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2013-06-29T00:41:00.002-05:00

Bari - Indian cooking challenge

2010-08-16T03:45:00.000-05:00

Happy Independence Day

Because of some personal and unavoidable
work this blog remains silent for a long time..
So coming back , I missed last month's ICC
this time I am so desperate to make this challenge.
I heard this Bari from my Punjabi friend but
never made it.Thanks a lot of great tips
from Lata of making this in oven as weather
here is so unpredictable in the tamil month Aadi.
I made the bari in the oven.It took almost
2 hrs to make a crispy bari.

Ingredients
500 gm. urad/urd/urid or black gram dal, skinless
375 gm. petha or ash gourd. If this is not available, use same amount of cauliflower flowerets, but petha is best because of it's fibre content.
125 gm. ginger
175 gm. green chillies or more
125 gm. cleaned coriander leaves, washed and drained
50-60 gm. black cardamom seeds, coarsely ground
60 gm. whole Panch Pooran
200 gm. coarsely ground red chillies
100 gm. coarsely ground black pepper
60 gm. fennel or sonf seeds, coarsely ground
25 gm. cloves, coarsely ground or pounded
25 gm. whole cumin seeds
10 gm cumin powder
25 gm. black cumin seeds
1 tsp. mace powder
1/4 of nutmeg, freshly grated
15 gm. asafetida or hing powder
15 gm. cinnamon powder

Instructions
1.    Coarsely grind urad dal in a coffee grinder.
2.    Soak in enough water to cover 1/2 inch above the dal and leave for a couple of hours. It will absorb water and become like a thick batter.
3.    Make a shallow well in the centre, by lifting out 1/2 a cup of the mix. Add asafoetida powder in the well and cover with the 1/2 cup of mix you had removed to make the well.
4.    Leave overnight in a warm place, to let it rise a little.
5.    Clean, wash and chop petha or cauliflower, grate and squeeze all water out. Keep aside.
6.    Grind ginger, green chillies and coriander leaves, all together, in a food processor.
7.    Measure all spices into the bowl with the dal.
8.    Mix all ingredients with the dal and beat vigorously. You may need to add a little water if it is too stiff. It needs to be of a stiff, dropping consistency. If you put a blob of this mix in a jug or glass of water, it should float to the surface due to trapped air. This trapped air is responsible for making the baries light.
9.    Spread a clean cloth on a clean surface, like a tray in the sun. This amount needs 2 trays. You can use trays lightly greased with oil.
10.    Place(drop) small blobs of about 1 inch diameter, like pakoras, onto the cloth.
11.    Leave them in the hot sun, until bone dry (very dry). Store in airtight containers or plastic bags. Freezer is good, if you have a large one.

Pani Puri -Indian Cooking Challenge

2010-06-16T04:25:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends
Finally I could able to post for this month's
ICC after missing out the last month mouth
watering Rasmalai.
The most happiest news is Harish has
got 453 marks in his school exams.After
his board exams we had a short vacation.
Then the whole month of May was tiring as
we had a renovation work at our home.So finally
settled down with new kitchen.

This month ICC is a popular chat..I used to
make this using Lathamma's recipe which is
a pool proof.

PaniPuri

For making Puri

Rava(Semolina ) 1/2 cup
Maida ( Plain Refined Flour) 1/2 tbsp.
Cooking Soda 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil for Frying

For Spicy Water
Chopped Mint Leaves 1 1/2 cups
Chopped Coriander Leaves 1 tbsp.
Tamarind 1/3 cup
Ginger 1"
Green Chillies 4 to 5
Ground Cumin Seed (roasted) 1 tsp.
Kala Namak (Black Salt ) 1 1/2 tsp.
Salt to taste

For Filling

Potato Filling

1. Boiled Potato, finely chopped /mashed and mixed with salt and red chilli.

Lentil Filling
Cooked Channa or Peas - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Chili powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder
Garam masala powder 1/4 tsp

Cook the channa or peas till tender. Then drain and cook with the masala till aroma comes out.

For Red Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind 1 cup
Jaggery 1/2 cup
Sugar 2 tbsp.
Red chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Dry Roasted cumin powder 1 tsp
Kali Mirch (Black pepper) powder 1/4 tsp.
Cloves 2
Warm water 2 cups
Oil 1 tsp.
Salt to taste

Method to prepare:
For Puri:

In a bowl take semolina, plain flour, Cooking Soda, salt, 2 tablespoons of oil and knead well to make a stiff dough, leave it bit stiffer than normal.

Cover it with a wet muslin cloth and let it rest for 15 mins.

Then pinch out very small balls and roll them into small circles.

Put the rolled out circles back under the muslin cloth while you are rolling the rest and before they can be fried.

Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan, deep fry the puris

The idea is to puff them and fry them till golden brown.

Take them out and put them on kitchen paper towel, to get rid of the extra oil.

Notes: Allow the puris to cool before storing them in an airtight container. Else they will become soggy.

For making spicy water or Pani

Extract pulp from the tamarind

Add mint leaves, coriander, ginger, chillies and dry roasted cumin seed to the tamarind pulp. Add little water and blend to a smooth paste.

Add salt and black rock salt to taste.

Put it in the fridge to cool down.

Add water as required.

How to make Red Tamarind Chutney

Extract the pulp from tamarind.

In a pan dry roast the cumin seeds and the cloves. Pound them into coarse powder.

