a pan/kadai and add the marinated prawns and fry for 10 mins with the lid on. There will be water coming out from the prawns so need of adding any extra water.
Now remove the lid and cook on medium high flame to evaporate the remaining water till it is dry.
Take the prawns aside in a bowl and in the same kadai add oil and to this add mustard seeds, onions, green chillis, curry leavesand fry for few mins till the onions turn light brown color.
Now add the fried prawns and mix well. Add the grinded mixture at last and mix and cook for few mins.
Garnish it with coriander and serve with rice or as an appetizer.

Eggless Tutti Frutti Cake

2016-01-11T14:55:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose Flour/Whole wheat flour - 1.5 cups

Tutti Frutti - 1/2 cup

Cinnamon Powder - 1/4tsp

Baking Powder - 1tsp

Oil- 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 3/4 cup

Yogurt/Curd - 1tbsp

Apple Cider Vinegar/ Vinegar -1tbsp

Baking soda - 1/2 tsp

Vanilla extract - 1tsp

Water -1/2 cup

Almond slices - 2tbsp

Salt -pinch (optional)

Procedure:

In a mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder. Sift these items two times and keep aside.
Add the tutti fruttis into the flour and mix well so that the fruits are mixed with the flour.

Preheat the oven for 180 degrees C or 350 F.
In another bowl mix the oil along with sugar till sugar dissolves.

In another glass take yogurt and add 1tbsp water and whisk it till smooth. To this add Baking soda, vanilla extract, vinegar and stir till bubbles with froth formation.

Now in the flour mixture add the oil+Sugar mix and the yogurt mixture.
Mix it slowly by adding 1/2 cup water with a spatula. Do not over mix it. Just mix it enough till there are no lumps in the batter.

Grease the 7 to 9inch pan or place a butter paper in the pan. Pour the batter into the greased baking pan and add almonds on the top.
Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake it for 35 to 45 mins at 350F/180C till the inserted toothpick or fork comes out of the baked cake without any batter sticking to it.
Once done let the tutti frutti cake stand at room temperature for 5 to 10 mins.
Cut the cake into slices and serve it as a snack.
I made it with wholewheat flour so it is not that fluffy.But if you make it with maida then it will be very smooth and fluffy.

Karnataka Style Rasam

2015-11-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Tamarind juice: 1cup
Tomato puree: 1 cup
Pappu/Dal water:
Green chillis: 4
Turmeric: 1/2tsp
Sugar/Bellam: little for taste
Salt: As needed

For Powder:
Garlic cloves: 4
Pepper corns: 7
Dhaniya: 1tsp
Jeera: 1tsp

For tadka/Popu:
Oil/Ghee: 1tsp
Mustard Seeds: 1tsp
Red Chillis: 2
Curry Leaves: 10
Hing: pinch

For garnishing:
Coriander : few cut leaves
Shredded Coconut: 2tsp

Procedure:

Take some water in a bowl and boil it.
While boiling add the slit green chillis, turmeric, salt, tamarind juice, tomato juice, sugar and let it boil for a few mins.
While boiling add the dal water if you have any. (this step is optional only if you have any pappu neelu/dal water).
Meanwhile make a powder of the above mentioned powder ingredients either in a grinder or just crush it in a hand mortar and pestle for better taste.
Add this powder into the boiling rasam and let it boil for 2mins.
Heat another small pan aside and add ghee/oil along with all tadka items. Add this popu to the rasam and switch off the flame.
Serve it hot with rice or can take it as a soup.

Keera Capsicum Curry

2015-11-18T15:44:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Keera - 1
Capsicum - 1
Onion - 1/2 medium
Green Chillis - 4
Turmeric- pinch
GGP/ Ginger Garlic Paste - 2tsp
Besan - 2tsp
Oil or Ghee - 3-4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Curd- 1cup
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Heat 2tsp oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and jeera. Once they are spluttering add the onions, green chillis, Salt and turmeric and fry for a few mins.
Now add GGP and fry for 2 mins.
Add cut keera and capsicum and keep the lid and cook for 10 mins.
Some water oozes out from it and let it cook.
Add little water and curd to the curry and mix well.
Meanwhile in another pan add remaining oil and add the besan and fry till the aroma comes out.
Take the lid and once it is done, add the fried besan mix and mix well and there should not be any lumps in the curry.
Adjust the consistency by adding little water if needed.
Serve it hot with rice or chapati.

