Gayathri's Kitchen Basics

Kodikkai Pazham

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 01:15:00 +0000

How many of you have come across this fruit. It is called as kodikkai / kodikka pazham and is usually available during summer. We get it in my home town Then and at Madurai. I think it is famous in South Tamil Nadu. Apart from these areas it is hard to get it elsewhere. My mom who stays in Coimbatore buys this whenever she visits Madurai and takes back to Coimbatore. I have seen a tree of kodikkai in my uncle's house long back. It was so tasty and he used to get it for us during the season. Now whenever I go to Theni, we stop at a place where we can get delicious kodikkai. It is a road side vendor and they have the fresh kodikkai pazham. I searched a lot for the English name of this but couldn't find it. If anyone knows about it please share with me in the comment and I will update the post.

This resembles a curved string and each string has 5-12 tiny fruits in them. The white flesh is edible and there is a small black seed inside. The flesh is either sweet or astringent ( thuvappu). When we were kids, we used to collect all these seeds and used it for playing odd or even. The player keeps some seeds inside the palm and asks the other players whether the number is odd or even. If any player guesses correctly, they take all the seeds. We go on accumulating the seeds until any one has the maximum number and is announced as the winner. This kodikkai surely brings back lots of childhood memories. We also used to play another game with the seeds. One who peels the seed's black skin with out damaging the next slightly greenish skin will get guests at home. As it will be the time of summer vacations, we would go on peeling the seeds ( which is very tough) to get many guest at home. So if you ever see this in your local store try it out. Do not miss it...

Vanilla Buttercream

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 06:15:00 +0000

I love buttercream and those who have tasted the cake I have made usually say that the buttercream I have made is tastier than the ones they have tasted from a bakery. In bakery they use shortening instead of butter in making buttercream, so the taste differs a lot. I have seen recipes using both butter and shortening/ vanaspathi. But I never add shortening in the buttercream. Do you remember the rose cake I made recently? I decorated it with vanilla buttercream. When I finished working with the buttercream, my daughter finishes what is left in the bowl just like that. She is so so fond of that. The texture of the buttercream depends on how much you beat the butter sugar mixture. The more you beat, the softer and fluffier the buttercream. Use a hand mixer or a stand mixer instead of a wooden spatula for beating. This makes the work easier.

There are three consistencies used in cake decoration. Thinner butter cream is used for crumb coating and piping out letters. Medium consistency is used for piping out roses and flowers. Thicker butter cream is used for frosting the cake. To make different consistencies in butter cream adjust the amount of milk added. For 1 cup of butter you will need 4 cups of icing sugar. Do not use sugar powdered in your mixer grinder because it will be coarser and the butter cream will not be smooth. So use either icing sugar or powdered sugar available in Nilgiris. Both works fine.

Beat butter until soft and fluffy. The colour of butter will become paler with beating.

Add a cup of icing sugar and beat until fully incorporated.

Keep on adding all the sugar and beat until fully incorporated. The cream will be very thick now.

Add 2 tbs of milk and a teaspoon of vanilla essenceand beat for a minute. Beat continuosly after adding milk. This is the stage at which you decide the consistency of your buttercream.

Keep on beating until peaks form. I just love the look of the buttercream at this stage.

Next add the colour you have chosen. Add the colour in drops. Always you can add more but will neer be able to reverse it. So be careful while adding colours. Liquid colours or gel colours are best suited for colouring. If you are using powdered colour, then add a little warm water to the powder. Make sure it is completely dissolved. Then add the required colour to the cream. If you add powder directly to the cream, you will end up with irregular shades and dots in the final cream. I learned it the hard way. So do not make that mistake. Your butter cream is ready for frosting.