To the tamarind pulp add jaggery, sugar, red chilli powder, black pepper powder, roasted cumin powder, cloves and salt.

Put the mixture in a pan and heat for 5 minutes on medium heat.

Remove from heat and let it cool down.

This will tend to thicken up, so add warm water if it becomes too thick.

Once it cools, blend the contents in a blender to a smooth paste.

Assembling the Pani Puri

Poke a small hole in the center of the Puri

Add a tsp of mashed boiled potato / Channa in the middle of the puri. Add a little of the red tamarind Chutney. Dip it in the spicy water / pour some spicy water in it..

Sago / Javvarisi Murukku - Indian Cooking Challenge

2010-04-17T04:39:00.002-05:00

This month ICC month was quiet difficult for me.It sounds
very easy while reading..The sago I got here was the total
culprit..Even after 3 hrs it didnot get soft..The result
was little explosives murukku and moreover the holes
in my murukku achu are so tiny.So it was too hard to press
the dough..But we like the taste of murukku as it is much
different from the regular ones..I will be making this often
of course wih good sago

Ingredients

Rice Flour 2 cups

Besan flour 1/2 cup

Fried gram flour - 1/2 cup

Sago - 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Curd - 50 gms

Chile powder - 1/2 tsp or as per taste

Method to prepare

Soak Sago in Butter milk for 3 hrs, please ensure that you soak it enough else you may risk having the sago burst.

Mix all the flour together, heat 50 gms oil, mix to the flour along with salt and chili powder. Then add the buttermilk soaked sago slowly and knead to a chapati dough consistency

Heat oil for deep frying.In the muruku achu, add the dough. When the oil is hot, press down directly as as murukus.

Cook on medium flame to ensure the muruku is cooked well.

Athirasam for Indian Cooking Challenge

2010-03-15T04:55:00.000-05:00

I like to thank all my friends for wishing Harish
for his exams.The practical exams ends out very
smoothly.Ofcourse the real testing is shecduled from
next tuesday.Ok..

This month's ICC Athirasam is a bit easy for me.I

used to make this atleast once a month as Athirasam

is one of Harish's fav sweet.My neighbour used to say

those who are making perfect athirasams should be

given golden bangle.A little bit of error in the rice flour

and jaggery totally make athirasam collapsible.

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 200 gms

Paku Jaggary - 250 gms

Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp or less

Gasa gasa or Poppy Seeds - 1/4 tsp

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Method to prepare.

Soak rice for 6 hrs and then shade dry it. Meaning it should not become dry but should still have some wetness in the rice. You can either grind this to fine powder using your mixie or give to mill. The rice flour should have that texture of soft and wet feeling when you take a handful and also it should kind of retain your fist shape. Hope you understand what I am saying. This is very important because if the flour is very dry it wouldn't turn out well.

Have all the things ready when you put the jaggary for cooking.

Take water that is enough to dilute jaggary. Dissolve the jaggary. Remove any impurities that may be present. Then again cook till the pakam is ready. The consistency here is also very important. Hope you know that pakam is calculated as threads.

This is how we check the thread consistency, when the jaggary starts boiling and becomes thick, carefully take a small bit and touch it between your thumb and Index fingers. A thread will be formed when you take your fingers away from each other.

Likewise when the syrup becomes thick, you can find 3 threads being formed. So after 3 thread consistency the jaggary is really cooked well and it become thick. When you take a bit and put it in water, you should be able to make a ball of it. This is when you know the pakkam is ready.

Remove from fire, and add poppy seeds, sesame seeds and cardamom. Mix well. Then slowly add the rice flour and keep mixing well. The consistency is very important, so you need to add the flour little by little. Mix till you get a chapati dough consistency. End of this, you may still have some flour left out.

Divide into lemon size balls. Grease a plastic sheet and your fingers. Place the ball on the sheet, and pat it down to a poori size.

Heat oil for frying and slowly drop these discs into the hot oil. You can simmer for a while until you know the inside is cooked. Turn to the other side and cook till its golden in colour. If you are cooking alone, you can roll out one by one and cook. Else it might get burnt. Once done, remove and drain on a Kitchen towel.

Moong Dal Kachoris - Indian Cooking challenge

2010-02-15T00:48:00.002-06:00

Hello Friends
Wishing you all Happy Valentines Day.
It is really hard for me to sit before the comp
as Harish's Board exams are nearing..Next week
he has practical examinations..

This month's ICC is quiet interesting as I never had
a chance to eat this in my place..I have tasted this
while ago at my friends place before shifting to India..
I made moong dal filling . Next time I would try this

with green peas since kids didnt love the moongdal.

Kachoris

Adapated from Medhaa's Aunty and Tarla Dalal

Resting Time for the Dough is app 1/2 hr - 1 hr

Frying time for the Kachoris - 20 mins for each batch app.

Soaking Time for the Filling is app. 1 hr

Cooking Time for the Filling is app 15 mins

Yields - 15

For the Dough

Ingredients Needed:

All purpose flour / Maida - 2 cups

Oil/ Ghee - 1/4 cup ,

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Water for kneading

Method

mix the flour and salt, Add the oil/ghee and mix till you get a bread crumbs texture.

Slowly add water and make a soft dough. Knead well for about 8 minutes.

Cover and keep aside to rest for atleast half hour.

Special Tips / Notes for the dough:

Keep the dough covered at all times, if not it will dry up and not puff up when frying. If the dough is made right wet cloth can be used if not just a towel.