Ginger Chicken Curry

2015-11-18T15:33:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Chicken - 2 pounds with skin
Ghee or Oil -
Onions - 1 finely chopped
Curd- 1 1/2cup (beat it)
Ginger - 2inch piece, chopped into slices

For powder:
Dhaniya - 2tsp
Shahi Jeera - 1tsp
Jeera- 1tsp
Badam - 10
Elaichi
Cloves
Cinnamon Stick - 1big
Red Chillis - 10
Rock Salt - as per taste

Procedure:

Dry roast all the powder ingredients and let it cool.
Once cool make a powder and add it to the chicken, mix well and marinate it for 3-4 hrs preferably.
Now heat ghee/oil in the pan and add onions and fry for 4-5 mins golden brown.
Now add the marinated chicken into it and mix well.
Once all the masala is coated to the chicken pieces add the curd and mix well.
Keep the lid and cook it for 5mins and remove the lid. Water comes out from it and let it evaporate without lid.
Add sliced ginger on top and once a thick gravy is formed switch off the flame.
Serve it with chapati or rice.

Tips:

This curry goes well only chicken with skin.
For added taste make this curry with ghee/butter.
You can substitute badam with cashews.
No chilli powder should be added. The masala powder made give the spiciness to the curry.

Gutti Vankaya Curry with Gasagasalu/Poppy Seeds

2015-11-18T15:26:00.005-08:00

Guthi Vankai with Gasagasa paste

Ingredients:

Black Vankayalu/Brinjal - 8 small size preferably - make slits + shape and keep them in water
Poppy seeds/ Gasagasalu - 3tbsp
Groundnut - 12
Oil - 2tbsp
Onion - 1 small
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Jeera- 1tsp
Tamarind - small lemon size juice squeezed
Bellam - small piece for taste, (optional)
Chilli powder - 2tsp
Turmeric - pinch
Dhaniya powder - 1tsp
Jeera Powder - 1tsp
GGP/Ginger GArlic Paste - 2tsp
Salt to taste

For Gasagasa Paste:

Dry roast poppy seeds and ground nuts in a pan separately
Firstly add poppy seeds in a blender and make it a powder and then add the groundnut into it and make it a fine paste, keep aside.

Procedure:

Heat oil in a pan and drop the slit whole brinjal and fry them on all sides till they turn the color to brown/black and keep aside.
In the same pan add the remaining oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, and onions, fry for a few mins and then add GGP, chilli powder, turmeric, dhaniya, jeera powder, and fry for 3 mins.
Take tamarind juice in two cups of water and add to the above mix. When it is starting to boil add the gasagasa paste and mix well for 4-5 mins.
Adjust the salt and chilli powder as per taste. Drop the fried brinjal/vankayalu into it and keep the lid.
Cook it for around 25-30mins till the gravy turns into thick gravy or as per consistency needed.
Serve it with rice or chapatis.

Egg Flip

2014-12-19T17:59:00.001-08:00

This is again one more healthy and simple recipe which is kids friendly and where we can eat a raw egg without that bad smell. This is a very good recipe for protein deficient kids. Protein deficient kids generally does not show any interest in games or getting tired very fast, their skin is very thin and wrinkles/folds come when we hold them etc. These are some of the major symptoms of children deficient in protein. Here the simple egg flip recipe goes:

Ingredients:
Egg - 1
Milk - 1cup
Vanilla essence - 1tsp
Nut meg powder - pinch for flavor
Sugar - 1 to 2 tsp

Procedure:

Whisk one egg in a bowl thoroughly with a whisker/shaker/blender.
To this add milk, vanilla essence, nutmeg powder, sugar and mix well with a whisker/shaker/blender.
Now serve this energy drink cold.

Tips/ Health benefits:
As there is a raw egg present in the recipe this is not advisable for pregnant women, kids under 3yrs, or elderly people.
Do not let them know that there is raw egg present in this drink and they will love it.
School going children can have this drink at least once or twice in a week and you will definitely see a big marked difference in their resistance, energy, bone and muscle strength etc.