Strawberry Milk Shake

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:13:00 +0000

Preparing a milk shake is the easiest way to serve any unexpected guests. The fruits which have lots of flesh are all perfect for milk shakes. You can use banana, apple, mango, strawberry, jack fruit and so on. When I visited the super market I saw a box of cute looking strawberries. My daughter loves them so I bought the box. It is very costly here in Madurai. But when we tasted one after coming home, it was very sour. I really felt very bad. SO instead of eating it as it is, I made this milk shake and it was very nice. The basic method of making milk shakes using fresh fruits remains the same. Add chilled milk along with the fruits and sugar according to taste. Pulse the mixer for 2 minutes and you are ready with a cool, frothy milk shake.

Ingredients:

Strawberry-7-8

Cold Milk-2 cups

Sugar-according to your taste ( if the fruit is sweet, you may not need sugar)

Procedure:

1. Remove the leaves of strawberries and wash them.

2. Slice them into two and put it into a mixer juicer jar.

3. Pulse the mixer for 2 minutes.

4. Pour into serving glass and serve immediately.

So cute but very sour!!!

Homemade Dried Mint/ Pudina

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 09:12:00 +0000

Pudina/ Mint leaves if refrigerated will turn dark and cannot be kept fresh. So it is better to store it in dried form so that it retains its colour and flavour. We get a lot of dried herbs in the market. You can dry any herb you want and store it for future use. When stored in an air tight jar, you can retain the flavour for a long time.

I bought 250 grams of fresh pudina leaves. And when I made the dried mint I got 35 grams which filled the spice bottle I had. A teaspoon of this powder will be sufficient for a strong flavour of pudina.

Buy fresh mint leaves.

Remove the individual leaves and discard stalk.

Wash it at least thrice to get rid of mud. During a wash, remove the leaves from the water and transfer them to another bowl. Now you will be left with the mud which is settled at the bottom.

After washing it three times, transfer the leaves to a strainer and let it be for 1 hour.

Spread the leaves on a tray or a large plate. You can either dry it in sun or in shade.

If drying in shade it will take 3-4 days. If drying in sun, then you will be finished within 2 days. The leaves must be completely dry and when crushed you need to hear the crackle.

Now grind it in a mixer or food processor.

Fill it in a spice bottle or air tight jar. I have also labelled the bottle. You can sprinkle this on rotis, naan or breads. You can also use it in soups for a nice flavour.

How To Line A Pie Dish

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 00:27:00 +0000

Lining a pie dish is a bit tough for beginners but with practice you can easily do it. By getting the dough to correct consistency lining the dish will be easier. Refrigerate the dough for at least 30 minutes. When removing from fridge, if the dough is very hard, then keep it on counter for 5 minutes. The dough must be firm but slightly pliable so that you can roll it. If it is too hard, then it will break.

This is the pie dish. It has two parts, one is the outer ring and the other the base plate.

Place the plate inside the ring and grease the dish with butter.

Place the dough between two sheets of cling wrap or plastic sheets.

Roll it into a disc bigger than the base of the pie dish by at least 3 inches ( this varies depending upon the depth of the dish. More the depth larger the circle.)

Remove the top sheet/ wrap.

Invert the disc carefully over the pie dish along with plastic wrap. Press the dough into the dish so that it lines all the corners of the dish.

Remove the wrap and cut the excess dough with a knife.

You can also trim it by pressing the sides into the dish. The excess dough will fall off leaving a neat edge.

At this stage you can blind bake the crust.

Or fill it with the filling and bake.

Peeling and coring An Apple

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 10:48:00 +0000

Many recipes ask for peeling and coring apples. I thought why not blog about it as this blog is for beginners. When I first started following recipes, and when the recipe suggested peeling and coring apples, I used to peel the apples with a knife. By this way I usually lose a lot of flesh along with the skin removed. Now I used a peeler ( OK, I was dumb) and for slicing it into equal parts I use a slicer. It makes life easier. I am not talking about one apple. If you have 2-3 kilograms of apple to peel and core I suggest you use a peeler and a slicer. It is better for your hands.

While using a peeler, make sure that it is very sharp. Shar peelers peel only the skin but if it is blunt, you are going to loose some flesh along with the skin.