The dough could spring back for many reasons:

Dough is too cold (If wet cloth is used)

Dough is not soft enough.

Not kneaded for enough time.

Oil is less.

Not rested enough.

Fillings

Khasta Kachori - Moong Dal Kachori

Ingredients Needed:

Split Moong Dal (yellow) - 1/2 cup

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida - a pinch

Curry Leaves - 2 tsp chopped fine (opt)

Green Chilli - Ginger paste - 1 tsp

Sauf / Fennel seeds powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Red Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Mango powder / Amchur - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Salt to taste

Method

1. Wask and Soak dal in water for atleast 1 hour. You can go upto 4 hours not more.

2. Drain the water well.

3. Grind the dal to a coarsely. (Will resemble Idli Rawa)

4. Heat oil in a pan.

5. Add the hing and cumin seeds.

6. Once the seeds splutter add the curry leaves.

7. Add the dal.

8. Lower the heat and keep stirring for 5 minutes till the dal stops sticking to the pan.

9. Cook for another 10 minutes on low till the dal turns slightly brown.

10. Add all the masalas.

11. Cook for few minutes till the aroma of the spices hit you.

12. Add Salt.

13. Remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

Special Tips / Notes for the filling:

The fillings have to be really dry if not when rolling they will ooze out when rolling.

Adjust the masalas according to your taste. What is given in this recipe is spicy to the extent one can still enjoy.

For idea on pressing the filled kachori, check out Manjula's method. If you try to press out using a rolling pin, the filling may come out and make holes in the kachori.

Fry the kachori's on medium low to get a crisp outer layer, that is the key. For people using electric stove, the numbers can be going from 6 to 4.

Muttar Ki Kachori from Tarla Dalal:

For green pea filling

2 cups green peas

1 teaspoon green chillies, chopped

1 teaspoon ginger, grated

1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)

2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

4 tablespoons chopped coriander

2 tablespoons oil

salt

For the green pea filling

Corarsely grind the green peas,green chillies and ginger in a blender without using any water. Keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan,add the nigella seeds,fennel seeds,bay leaves and ground green pea mixture and saute over a very slow flame for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the chilli powder,garam masala,coriander and salt and saute for 2 more minutes. Remove the bay leavess and discard. Divide into 12 equal portions.

Pyaz Ki Kachori

For the onion filling

2 cups onions, finely chopped

1 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)

2 teaspoons fennel seeds (saunf)

2 bay leaves

1½ teaspoons green chillies, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Bengal gram flour (besan)

2 teaspoons coriander (dhania) powder

2 teaspoons chilli powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

3 tablespoons chopped coriander

2 tablespoons oil

salt to taste

To make the onion filling

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the nigella seeds, fennel seeds, bay leaves, green chillies and onions and sauté till the onions turn light brown in colour.

Add the gram flour, coriander powder, chilli powder, garam masala and salt and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the chopped coriander and mix well. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Allow the mixture to cool completely.

Divide into 12 equal portions and keep aside.

To Make Kachori's

Make a small ball from the dough. Roll out into a 2 inch diameter circle. Or flatten the ball using your fingers having the center thick and sides little thin.

Place about 1.5 tsp of the filling in the center of the rolled dough.

Cover the filling with the dough by slowly stretching it over the filling. Seal the ends and remove excess dough. Repeat with all the balls and keep aside for 5 -7 mins.

Then using your palm, flatten the balls by lightly pressing it, as using the rolling pin will make the filling come out. (See notes below). Keep aside covered. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Meanwhile heat some oil for deep frying. The oil should not become smoking hot. Test to see if the temperature is right by dropping a tiny ball of dough and see if it is rising slowly to the top.

Drop the kachoris in batches of 3-4 gently into the oil. It should rise up slowly. If you don't want to use lot of oil, use just enough for two or three at a time and fry them.

After it rises up (about 2 minutes), turn it over.

Cook for about 6 to 10 minutes till the side down gets a golden brown color.

Turn and cook the other side for another 6 minutes or till its golden brown in color.

Remove when done, cool and store in airtight container.

Serve with coriander chutney and tamarind chutney

Special Tips / Notes for making the Kachoris:

You can fry 3 kachori's at a time.

The oil should be at a heat when you drop some dough it should come up slowly, if the dough comes up too fast the oil is too hot, if it does not come up then the oil is cold.

It will not be crisp if the oil is too hot.

ICC Moong Dal Halwa and Ring of Fire at my Porch

2010-01-09T22:28:00.009-06:00

Wishing all my readers a belated Happy

New year and Pongal.

This month ICC is quiet a challenge for me.I have never

made Moong Dal Halwa..I got lot of lumps even cooking

in a low flame. So I just had to remove the kadai from

the fire and break down all the lumps using the potato

masher..and again on the heat..My hands ached seriously

since I was down with Chikungunya for about a month.

Moong Dal Halwa

Ingredients

Split (Yellow) Moong dhal - 1 cup Ghee - 1/2 cup Sugar - 3/4 cups to 1 cup (as per required sweetness) Milk - 1/2 cup Cashews/ raisins roasted in ghee for garnish. Method to Prepare: Soak 1 cup moong dal overnight. Next morning, grind to a paste. Heat a heavy Kadai, take initially only 1/2 of the ghee and heat it. Add the dhal and stir continuously, not allowing lumps to form. This part is very tricky as the dhal cooks really fast, irrespective of the ghee. Keep the heat at the lowest and keep stirring even after the dhal becomes thick. Add the rest of the ghee intermittently and cook the dhal until aromatic and the ghee starts oozing out. Meanwhile mix the sugar with water/ milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Add this slowly to the cooking dhal. Keep the fire low at all times and break lumps if formed while adding the sugar and water/ milk mix. Cook until the ghee surfaces. Garnish with cashews and raisins.