Simply Pan Cakes

2013-11-21T16:28:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Maida/All Purpose Flour- 1cup
Baking Powder - 1tsp
Baking Soda - pinch
Milk - 3/4cup
Sugar- 2tbsp
Salt - pinch for taste
Egg - 1
Butter - 2tbsp (optional) can be replaced with oil.

Procedure:

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar with a whisk and keep aside.
In another bowl add milk along with butter/oil and mix gently with a whisk and add the egg and mix it for 2mins.
Now add the flour mix into the milk mixture slowly and mix it with the whisk and make sure there are no lumps and keep it aside for 10-15mins.
Heat the skillet/dosa pan on medium heat.
Grease it with butter and add one full laddle of the batter in the middle of the pan.(a perfect batter will get some small bubbles on top of the pan cake when poured on the pan.) We can add more than one if we have a big pan and want to make small pan cakes as shown in picture.

When the bubbles on it popped, gently flip them onto another side and cook it, serve.
Repeat the process with the remaining batter and serve them hot with honey or maple syrup.

Note:

Make sure that the pan is not too hot as it may burn the edges of the pan cake and loose its fluffyness.
You can use just the baking soda and 1tsp vinegar inspite of egg if you are a vegan and want to avoid egg.
After flipping if you cover it with a lid and cook, makes more softer and fluffy pan cakes.

Kandi Podi/Putnala pappu podi

2013-11-21T16:00:00.003-08:00

Ingredients:

Chana Dal - 1 cup
Kandi Pappu- 1/4cup
Putnala Pappu / Dalia - 3tbsp
Dhaniyalu - 2tbsp
Jeera - 2tsp
Red chillis - 5 to 6
Curry leaves - 1 bunch (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Dry roast chana dal, kandi pappu and when they are half way add the remaining items including salt and roast for another 5 mins and let it cool.
2. When cool transfer it into mixie jar and grind it into a fine or course powder as per your taste and store it in an air tight container.

Tips:

This podi goes good with hot rice along with sesame oil or ghee.
Very good with idlis. Can mix with oil or dry podi is also fine.
You can use more putnala pappu (equal proportions with that of chana dal) if you like that taste more.

Pappu Chekkalu/Chekka Vadalu

2013-11-21T15:47:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 3cups
Maida - 2 cups
Green Chillis - 12
Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
Chilli powder - 1tsp
Ajwain seeds/Vamu - 2tsp
Butter - 1/4 cup
Oil for deep frying
Oil - 5tsp for making Chekkalu
Curry leaves - few
Salt - 2 1/2 tsps

Procedure:

Soak chana dal for 2-3hours and keep aside.
In a large mixing bowl take rice flour, maida, salt, chilli powder, ajwain seeds, chopped curry leaves, soaked chana dal and mix well.
Now crush the green chillis, jeera in the hand grinder or mixie and mix it into the flour.
Heat butter and add that into the flour and mix well.
Now add little water at a time and mix well till the dough is similar to chapati dough. (for right consistency test make sure that the dough is not sticky to hands while mixing).
Take thick polythene cover (preferably any ziploc cover) to roll these chekkalu.
Add 1-2 drops of oil on the ploythene cover and place small ball of the dough on it and press it with fingers evenly till they are thin round shapes as shown in the picture.

Now heat oil for deep frying and add these pappu chekkalu one by one into it and fry till they are golden in color.

(Make sure they are not too dark. Because dark colored chekkalu may taste bitter)

Repeat the process with the remaining dough and let them cool and store it in a dry air tight container.

Tomato Rasam

2013-11-21T15:26:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Tomatoes - 2 (medium)/3 (small)
Pepper Corns - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillis - 2
Rasam Powder - 1tsp
Garlic pods - 3
Coriander leaves - for garnishing

For popu/tadka:

Ghee - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - pinch
Methi seeds - 6 or 7

Procedure:

Boil tomatoes in 3 glasses of water for 5 to 10 mins till they are soft.
Now take only the tomatoes from the water and peel the skin, mash them soft and then add this mixture, salt, rasam powder into the water above again.
Course grind the garlic pods, green chillis with hand grinder and keep aside.
Heat oil,ghee in a separate skillet and add all the tadka items and when the mustard seeds started spluttering add the above grinded mixture, pepper powder, jeera powder and fry for 2 mins and add this to the boiling rasam and let it boil for 5 to 10 mins.
Lastly add the coriander on top and serve it hot with rice.