Wash the apples and wipe them dry with a towel. Using a peeler peel the skin leaving the top and bottom stalk part.

Place a slicer on top of the apple and press hard. When the slicer reaches the bottom of the apple you will end with 8 equal pieces of sliced apple.

Remove the slices from the slicer.

Peel and slice all the apples according to the recipe. Apples blacken very fast. So as soon as you cut the apple, add2 tsp of lime juice or white vinegar and mix so that the slices are coated with the juice. This will ensure that the apples don't lose colour. You can also transfer the pieces to a zip lock bag and refrigerate.

Homemade Cardamom Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:30:00 +0000

Cardamom powder is added to mostly all the Indian traditional sweets. They impart a lovely flavour to the sweet. Instead of adding a whole cardamom or searching for a heavy object to crush cardamom at the time of cooking, you can prepare the cardamom powder and store it in airtight jar and use it when needed. It makes life easy. I always have a jar of powder in my pantry ready for any sweet I prepare.

The skin of the cardamom seeds will be discarded when they are used fully in cooking. And when you crush the seeds at the time of cooking, the skin becomes a waste. But when you make the powder the skin is also used along with the seeds. Therefore there is no wastage. The skin takes long to grind. So it is better to add a spoon of sugar along with it to speed up the grinding.

Buy the green cardamom. Use at least a cup of whole cardamoms for powdering.

Roast the cardamoms until slightly puffy.

Add 2 teaspoons of sugar along with the roasted cardamoms.

Grind it while still warm. Run the mixer for 2-3 minutes until they become a smooth powder.

Spread the powder on a plate to cool. After cooling store in airtight jar and use when needed.

Apple Puree

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Tue, 25 Dec 2012 00:44:00 +0000

Apple puree can be used as an egg substitute in cakes. I made a plum cake yesterday using this puree and got very nice result. I made puree with 2 apples and got 1 1/2 cups of the puree. The process is simple and can be done in less than 30 minutes. This puree can also be used in preparing apple halwa.

After making the puree, store it in an air tight jar in fridge for up to a week.

Peel, slice and remove seeds from apple. Add 1/4 cup of water and bring it to boil. When the water starts boiling, reduce flame and cover the vessel. Cook until the apples are soft.

Mash the cooked apples with the back of a spoon until mushy. Allow this mixture to cool.

Pour the mashed mixture into a metal sieve and use a spoon to force it through the sieve. The puree will be collected in the bowl below. Store it in an air tight jar and refrigerate.

Homemade Coconut Flakes

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 10:06:00 +0000

As we don't get coconut flakes in Madurai, I had to make it at home for the Lemon bread I made earlier. For this kopra can be used. But as I don't get it either, I made kopra at home and then flaked it. To make kopra at home you need to break open a coconut and place the two pieces in the fridge. Forget about it for a month. The coconut will dry out and leave the shell. You can use a knife to remove the dried coconut from the shell. This is home made kopra. I used this kopra to make flakes.

The flaked coconut can be stored in a ziplock bag and used when needed. You can also prepare a sugar syrup and boil the flakes in syrup. When dried you get sweetened coconut flakes. I will do a separate post for that.

Hold the knife as shown. Slice thin pieces from the coconut.

These are the flakes. Keep on flaking till you finish the whole kopra. Use as required.

Adhalaikkai Vadhakkal / Stir Fry

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:37:00 +0000

Last time when I posted about adhalaikkai, I promised to give a recipe for preparation. This is same as the bitter gourd stir fry. The recipe is very simple and mom used to prepare this on Kaarthigai. The crunch from the seeds gives it a nice taste. Prepare it the day you buy it or refrigerate and use it up with in three days. If not it will ripen and the adhalaikkai would break and turn yellow. The taste and the crunchiness will be gone.