Yesterday people of south Tamilnadu had

a complete view of Ring of Fire Eclipse.

The complete ring appeared for for 5 minutes.

Mom called me during the eclipse and told

that they could see the ring in their porch.

The sun is reflected and we could see the

shadow of Ring of Fire at my porch..It is a

wonderful experience..

Chegodilu/ Ring murukku for ICC

2009-12-15T18:17:00.006-06:00

Hello friends , This month Challenge in ICC is Chegodillu or Ring murukku as we call in Tamil. This crunchy snack is my wish list for a long time. Thanks a lot Srivalli for making us do the challenges. Ingredients Rice flour - 3/4 cup All purpose flour/ Maida - 1/4 cup Ghee - 2 tbsp Ajwain - 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp Turmeric really a pinch Salt as per taste Oil to deep fry Method Boil 1 cup water in a bowl, add salt to it. When the water starts boiling, remove from stove, add ajwain, red chilli powder, turmeric and flours. Stir with a ladle to make sure it is mixed well. Pour ghee on it and cover. Once it cools, knead it to form smooth dough. Pinch out small balls of dough and roll them like threads between your palm, bring the ends together to form into small rings Fry them in hot oil til they turn golden in colour.

Gulab Jamun - Indian Cooking Challenge

2009-11-15T18:42:00.011-06:00

It has been habit for me on taking excuses for my disappearance from the blogosphere for a quiet a long time..This time Son has fractured his middle fingers while playing in the playground.. Nandhu is making fun of her brother as she is seeing her mom feeding , changing the dress and taking care as a baby.. Coming to Jamuns for this month ICC ...Amma used to make Jamuns only with the Kova..But we never made Kova at home..With Kova city ( Srivilliputhur) is so near to my moms place Its so easy to get the fresh and soft Kova. I made Lathamma's version.. I made small changes..I reduced the amount of maida to 1/2 cup. Ingredients * Khova – 11/2 cups/ 1 recipe * Maida – 1 cup * Sugar – 3 cups (if you want excess syrup i.e floating jamuns increase by a cup) * Water – 1 cup (increase if you’re increasing sugar) * Cooking Soda – 3 pinches * Cardamom – 4 pods * Saffron leaves – a few * Oil – 1 cup (for deep frying) Method 1. Combine sugar and water in a flat bottomed broad pan and simmer on a low heat until sugar dissolves. Add cardamom powder and saffron leaves and remove from fire. 2. Knead khova, maida and soda and quickly shape into balls. 3. Heat oil on a meidum flame. Fry the jamuns till golden brown over a low to medium flame, keeping oil temperature uniform. Oil should not smoke. 4. Drain the jamuns and soak in the warm sugar syrup. Serve the jamuns after half an hour. Tips: * You will achieve correct consistency for jamun syrup when 3 cups of sugar dissolves 1 cup water over low heat. * Only when the syrup is ready, mix the jamun dough. Since the dough has soda, if its kept aside the jamuns will disperse while frying and will not hold well. * Right temperature of oil of utmost importance to get soft jamuns. * Never refridgerate jamuns. Jamuns when refrigerated will shrink and become hard. Jamuns will stay fresh for 4 days when stored in air tight containers. * If you like you can add two drops of rose essence to the syrup to make it Gulab jamun. Check out my other two versions of Jamuns.

Maa Inji ( Mango ginger ) Thokku

2009-10-28T23:57:00.010-05:00

Mango ginger is botanically neither related to Mango nor ginger family. but Turmeric.The Rhizomes are pale yellow inside with lighter color outside having the sweet s,ell of unripe mango when crushed. After making pickles I have few of Maa Inji pieces left over. So made a thokku with this flavorful ginger. Ingredients Maa Ingi - 100 gms Tamarind paste - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1 tblsp Salt to taste Mustard - 1/2 tsp Gingely oil - 2 tblsp Hing - a pinch Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp Method

Remove the skin of Maa inji and wash thoroughly and allow it to dry.
Cut into small pieces and grind it to a coarse paste.
Heat oil in a kadai.Add mustard , hing and grinded ginger.
Saute it well.
Add chilli powder , tamarind salt and saute till the oil oozes out.
In the end add Fenugreek powder.

It tastes great with Thayir sadam and Idlis and Dosas too

Diwali Sweets and Savories - Thattai and Adhirasam

2009-10-20T05:35:00.000-05:00

I wish all my friends ,readers a belated diwali. Thought of posting this before Diwali itself. Nandhu was asking for Adhirasam and her favorite Boondi Laddu . So I reserved this for this Diwali. I got this thatti recipe from my neighbour.Her Thattai is so hot of so much of red chiili powder combined with lots of whole pepper.I reduced this for our taste buds. Thattai Ingredients Raw flour - 4 cups Urad dal flour - 1/2 cup Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Hing - 1/2 tsp Crushed pepper - 1/2 tsp Salt - 1 tsp Chopped curry leaves - 2 tblsp Channa dal - 2 tblsp Oil to fry Method

Soak Channa dal in 1/2 cup of water for 15 min.
Dry roast urad dal in a medium flame till nice aroma comes out .
Powder this in a mixie once the dal cools down and sieve it.
Drain the water from the channa dal.
Combine rice flour and all the other ingredients and using little water at a time make a soft dough.The dough should not crack.
Take a white cloth or dhoti . Take a small size of dough and flatten it in a white cloth using middle three fingers to a small discs.if it is sticky apply oil in your hands.
Heat oil in a kadai . Once it is hot drop the discs one by one.
Flatten the discs with the back of the slotted spoon to prevent the thattai from puffing up.
Remove from the fire after the oil sound stops.
Drain in the paper towel.