Simple Nilava Tomato Pachadi/Pickle Andhra Style

2013-11-21T15:23:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

Tomatoes- 3lb (around 11-12 medium size tomatoes)
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder- 2 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 3tsp
Tamarind - small piece (add only if the tomatoes are not so tangy)
Vinegar- 1tsp (optional)
Methi seeds - 2tsp
Oil- 2tbsp

For tempering/popu:

Oil - 1/8cup
Mustard seeds- 1tsp
Red Chillis- 5
Curry leaves - 15 to 20
Hing- Pinch
Garlic- 6 whole pods (cut into rounds)

Procedure:

Dry roast methi seeds till they are lightly brown in color and when slightly the aroma of the seeds comes out and transfer it into the blender. Let it cool and make into powder.
Cut tomatoes by removing the upper part and keep aside.
Heat the pan and add oil, mustard seeds and when they start spluttering add cut tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes on high heat till they are soft and reduce the flame to medium low.(make sure the tomatoes are cooked without the lid on it)
Meanwhile add chilli powder, salt, tamarind, vinegar and keep mixing.
Cook it till oil separates from the tomatoes. For this it may take around 45mins to 1hour on medium flame.
When all the water evaporates and oil oozes from the puree add the methi seed powder, mix well, switch of the flame and let it cool.
Heat oil in a separate pan and add all the tadka items mentioned above and when mustard seeds starts spluttering switch off the flame. Add this to the tomato mix and let them cool completely.
Transfer it into a dry, air-tight container and store it in refrigerator.
This pickle goes well idlis, dosas and also with hot rice.

Tip:
To make it into chutney you can add 1tbsp of pickle into 1cup of yogurt and mix well.

Chegodilu

2013-10-18T12:24:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:

Rice flour: 2cups
Water: 2cups
Chilli Powder: 2tsp
Sesame seeds: 2tbsp
Ghee: 1tsp
Ajwain seeds: 2tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

Add salt, ajwain seeds, sesame seeds and chilli powder, ghee in water and boil it.
Once the water starts boiling add the rice flour into it and mix once, off the stove.
Now mix it after 5 mins and keep it aside.
Make small balls from the dough and roll it into rope in between the two palms or on a rolling pan till the ends are thin.
Now press the two end of the rope tightly and keep aside
Make chegodilu in this manner with rest of the dough.
Heat oil for deep frying and fry all the chegodilu till golden brown in color and store them in an air tight container.

Vaangi Bhaat

2013-06-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Rice - 2cups
Vankayalu/Brinjal - 1/2 kg or 8
Onions - 1/2 small
Chillis -2
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2tsp
Salt to taste

For powder:

Chana dal- 3tsp
Urad dal- 1 1/4 tsp
Ground nut - 8
Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Dhaniyalu/Coriander seeds - 1/2 tsp
Red Chillis -3
Dry Cocunut powder - 2tsp
Turmeric - Pinch
Salt pinch
Hing - pinch

Procedure:

Cook rice in 3 1/2 cups of water in pressure cooker and transfer it into a bowl.
Add 1 tsp oil, salt and let it cool.
Heat a small skillet and to it add chana dal, urad dal, red chillis, ground nut, coriander seeds and dry roast them on low flame.
When they are lightly brown in color add all the other ingredients mentioned in powder section and switch off the flame.
Let it cool and make it a powder and store it in an air tight container.
Cut brinjal into long thin slices and add some oil and salt to it and keep it aside.
Heat a big skillet to it add oil, mustard seeds, jeera and when they start spluttering add thinly sliced onions and chillis and fry till brown in color.
Add the brinjal pieces and let them cook til they are slightly soft. Do not overcook.
Now add 4tbsp of the powder to the fried brinjals and mix well.
Add the cooked rice the mixture and mix well. Cover it with the lid and cook for another 5 mins and serve hot with raitha.

Ravva Laddu

2012-10-22T17:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Dasara to all my friends and Family. As this is the season of Navaratri specials i just wanted to share at least one sweet with you all. This is one the favourite sweets to the Goddess so i made this sweet this year for Naivedhyam. This is one of the dishes that i made during these 9days and wanted to share with you all. Yet more to come in my next posts.