Ingredients:
Adhalaikkai-1 cup
Onion-1
Sambar Powder-1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder-1/4 tsp
Salt- to taste
Mustard Urad Dhal-1 tsp
Oil-1tbs

Procedure:
1. Prepare adhalaikkai by removing both sides (click on link for a step wise photos of preparing adhalaikkai)
2. Heat oil and add mustard and urad dhal.
3. When they splutter, add onion and saute until golden.
4. Add the prepared adhalaikkai and saute for a minute.
5. Add sambar powder, turmeric powder and salt.
6. Add little water.
7. When it starts boiling, switch flame to low and cover the pan.
8. Cook until oil starts leaving.
9. Remove from flame and transfer to a serving bowl.
10. Serve it along with hot steamed rice and rasam.

Adalaikkai

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:02:00 +0000

How many of you have heard about adhalaikkai. I am searching for the English name but couldn't find it. This is bitter in taste and can be prepared just like bitter gourd. We usually make a stir fry with lots of onions. The seeds of this vegetable is so crunchy and when mixed with hot steamed rice, it tastes wonderful. This is the season for this vegetable as I am seeing lots and lots of this in our nearby store. This will be seen for a month and then it just vanishes off from the market. My mom used to prepare it on Kaarthigai. That is the only time we make it in our house.

Preparing adhalaikkai is just like preparing tiny bitter gourds. Remove the tips on both ends and the vegetable is ready to be cooked.

A close up shot of the vegetable. It looks so cute. Isn't it???

Remove the tips with a sharp knife.

It is ready for cooking.

You can also store the prepared adhalaikkai in a zip lock bag and refrigerate it for a week.

The recipe of this simple stir fry will be posted tomorrow.

Frozen Chickpeas

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 07:57:00 +0000

If you have an unexpected guest at home, it is very hard to make chickpea based dishes because it needs a lot of soaking time. But chole and bathura makes a nice dinner meal. I always have a bag of frozen chickpeas in my freezer so that I can whip up a chole based dish within minutes. I just soak up the chickpeas and put it in freezer bag and freeze it. At the time of cooking you can get the required amount of the frozen chickpeas and pressure cook them for 5 minutes to get freshly cooked chickpeas.

Start with 250 gm of chickpeas. Wash ans soak them for 6-8 hours.

When they are double the original size, drain the water.

Place the drained chickpeas in a zip lock bag. Place the bag in freezer and use it when required.

Some of the Chickpea dishes at my blog:

Peshawari Chole

Chole Biryani

Chickpea and Mango Salad

Chole Paneer Chaat

Baharat Powder

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 12:48:00 +0000

Baharat Powder is the spice powder used in Arab Cuisine. It is a mixture of some flavourful spices and it is used in soups. I used it in chick pea soup which is inspired by Lebanese cooking.

Recipe Source: Tarla Dalal
Makes 1/2 cup of Baharat Powder
Ingredients:
Black Pepper Corn-1 tbs
Red Chilly-4-5
Coriander Seeds-1 tsp
Cinnamon-a small piece
Cumin Seeds-1 tsp
Clove-1 tsp
Nutmeg-1 tsp
Dry Ginger Powder-1 tbs
Cardamom-2-3

Procedure:
1. In a pan dry roast all the ingredients for 3-4 minutes until aromatic.
2. Spread it on a plate and allow it to cool.
3. Grind it to a fine powder in a mixer grinder.
4. Store in air tight jar for further use.

Ellu Thuvaiyal/ Sesame Chutney

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:25:00 +0000

This is a flavourful thuvaiyal/ chutney using coconut and white sesame seeds. I haven't tempered the thuvaiyal. But if serving it as chutney for dosas, it can be thinned down by adding water and tempered with mustard, urad dhal and curry leaves. I served it as a side dish for beetroot rice I prepared. It was a delicious combination and the thuvaiyal is very easy to prepare.