Adhirasam Ingredients Raw rice - 1 cup Jaggery - 1 cup poppy seeds - 1 tblsp Oil to fry Method

Soak the rice with enough water for 1 hr.
Drain the water and shade dry the rice for 30 min.
The rice should be still wet when grinding in a mixie.
In a kadai add jaggery and 1/4 cup of water.
When the jaggery melts strain the impurities using the white cloth.
Keep again over the heat and make the syrup.
Drop the syrup in the small bowl of water to check the consistency.You should make a soft ball of jaggery.
Remove from fire and add immediately to the wet rice flour. Add poppy seeds. Mix well to get a soft dough.
You can make this dough ahead and keep in the refrigerator or make adhirasams immediately too.
Heat oil in a kadai . Take a plastic sheet. Take a 3 " inch ball from the dough and flatten it into small discs . Remove carefully from the sheet and slide in the oil.
Turn slowly and remove from the fire when both sides become light brown.
If you want a crispier adhirasams press it in between two plates and remove the excess oil.
Drain in the paper towel.

Murukku - Indian Cooking challenge

2009-09-30T04:50:00.003-05:00

The last month was so busy with kids Term Exams.

Blogging takes a back seat now though I have tried

few new recipes.

Murukku is one of the favorite snack at my home.

Hubby likes the urad dal murrukku more than

Amma's pottukadalai (Dalia Split) Murrukku.

Ingredients Needed: Raw Rice - 4 cups Urad Dal - 1 cup Water - app 1/2 cup or more For Seasoning Cumin seeds - 1 tsp Sesame seeds- 1 tsp Asafetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp Salt to taste Butter - 75 gms

Method to prepare: Wash and drain the rice. Shade dry the Rice for 1/2 hr. Dry roast the Urad dal to light brown. Allow it to cool. If you are using more quantity, you can get it ground in rice mil, else use your mixie to grind both Rice and Urad dal. First grind rice into a fine flour, keep it aside. then grind the urad dal to fine powder. In a wide vessel, take both the flours along with salt. Mix well. Add cumin, Sesame seeds to the flour, mix well. Whether you use Asafetida powder or the solid ones, you got to mix it in water, make sure it is dissolved before adding to the flour. If its not dissolved properly, when deep frying the muruku, there are chances for the hing to burst our due to air bubbles. Mix in the hing to the flour and finally add the butter. Gather everything well and you will get more of a crumbling mixture. Now slowly add water and knead a dough which is little more softer than the puri dough. Heat a kadai with oil enough to deep fry. Once the oil is hot enough, simmer to low flame. Take the Muruku Aachu, wash and wipe it clean. Then divide the dough into equal balls. Fill the Muruku maker with the dough. You can either press it directly over the flames or press over a paper and gently slide it down the hot oil. But since the quantity mentioned here is less, you can press it directly over the kadai. Cook over medium flame, using a slotted spoon, turn it over to other side to ensure both sides turn golden colour. Thank you so much Valli for making us to face lot of challenges. I am looking forward for the next month Challenge.

Modaks,Sesame Ladoos-ICC Festive Special

2009-08-30T22:52:00.011-05:00

Hello Friends , after a long blog hiatus I am back.It has been really tough to get

the kids adjusted to the hot and humid conditions and more specially the schools.

Though it is almost 4 months Nandhu is still missing her school back there. Life is more hectic as Harish is in the board exam .

I missed out the first two months ICC challenge.I made Modak and sesame ladoos. We use to have sugar and coconut pooran for the modak.So want to try this out. The sesame ladoos I never make at home.Both of them came out delicious. Hubby liked the sesame ladoos.

Modak\ Stuffing - 2 cups freshly grated coconut (can use frozen unsweetened coconut) 1 cup jaggery (grated) 1 tbsp poppy seeds 1 tsp cardamom powder one pinch nutmeg (optional) 2 tbsp water (mom uses milk) Cover - 1 cup rice flour 1.25 cup water pinch of salt 1 tbsp oil Preparation for Stuffing - Roast poppy seeds in a small skillet and let it cool down. Grind it coarsely and keep it aside. In a heavy bottom kadhai mix all the ingredients for stuffing except poppy seed powder and let it sit for 15 min. Now start heating the mixture over medium heat. In about 10-12 minutes, the mixture starts boiling and stuffing will turn yellowish brown and will be sticky. Take the kadhai off the heat, add poppy seeds powder and mix well. Set it aside to cool down. Preparation for cover - Take vessel that has tight fitting cover. Start boiling water in that vessel, add salt and oil. When water starts boiling, lower the heat and slowely add rice flour. Please do now dump everything at once. Start mixing vigourously with a heavy spoon. Now close the lid and take the pot off the heat. Let the covered pot cool down for 15 minutes or so. Then with wet hands, mix the dough properly. It will warm so be careful and use cold water to keep your hands from burning but do not use too much water. if you think the dough is little sticky, I will suggest add 1-2 tbsp maida to it and make the dough. Making Modak (Final Product) - Start boiling water in a large vessel that can fit a steamer. I use a stainless steel steamer that fits on a pressure cooker and water doesnt touch the steamer and use stainless steel plate to cover it. Oil the steamer and set it aside.