Ingredients:

Goduma Ravva - 1cup
Grated Coconut - 1cup
Ghee- 3tsp
Cashews- few
Grated Badam - few
Kiss Miss(Raisins)- few
(i took 1/4 cup of each dry fruits as per our taste)
Sugar - 1 cup
Milk - as needed

Procedure:

Heat ghee in a pan and fry the cashews and kiss miss till light brown in color and keep aside.
In the same ghee pan add the goduma ravva on low flame fry them till light golden color and take aside in a bowl.
Now in the same pan without any ghee add the grated coconut and fry for 5 mins and add this to the goduma ravva bowl.
Add the fried dry fruits, elaichi powder and sugar to this mixture and mix well.
To this add some cold milk 1tsp at a time and mix well till they are lightly wet and good enough to make balls.
Now make round balls when it is lightly hot only. Because if it is cold it will become hard and when cold serve.
You can store them in refrigerator for 2 weeks to enjoy fresh ravva laddu.

Tips:

Make sure that you do not fry the ravva on high heat. Because it changes the color very easily which makes it taste very bitter.
Be careful while adding the milk to the mixture at the end. If you add more milk it will avoid us to make balls easily and will be sticky to hands.
You can add any of the dry fruits of your choice to this recipe.

Oats Cookies

2012-10-01T16:38:00.002-07:00

Ingredients:

Quick Oats - 1/2cup
Oats Powder - 1 cup (I grinded the oats into powder but did not buy it outside)
Maida/All-purpose Flour - 1 1/2cup
Brown Sugar - 1cup
Eggs - 2
Vanilla Extract - 1tsp
Butter/Oil - 1cup
Baking Soda - Pinch
Pinch of salt

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350° F.
Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.
Add eggs and vanilla extract; beat well.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt together and keep aside.
Add this flour mix to the above mixture and mix well.
Slowly stir in oats powder.
The mixture will be like the chapati dough.
Make round balls and little flat at the middle and keep them on the cookie sheets.
On top of the biscuits add some oats and press it a bit.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on sheet and serve.

Daddojanam (Andhra Style)/ Curd Rice

2012-09-20T13:23:00.003-07:00

I generally have this Daddojanam or Curd rice in temples but never tried it at home. But in one of the festivals time i did not get much time to make pulihora so i made this curd rice for the first time by asking this recipe from one of my friends and frankly saying it was not that great that day. But later with some changes to the recipe it was a big hit. First time i mixed the curd in hot rice and also used little curd, and the rice consistency to what it got cooked is also not cooked to the right amount. So to avoid all these mistakes in my second attempt i made some modulations and it came out yummy. But please do remember to follow the right amount of ingredients while doing the recipe to get the perfect Daddojanam.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1cup
Curd - 5cups
Cashews - 1hand full
Chana Dal - 2tsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 15
Jeera - 1tsp
Green Chillis - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece
Red Chillis - 2
Asafoetida - pinch
Oil - 1tsp
Ghee - 2tsp
Coriander Leaves - hand full
Carrot - 1/2 cup grated
Keera/Dosakaya - 1/4 cup(optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

First cook rice with 1cup rice and 2 1/2cups water in a pressure cooker and remove it out and let it cool and keep aside.
Now make a paste of green chillis, ginger, jeera and salt together.
Heat ghee in a pan, fry cashews till light brown colour and keep aside.
In the same pan add the oil(or ghee is fine), chana dal, urad dal fry for 2 mins till light color change
Add red chillis, mustard, jeera, curry leaves added and fry for 2 mins on low flame.
Now in this add the green chilli paste that we made above and a pinch of hing.
Now we get an aroma of the hing mixed with all the ingredients.
This mixture is now mixed into the rice and also the cashews, grated carrot(half of the quantity), grated keera, salt is also added to rice.
Add the whipped curd into the rice and mix well till all the ingredients are well mixed.
Now garnish it with the carrot on top and serve it cool.