Ingredients:
Grated Coconut-1cup
White Sesame Seeds-3tbs
Red Chilly-7-8
Garlic-2pods
Salt-to taste

Procedure:
1. In a mixer jar, take grated coconut.
2. Dry roast sesame seeds until it starts to pop. Add it to the coconut.
3. Dry roast red chillies and add it to the jar.
4. Add garlic pods and salt to the coconut.
5. Add little water and grind it to a thick paste.
6. Serve it along with any variety rice.

How to Line, Grease and Dust a Loose Bottomed Cake Pan

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 15:19:00 +0000

Greasing and dusting a cake pan is very important in baking. This ensures that the cake doesn't stick to the sides or bottom of the cake tin and you get a whole cake when the procedure is done properly. I baked a cake in the loose bottomed cake pan today. The loose bottomed cake pan consists of the ring which makes the pan and the base plate. Whichever cake cannot be flipped should be baked in this pan.

Cut out a butter paper to the size of the base plate.

Place the plate inside the ring and apply butter to the entire tin evenly.

Place the cut out paper inside the tin. The butter in the plate will stick to the paper and it will be held to the plate. Apply butter on the paper also.

Add a tbs of flour to the tin and gently tap it so that the flour sticks to the butter. The flour should coat the pan evenly. Tap out any excess flour. Now the pan is ready.

Pour the batter into the pan and bake.

Home Made Puff Pastry

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 09:24:00 +0000

This is a French dessert made out of home made puff pastry sheets. Making home made puff pastry may sound tough but it is quite easy. If you have the perfect tools then it can be made in two hours. The main tool needed is the rolling pin. I have attempted to make these pastry sheets before and I used the regular rolling pin I use for rotis. It is a bit hard with that. But after watching many videos, I saw that every one is using a big rolling pin. So when I went to the shop I searched for a bigger rolling pin and fortunately I got one. This time when I tried it it was so easy. The other important factor is that the butter and the dough must be of the same consistency. If the butter is harder than the dough after refrigeration, it will tear the layers. If the butter is too soft, then it will ooze out of the layers. So refrigerating the dough and butter is quite important. Usually after every refrigeration there will be two layering. But if your kitchen is hot( just like mine), then refrigerate it every time you layer it. This is the recipe from Suz of Serenely Full and I did this as part of Daring Bakers Challenge this month.

Ingredients:

For The Dough:

All Purpose Flour/ Maida- 1 3/4 cups

Unsalted Butter-1/4 cup (at room temperature)

Salt-1 tsp

Ice Cold Water-1/2 cup + 2 tbs

For The Beurrage / Butter Mixture:

Unsalted Butter-1 cup (at room temperature)

Maida/ All Purpose Flour-3 1/2 tbs

Mix butter and flour and make a smooth paste.

Place it between two cling films and shape it into a square of 10cm / 4". Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the dough mix flour and salt. Add butter and rub until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add cold water and bring together everything with a fork or spoon.

Knead it for 3minutes until smooth. Wrap it up in a cling film and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

Roll out the dough into 6 " square.

Place the slab of butter in the middle as shown. the butter should not be hard and also should not be soft.

Bring together the corners of the dough to the centre and close. There should not be any air inside the dough.

Press the packet with the pin and roll it out. If you find butter being very soft, place it in a tray and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.

Roll it out into a rectangle and fold it into three layers as shown.

Place it on a tray and refrigerate.

Dust with flour and roll it out again into a rectangle.

Fold it into three layers. Refrigerate. Repeat this step two more times.

After the final resting, roll it into a thin square of 1/8" thickness. Now the puff pastry is ready to be used in your baking. For better results, refrigerate the cut pastry before adding any filling.

This is after baking the sheet. See those lovely layers. Enjoy!!

Tell Your Kitchen Secret - October Round Up and Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 23:55:00 +0000

I know I am very late in announcing the winner for this month's Tell Your Kitchen Secret. There were 8 entries in total and when I used random number generator, the number won was 5. The entry is Preparing Mawa and Khoya from Cheese from Life's Little Treasures Blog by Lavina. Congratulations Lavina. Please mail me the adress and phone number so that I can send you Tarla Dalal's 7 Dinner Menu Book.

This month's entries are given below:

1. Dhansak Masala - Preeti's Kitchen Life

2. How To Make Moong Sprouts - Cooks Joy

3. How To Make Urad Dhal Flour At Home - Cooks Joy

4. How To Make Hung Curd - Nivedhanams

5. How To Boil Noodles - Preeti's Kitchen Life

6. Preparing Home Mawa From Cheese - Life's Little Treasures

7. Home Made Tomato Sauce For Pasta and Pizza - Shruti Rasoi

8. Home Made Bread Crumbs - Shruti Rasoi

9. Kurivi Thalai Pavakkai / Mini Bitter Gourd - Gayathri's Kitchen Basics

Kurivi Thalai Pavakkai / Mini Bitter Gourd

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 13:21:00 +0000

Kurivi thalai pavakkai can be translated into sparrow head bitter gourd as the gourd resembles the small head of a sparrow. They taste amazing in a tamarind based gravy/ puli kulambu or vadhakkal. They are less bitter and when sauteed in oil for a long time, the bitterness is still reduced. I have posted two recipe earlier in my other blog and I will give the links to the recipes. This post is on preparing the tiny bitter gourds for cooking.

Aren't they cute? While selecting the bitter gourds, select same sized ones. Very tiny bitter gourds are also available. You can choose as you wish.

It looks just like a sparrow's head.

Cut off both ends with a sharp knife.

The bitter gourd is ready to be used in gravies.

Kurivi Thalai Pavakkai Puli Kulambu

Kurivi Thalai Pavakkai Vadhakkal

Vazhaikkai Varuval / Raw Banana Roast

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Raw banana roast is a simple dish to prepare. It goes well with paruppu, rasam rice, curd rice or mor kulambu. Serve it hot for the crispy roast.

Ingredients:

Raw Banana/ Vazhaikkai-2

Salt-to taste

Oil-1tbs

Red Chilly Powder-1/2tsp

Turmeric Powder-1/8tsp

Cumin Powder-a pinch

Coriander Powder-1/4tsp

Procedure:

1. Peel the bananas with a peeler and cut into small cubes.

2. Heat oil and add the cubes to it. It is better to use a non stick pan to avoid sticking of the banana cubes.

3. Add salt and turmeric powder.

4. Saute on low flame until the banana cubes turn golden.

5. Add the red chilly powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.

6. Saute for a minute and remove from flame.

7. Serve hot.

Tell Your Kitchen Secret - August Round Up

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 23:37:00 +0000

This round up is a treasure trove of tips. When I first announced the event, I was not very sure of the result. But having got 32 entries with so many tips and kitchen basics, I am very happy. I have divided the entries into 5 categories. Each post is brimming with useful information which is a must for every home cook. Beginners will need to bookmark this page because it will come in handy. I would like to thank all the participants for taking part in this event. Expecting more entries from you all for the next month also. Please click on the topic to go to the post.

Spice Powders:

Chat Masala- Sara's Tasty Buds
Sambar Podi- Sara's Tasty Buds
Ellu Podi- Sara's Tasty Buds

Dough and Batter:

Pizza Dough- Taste Buds
Storing Chapathi Dough- Cook Eat and Burrrp
How to Work With Sticky Chapathi Dough- Spicy Food
Stuffing a Paratha- Cook Eat and Burrrp
How to Make Idli/ Dosa Batter With Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Dough For Pizza Bun or Bread-Paricash
What to do with Sour Dosa Batter-Handy Tips

General Ingredients In Kitchen:

Storing Coconut Milk- Taste Buds
Ghee- Taste Buds
Curd/ Yogurt Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Jaggery - Kitchen Basics- Nivedhanam
Basic Italian Tomato Sauce- Cook Eat Burrrp
Mascarpone Cheese-The Pumpkin Farm
3 Types of Home Made Khoya/ Mawa-Mittu Cooking Love

Fruits and Vegetables:

How To Keep Strawberries Fresh-Sharan's Samayalarai
Tips for Cooking Vegetables-Sharan's Samayalarai
Fruits Consumption Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Zucchhini - Benefits and Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Fruits-Info and Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Banana - Ripening and Preservation Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
How To Clean and Store Mushrooms-Sharan's Samayalarai
How To Buy And Store Kiwi Fruit-Sharan's Samayalarai
Vegetables- General Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
Vazhaithandu-Kitchen Basics-Nivedhanam
My Rescuer-Sprouts - Paricash

Some Important Tips:

Deep Frying Tips-Sharan's Samayalarai
How To Make Left Over Rice Fresh As Cooked Rice-Handy Tips
How To Avoid Bugs and Insects in Flour, Lentils and Pulses-Handy Tips
Nuts- Tips for buying, cooking and storing -Sharan's Samayalarai

Hope you had a nice time going through the tips and tricks...

Tell Your Kitchen Secret- September winner and October announcement

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 22:57:00 +0000

Being the very first event at this blog I would like to thank all the participants who sent in their entries. There were 32 wonderful entries and I chose an entry using random number generator. The entry which was chosen by the random number generator is 17 linked in by Sharan of Sharan's Samayalarai. She sent some lovely information about fruits in the post. Please send me your mailing address in India so that I can ship the book.
I will be posting the round up with in this week. Time has now come for the announcement for the next month. There is a giveaway next month also. I will be giving Tarla Dalal's 7 Dinner Menus for a lucky participant who will be selected by random number generator. The linky will be there until 15th of October. Blog about anything related to kitchen basics. It can be either preparation of vegetables or fruits, important information on ingredients used in cooking or general tips. After posting it in the blog along with the link to this announcement page, link it to the linky at the bottom of this post. The lucky winner will be chosen on October 16th.

Some Important Points To Be Noted:
1. Post the basic technique/ tips in your blog and link it at this page.
2. Please provide a link to this page in your post.
3. You can send me two archived entries but please update the post with the link to event announcement.
4. Any number of new entries can be sent.
5. The techniques must be purely vegetarian and eggless. Preparing eggs and meat are not allowed.
6. Usage of logo is optional but it helps to spread the word.
7. Link it to the linky tool given at the bottom of this post.
8. If you have problem linking, send it to my email ID gayathriraani@gmail.com in the following format.
Your Name
Your Blog's Name
Your Technique
The post url
A picture
9. I will select the winner of the book on September 15th by random number generator. As I can ship only within India, the winner has to provide a mailing address with in India for me to ship.

Home Made Cream Cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Cream cheese forms the base for many desserts such as cheese cakes and cake frostings. But I couldn't get it here in Madurai. Once I saw the box of cream cheese at Nilgiris in Coimbatore, I was shocked at the price. So I was going through the web for a nice recipe to substitute cream cheese. Curd cheese is a great substitute for the cream cheese but I came across this recipe at Sharmi's Passions. The preparation was quite easy and it actually has cheese in it. So when preparing Lemon Coconut Bread for the Baking Eggless group challenge last month, I used this home made cream cheese for the filling and was astonished by the result. It is surely a keeper. You can use it as a spread on breads and crackers by adding a little salt and herbs to it.

The two ingredients you need to make cream cheese are cottage cheese and curd/ yogurt. It is best to use homemade paneer instead of store bought, as the latter is harder.

First boil a litre of milk and add 1/2tsp of citric acid/ a tbs of lemon juice to it. Switch off flame when the milk starts curdling. Place a muslin or cotton cloth on a metal sieve and drain the paneer into it. Wait for 15-20minutes.

Take the prepared paneer in a mixer jar and add equal amounts of thick curd to it. Grind them together to a fine paste.

Pour the mixture into the cloth lined sieve again. Cover the mixture with the cloth itself. Place it on top of a bowl and place the bowl along with the sieve in fridge for 2hours.

Once all the water content has drained, transfer to a bowl and use it in the recipe.

Linking this to Tell Your Kitchen Secret hosted at Gayathri's Kitchen Basics. Please send in your little kitchen secrets to me. You can win a book by Tarla Dalal.

Cooking Rice in Mud Pot

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:57:00 +0000

Rice is the staple food of south India. With out rice the meal is incomplete for us. So every south Indian household cooks rice on daily basis. Granny used to cook rice in mud pots and that rice is very good for health. Even now a doctor in Chennai asks her patients to eat rice which has been cooked in mud pot. Nowadays we use either pressure cooker or rice cooker which needs very less time to cook. But the texture of the cooked rice varies. I usually buy mud pots in various sizes ranging from smallest (to cook for 1 person) to bigger pots (to cook for 4-5persons). Though the cooking is time consuming and needs your attention it is the best way to cook rice.

The rice is boiled with water and salt. There is no proportion to the water used because the excess water is filtered out. The filtered water makes a great drink. It has all the goodness of rice in liquid form. The clear water while boiling with rice at the starting of cooking also makes a drink for pregnant ladies. During the last week of pregnancy, add 1 tsp of ghee to a cup of this water and drink daily. This is supposed to help at the time of delivery (this is called as patti vaidhyam - granny's medicine)

In a mud pot, take water to 3/4th level and bring it to boil.

When it starts boiling, add washed rice along with the salt and 1/4cup of buttermilk. Addition of buttermilk makes the rice white once cooked.

Add 2tsp of gingelly oil to the boiling mixture. Keep flame at medium to avoid oozing out of the water.

Remove the foam from the boiling rice. In a separate bowl bring water to boil. When the water in rice is fully absorbed, add this boiling water to the rice.

Take a rice grain and crush it between your fingers. If it is soft and crushes readily, then the rice is ready. Otherwise, cook it for some more time and check again.

Once the rice is cooked, switch off flame, cover the pot with a perfect plate and place it as shown in another vessel. Place a tumbler in between as a support. Be careful because the boiling water can cause injuries.

Once all the water has been filtered out, transfer the pot to the counter. Let it rest for 10minutes. Then serve hot with gravy.

Puttu Maavu / Puttu Flour

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 15:21:00 +0000

Puttu is a south Indian special snacks made out of rice flour. It is very soft and it is mainly because of the flour we use to prepare it. Raw rice is used for this flour. The rice can either be ground at home or can be ground at a flour mill. This flour can also be used to prepare murukku or kolukkattai. My mom used to make a huge amount of this flour and stock it and it would last 3-4months.

Soak raw rice for two hours

Drain water and spread it on a plate or cotton cloth and allow it to dry until it is just moist.

Grind the rice in the mixer. You can also grind it in flour mill where they have special equipment to grind moist rice.

Dry roast the flour in a pan until there is no moisture left. The flour should feel like dry sand when touched. If there is even a small amount of moisture in it, the flour cannot be stored for long period and it will turn bad. So be careful.

Sift the flour through a sieve. Grind the coarse bits in the sieve and add it to the flour.

Store it in airtight jar.

Tell Your Kitchen Secret

noreply@blogger.com (Gayathri Kumar) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 00:19:00 +0000

Kitchen Basics is very important for every chef. Though the methods are easy they are the basic building blocks for becoming a great chef. It includes lots of simple but important tips. I started this blog to put together the kitchen basics I know. But there are lots and lots of techniques all over the world and this event aims at bringing together all the techniques at a single page.

Now what are you waiting for? Post your kitchen basics in your blog and link it to this post. The basics can be anything. Making of spice powders, dough, batter, preparing vegetables, useful tips for baking and cooking and any basic thing you feel the reader must know. Please go through this blog for a general idea. Though I have given recipes in this blog, avoid sending me recipes. Only techniques and ideas are accepted here.
I am also giving a book to a winner selected by random number generator. The book is 100calorie snacks by Tarla Dalal. It has 32 snack recipes.