Make about 20 balls of the dough and 20 parts of the stuffing. Start making small puri with the dough ball on a oiled paper/aluminum foil. Keep one part of stuffing in the middle of the puri and gather the puri gently to make shape like modak. You will have to handle the dough very gently. Follow the step to make remaining modaks. Now dip each modak in cold water and put it in the steamer. Put the steamer on boiling water and cover it. Let the modaks steam for 20 minutes on medium to high heat. Take the steamer off the vessel and let it sit for 5 minutes before removing moodak from steamer.

Nugul-untallu (Sesame Laddo0)

Dry roast them in a tawa and let them cool. Once they are cool, take about 2 - 3tbsp of grated or powdered jaggary and run in a mixie. The amount of jaggary normally depends on the formation of laddoo. When you make a laddoo, it should stay in shape. Then you know the amount is enough. Also it depends on the fineness of the sesame powder. When you run in mixie, it becomes little oily which will help in holding the laddo shape.

Masala Peanuts , Milagu Rasam and a Long Break

2009-03-19T10:15:00.001-05:00

Hello Friends...I am taking a long break after this post as We have planned to move back to India next month.. Life is so busy for the last couple of months and finally we are packing everything..And kids are more excited to see their Grand parents , aunts and cousins after a long time..

I just want to contribute to blogger friends Divya and Priya before the hiatus.. Pepper is a common and everyday spice in the Indian kitchen..I like the combi of Milagu rasam and hot rice..For Milagu rasam I make freshly grounded masala which gives special aroma to the rasam.

Ingredients

Tamarind - 1 tsp Tomato - 1 Whole Pepper - 1 tsp WHole Jeera - 1 tsp Toor Dal - 1 tsp Hing - a pinch Mustard - 1/2 tsp Curry leaves - few Coriander leaves - chopped - 1 tbslp Red chillies - 2 Garlic minced - 2 Methi seeds - 1/4 tsp OIl - 1 tsp Salt to taste Method

Grind whole pepper , jeera and toor dal into a coarse powder.
Chop the tomatoes into small pieces or give a 1 min run in a mixer.
In bowl mix tomato , tamarind paste and 2 cups of water. Combine well.
Take oil in a kadai.Add mustard , methi , crushed red chillies hing and curry leaves.
When it starts splutter add the powder and the Tomato - Tamarind liquid.
Add the minced garlic too.When the rasam starts boiling add the coriander leaves and remove from the stove and add salt.
Serve with hot rice.

And this is off to Divya's Think Spice - Pepper started by Sunita Masala Peanuts

Ingredients

Peanuts - 1 cup

Besan flour - 1/4 cup

Rice flour - 2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Minced Garlic - 1

Hing - a pinch

Salt to taste

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Method

Mix everything together with a tsp of water.
Add water just to bind everything together..
In a MW plate spread the masala peanuts and MW high for 4 min.
Mix in between.

This is a quick and easy snack for the kids and surprise guests.

I am sending this to Priyas's MEC savoury snacks started by Srivalli.

Wish you all a Happy Ugadi , Tamil Puthandu.See you all with

Amma's yummy recipes..

Happy Anniversary

2009-03-12T12:07:00.002-05:00

Happy Anniversary..I published my first post after lot of No's and confusions the same day last year..Since I was a novice in computers I was little bit reluctant to start a blog amidst full of talented and innovative bloggers.. But once I started I slowly get confidence and of course I know its all of you blogger friends continuous support and your valuable comments...I am so happy that I could reach the first year though my baby is facing a lull for a couple of months..This will continue for some more time as I have some personal affairs to do. A special thanks to Harish who helps me technically whenever I need..A big hug to my sweet Nandhu who loves all my food and my first critic too..Not to forget hubby for he has tasted all my experimented food though till now he never knows my URL.. And finally all my blogger friends U all made my day..Thank you so much for your continuous support..Will come up with more recipes next week..Have a grt weekend!!!

Falooda

2009-03-10T10:18:00.002-05:00

Falooda is a popular beverage in Indian subcontinent

by mixing the rose syrup , sev, Milk and Ice cream..This

summer drink was brought to India by Mughal kings..

It is very easy to make when you have everything at hand.

Ingredients

Falooda sev - One handful

Basil seeds ( Takmaria seeds ) - 2 tsp

Rose syrup - 1 tblsp or ( Rooh Afsah)

Cold milk - 2 cups

Vanilla Ice cream - 1 scoop

Crushed Pistachios - 1 tblsp

Method

Boil 2 cups of water . Add falooda sev and cook till it is done.
Drain the water completely and add cold water to the sev.
Soak basil seeds in water for 1/2 hour .
Take a tall glass . Drop cooled sev and basil seeds.
Add the rose syrup . Slowly pour the milk over this.
Add a scoop of Vanilla icecream on top .
Garnish with crushed pistachios.

I am sending this to Priya FIC Pink started by Harini .

Chicken - 65

2009-03-03T08:14:00.001-06:00

Chicken - 65 is a great appetizer and is loved by

people of all ages..Usually the marinated chicken

is deep fried in the oil but I grill the chicken

using bamboo skewers..Here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Boneless chicken - 1/4 kg

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp

Garam masala - 1/2 tsp

Corn flour - 2 tblsp

Egg - 1

Yoghurt - 2 tbslp

Food color - a pinch

Salt - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Oil or Ghee - 1 tsp

Method

Soak the skewers in water for 1/2 hr.
Cut the chicken into 2 " cubes.
Whisk the eggs . Add cornflour and yoghurt and mix well.
Now mix all the ground masalas with salt and chicken.
Add lemon juice and refrigerate the chicken for 1 hr.
Preheat the oven to 400 F for 15 min.
Arrange the chicken in the skewer and brush with some oil.
Keep the skewers in the lowest rack.
Turn the skewers other side after 15 min.
Brush it with remaining oil.
Cook until the chicken turns crispy.The total cooking time will be around 30 - 40 min.

Baked Spicy Potatoes

2009-02-26T10:41:00.002-06:00

As hubby has touched the forties he is more health conscious now and reducing sugar and fatty foods from the daily menu..He likes potato in any form. For the weekend I made this baked potato roast for him.. Ingredients Potato - 4 big Chillie powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala - 1/ 2 tsp Salt to taste Oil - 1 tsp Method

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Line a baking sheet with Parchment or Aluminium foil.
Peel the potatoes and wash it thoroughly.
Cut into 2 " chunks. Pat dry in the towel to remove the moisture.
Sprinkle all the powders and make sure all the pieces are thoroughly coated with the masala.
Apply oil.
Spread evenly in the baking sheet . Bake for 20 min on one side.
Flip the pieces and let the another side cook for 10 min.
Now keep the oven in broil mode and roast it for another 10 min or until golden brown.

I serve the potato roast with Vegetable Briyani and Raita..

Belated Valentine cookies

2009-02-23T11:56:00.000-06:00

Hello friends,It has been long time I did not post anything. I was struck down again by network problems and few other personal works . These cookies I made for the valentines day. I have been little bit successful when trying out new dishes. But I always have a tough time when making sugar cookies and choco chip cookies.Whenever I make these two cookies I end up with mini pancake or uthappam..But this recipe comes out pretty good even in the first attempt. Ingredients Sugar - 1 cup Butter - 10 tblsp Egg - 1 Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp salt - 1/2 tsp All purpose flour - 2 cups

Whisk flour , salt and baking powder together.
Beat sugar and butter in a big bowl for 3 min.
Stir in vanilla.
Fold the dry ingredients in 3 batches.
Divide the dough into two balls and roll into 6 " inch discs.
Cover and refrigerate for 2 hrs.
Arrange the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Pre heat the oven to 350 F.
Roll one disc at a time into 1/8 '' circle .
Cut into desired shapes.
Sprinkle colored sugar.Bake for 9-11 min.
Cool down in a wire rack.

Chicken Roast

2009-02-02T10:38:00.001-06:00

Last week one of my friend pointed out that

my blog lacks non-veg recipes.. Though We

eat non veggies it features very less in my

kitchen as both hubby and my son are not great

eaters.. I made this simple chicken roast

over the weekend and glad I got

a grt feedback at home

Ingredients

For Marination

Chicken cut into big chunks - 1/2 kg

Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chilli powder - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

For dry masala

Coriander seeds - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Whole peppercorns - 1/2 tsp

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon - 1 "

For sauting

Onions - chopped 1

Curry leaves few

Coriander for garnishing

Method

Wash the chicken well and marinate with yogurt , Ginger garlic paste , chilli powder and salt.
Dry roast the whole spices in MW or kadai and grind it to a nice powder.
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai . Add onions and saute well.
Add curry leaves . Now add the marinated chicken .
Cover it with lid and cook in a medium flame for 15 min
Stir in between . When the chicken gets cooked add the dry masala powder.
Mix well and cook again for 15 more minutes or till chicken is crispy.
Garnish with coriander leaves.

Quinoa Upma

2009-01-27T13:59:00.001-06:00

Quinoa - I didnot know about this grain until

before I see Suganya of Tasty Palletes ' Quinoa Upma.

Since it is an excellent source of proteins and all

the amino acids I am now substituting this more

for rice..This upma is a quick B'fast for the lazy mornings..

Ingredients

Quinoa - 1 cup

Onions chopped - 1

Carrots shredded - 1/2 cup

Green chillies slit - 2

Oil - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves few

Salt to taste

Method

Cook the Quinoa in pressure cooker for 2 whistles.
In a kadai heat oil . Add mustard and curry leaves.
When it starts splutters add chopped onions.
Saute well and add shredded carrots.Stir well .
Now add cooked quinoa and mix everything well with salt..

And this is off to MBP Easy Breezy Breakfast.

Adai - Mixed Lentils Pan Cake and Carrot chutney

2009-01-23T14:49:00.001-06:00

Adai is a spicy dosa made with grinded mixed

lentils.. This lentil dosa is not so frequent at our

place since Appa does not like this..I got this

recipe from my old cook book..

Ingredients

Urad dal - 1 cup

Moong dal ( yellow ) - 1 cup

Bengal Gram dal - 1 cup

Rice - 1/2 cup

Hing - 1/4 tsp

Green chillies - 3

Coriander and curry leaves - chopped

Salt to taste

Method

Soak all the dals and rice together for 3 hrs.
Grind it to a coarse batter with salt and hing.
The original recipe calls for adding chopped green chillies , coriander and curry leaves.
I girnd it together with the dal since the kids don't like munch .
Heat a tawa . Take ladle ful of batter and pour into the center of the tawa.
Then spread into a round shape.
Add oil or ghee.When one side is cooked flip the adai . Allow it to cook.
Serve with any side dish.

Carrot chutney

Ingredients

Carrots shredded - 1 cup

Onions - chopped 1

Coconut - 3 tblsp

Green chillies - 3

Ginger - 1 ' piece

Garlic - 1 pod

Salt

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Oil

Mustard and urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves chopped - 1 tblsp

Method

Heat 1/2 tsp in a kadai. Add shredded carrots and saute well.
Then add onions , coconut , chillies , ginger , garlic and turmeric .Saute well till no moisture.
Allow it to cool down and grind it to a smooth paste.
Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a small pan.Add mustard and urad dal .
Once it splutters add curry leaves and add to the chutney.

And this is off to Srivalli's My Legume Affair started by Susan. and to Ramya's Chutney/ Dip Mania. Have a grt weekend!!!

I'm back with a Party Cake

2009-01-20T12:45:00.000-06:00

My belated Pongal wishes to my dear readers and

friends..With the old computer still infected I got

a new one which was delivered few days back only..

But the frigid weather gave the kids a long weekend

and made me busy.And finally today I could sit

back with a party cake which I made for the New year

Party at our home..

I made this cake from Dorie Greenspans Baking - a great

book for baking. The pics are not that appealing , It was

taken in a hurry..But the taste was heavenly..

Ingredients

For the cake

All purpose flour - 1 1/3 cup

Unssweetened cocoa powder - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - 3/4 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Unsalted butter - 10 tblsp

Brown sugar - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Eggs - 3

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Bitter sweet chocolate - 2 ounces ( melted and cooled)

Butter milk or whole milk - 1/2 cup

Boiling water - 1/2 cup

Mini chocolate chips - 2/3 cup ( I omit this )

For Frosting

Egg whites - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1 cup

Cream of tartar - 3/4 tsp

Water - 1 cup

Vanilla extract - 1 tblsp

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 F.Butter and dust two 8 " round pans.
Sift together flour , cocoa , baking soda , baking powder and salt.
Beat butter and sugar in a medium speed for 3 min or until soft and creamy.
Add eggs one by one beating for 1 min after each addition.
Beat in vanilla . Add the melted chocolate.
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the butter milk.
On low speed mix in the boiling water and stir in the choco chips if you use.
Divide the batter evenly in two pans .Bake for 25 - 30 min.
Cool the pan in the wire racks .When the cake reaches the room temperature slice each layer horizontally in haf .
Set 3 layers aside and crumble the fourth layer.

For frosting

Put the sugar , cream of tartar and water in a small sauce pan . Bring the mixture to boil over medium heat , cover the pan and boil for 3 min. The syrup should reach 242 F or soft ball consistency.
While the syrup is cooking start beating the egg whites.When it reaches the shiny peaks slowly pour the hot syrup over the egg mixture.
Add vanilla extract and keep beating until it reaches room temperature .
The result will be smooth , shiny frosting.

To Assemble the cake

Put a bottom layer cut side up . Cover the layer generously with frosting.
Top with second layer , cut side up and frost it . Finish with the third layer cut side down and frost the sides and top of the cake.
Cover the entire cake with chocolate cake crumbs, gently pressing the cake into the filling with fingers.
Refrigerate the cake for about 1 hour before serving.

It sounds like a lengthy process but when you have

all things around it is not all difficult . I prefer this cake because

we need not worry about uneven , smooth and neeat frosting. All my flaws

are covered entirely by the crumbs.

Happy New Year and a Break

2008-12-29T14:33:00.002-06:00

It has been a long time I couldnot blog..All our holiday spirits and moods were spoiled due to the sudden virus attack in our computer...I couldnot even open the computer and feared of loosing all the sweet memories of my kids pictures and delicious bookmarked recipes..But I finally could able to retrieve all the datas..Still I have some problem with virus..Missing the blogging world very much.. Wishing you all a very Happy New year.. See you all Next year..

Butter Cookies

2008-12-15T14:05:00.001-06:00

Suddenly the weather has changed and it has been

so cold in the Midwest . Kids preferred to stay inside

and I make them by helping me in making this delicious

butter cookies..They love to add more details to the

cookies..Here is the basic butter cookies which can be

tweaked to any type..orange , lemon , chocolate.....

Ingredients

All purpose flour - 2 cups

Butter - 1 1/2 sticks

Sugar - 1 cup

Egg - 1

Vanilla essence - 1/2 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Method

Whisk together flour , baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
Beat butter and sugar for 6 min.
Beat in egg and vanilla.
Then add flour mixture and mix until just combned.
Form dough into a 6 inch disc and cover it in a plastic wrap.
Chill the dough in the refrigerator until 4 hrs or until firm.
Preheat oven to 375 F .Roil out the disc into 9 inch round with 1/4 " thick.
Cut into desired shaped using cookie cutters.
Transfer the cookies to the baking sheets and bake for 12- 15 min.
Cool down in the wire rack.Frost the cookies once it cooled down completely.

Decorating Icing

Powdered Sugar - 1 lb

water - 1/3 cup

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Beat everything together . Add more water or lemon juice if it is hard to decorate the cookies

I am sending this to Happy Cooks Home made Christmas Gifts.