Points to remember:

Make sure you mix all the ingredients only after the rice is cool. Otherwise if you add it when hot then it may become hard after it gets cool. So better to add in when cool.
Use only fresh curd rather than sour one. Because after sometime it may change the taste to sour, so if we use sour curd it becomes more worst. To avoid this add little more salt too.
To get the గుడి(temple) style daddojanam add whole pepper corns instead of green chillis.

Undrallu/Kudumulu, Aardhi for Vinayaka Chavithi

2012-09-19T23:17:00.002-07:00

We generally do this Kudumulu for almost many of the festivals and one main festival we do this is for Ganesh Chaturdhi. This is a very common and favourite dish for Ganesh.

Kudumulu

Ingredients:

Rice - 1cup
Chana Dal - 1tbsp
Jeera - 1tsp (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure:

Soak the chana dal overnight in water.
Soak the rice in water for 1 hour and let it dry under sun or fan till half dry.
Now course grind the rice by just pushing the grinder button to pulse mode and repeat it again depending on the consistency (it must not be very powder or very course. need to see at least some course rice like cream of rice)
Now sieve it and keep the course rice aside.
For one cup of rice add 2cups of water and to this add the chana dal and let it cook till done.
Now add some salt to taste and add the cream of rice in it and mix well.
Keep the lid on it and let it cook for 5-10 mins till done. You will know that it is done when it is not that sticky if you test it by hand.
Now make this mixture into small balls (lemon size) and pressure cook them in the idly pan for 10-15 mins and now the kudumulu is ready to serve.

Points to remember(Hints):

You can directly use cream of rice that we get it from the store by avoiding the steps 2, 3 and 4. But the above method is and old tradition method which gives us the perfect taste of kudumulu.
Depending on the consistency after adding rice you can add some water if necessary. If it becomes very hard as soon as we added rice.
Do not mix while adding the cream of rice. Mix it only after adding the full rice into it. If you do mix it while adding it may become very thin consistency.
If you do not have pressure cooker or wanted to do it in the old method just add some water to a big pot and tie a wet cloth on top of it and keep these kudumulu on it and cook them on stove for 10-15mins.
Some people do the same procedure with rice flour which is known as undrallu.

Aardhi

Happy Ganesh Chathurthi

2012-09-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Vinayaka Chavithi to all my friends and Family...

Ganesha Chaturthi also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi, is the Hindu festival celebrated on the occasion of birthday of Lord Ganesha, the son of Shiva and Parvathi, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees in the duration of this festival. It is the day Shiva declared his son Ganesha as superior to all the gods, barring Vishnu, Lakshmi, Shiva and Parvati. Lord Ganesha is believed to be God of power, prosperity,wisdom and good fortune. In India, people worship Ganesh before initiating any work or start any travel. Ganesh Festival is one of the main festivals celebrated blissfully and joyfully all over India.

In Andhra, kudumu (rice flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery mixture), Vundrallu (steamed coarsely grounded rice flour balls), Panakam (jaggery, black pepper and cardamom flavored drink), Vadapappu (soaked and moong lentils), Chalividi (cooked rice flour and jaggery mixture), etc., are offered to Ganesha along with Modakams. These offerings to god are called Naivedyam in Telugu.

In Andhra, Matti Vinayakudu (Clay Ganesh) and Siddhi Vinayakudu (Turmeric Ganesh) is usually worshiped at homes along with plaster of paris Ganesha. But now a days due to the pollution control and other factors that are effecting the natural resources in the process of nimajjanam the new mantra is getting rounds in India i.e., Go Green by using eco friendly Ganesh. So say no to idols made of chemical, Plaster of paris, baked clay, plastic, thermocol (polystyrene). Opt for natural, biodegradable material so that after immersions (visarjan) it does not pollute water and surroundings. Natural products can be used to make the idol such as unbaked clay, coconut, paint with natural colours, etc.

So by following this rule for this year I made an idol with my own hands which i wanted to share with you all... Here are some of the pics of our Bojja Vinayaka and our Puja at home. People celebrate in various ways in each place depending on their customs and traditions. In the same way in Andhra too there are different variations especially the prasadams we offer to God. May be the procedures are the same but the name of the item is different. So according to our tradition we offer Kudumulu and Aardhi(Palu ardhi or bellam kudumulu which is called in some of the places).

For recipes of kudumulu and Aardhi click here :

So here is our Puja: