Sukanya's musings

A SNEAK PREVIEW

2013-01-27T17:26:00.000+08:00

ALOO DHANIAWALLE (POTATOES INFUSED WITH FRESHLY ROASTED AND GROUND CORIANDER SEEDS)

2012-02-03T11:19:00.001+08:00

ALOO DHANIAWALLE (POTATOES INFUSED WITH FRESHLY ROASTED AND GROUND CORIANDER SEEDS)

Potatoes are an all time favorite with my kids and I like to try new recipes with this vegetable. My friend usually cooks this and sent some for me to sample and I told myself I must try this. I do add coriander powder when I usually make potatoes, but this recipe had loads of freshly roasted and coarsely ground coriander seeds. The aroma was magical and so was the taste. Do try this recipe and enjoy some hot Aloo Dhaniawalle with some hot and fluffy fulkas.

ALOO DHANIAWALLE

Ingredients

Potatoes – 5-6
Green Peas - 1/2 a tea cup (optional)

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Green chilly paste – 1 tsp

Freshly roasted coarse coriander powder – 2 tbsps

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1tsp

Dry mango powder (Amchur) – 1 tsp (optional)

Anardana powder (Pomegranates seed powder)- 1 tsp (optional)

Asafetida – pinch

Oil – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Lemon – ½ a lemon juice (optional)

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnish

Another closeup

Method

Wash, boil and peel the potatoes. Mash them and keep it aside. Don’t mash the potatoes into a paste, just crumble them. If you are not good at mashing well, just dice them into chunky cubes. It works both ways.

Freshly dry roast 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds and coarsely grind them.

In a Kadhai (wok), heat some oil add the cumin seeds, once it starts to fry, add the ginger paste and chilly paste and let it fry well. Keep the gas on sim and then add the freshly roasted coarse coriander powder(1 tbsp), coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala and amchur powder, you can add anardana powder as well(optional, I haven’t used this in my recipe as I didn’t have it at home), asafetida, and salt as per taste, then add the green peas and let it cook for a while after which add the mashed potatoes. Mix well, check for salt, if less, add now and mix. While mixing don’t mash the potato just turn it gently. Ensure the masala is evenly mixed. Let this cook covered for a few minutes.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and the freshly roasted coarse coriander powder(1tbsp). Yopu can squeeze some lemon on top if you like. Mix well and serve hot with Poori/ chappati or hot rice and sambhar/rasam/dal.

A serving for you

PEERKANGAI THOGAYAL (RIDGE GOURD CHUTNEY)

2012-01-31T14:27:00.002+08:00

PEERKANGAI THOGAYAL (RIDGE GOURD CHUTNEY)

Thogyal’s are an integral part of “Tambram”(Tamil Brahmin) cuisine. Life without thogayals would be life without spice for a south indian.

Thogayals add that extra zest to a bland meal, an extra flavor and an extra zing to your palate.

Thogayals are made using different vegetables, but ridge gourd is one of the very popular vegetables added to the conventional thogayal.

Ingredients

Ridge gourd – 1

Skinless split Black gram (Udad dal) - 2 tbsps

Bengal gram (Chana dal) – 1 tbsps

Dried red chillies -2-3

Tamarind – small lemon size

Asafetida (Hing) - ½ tsp

Curry Leaves – 8

Salt as per taste

Method

Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the udad dal, chana dal and the red chillies and roast until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate.

Now add the coconut, salt, curry leaves and asafetida and roast until the coconut is light pink in color and a lovely aroma is emanating, allow this to cool down as well.

Now, run the roasted dal mixture in the dry mill of your blender to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.

Then run the coconut mix and keep aside.

De-skin the ridge gourd (you can add the skin as well provided it’s not very sharp and stringy). Chop the peeled ridge gourd. Meanwhile in the same wok, add some oil, once it’s hot, add the chopped ridge gourd pieces and the ridge gourd skin as well incase you are using and a pinch of salt.

You will notice that the ridge gourd mixture becomes watery, sauté until all the water evaporates. Keep aside.

Once it cools down, run in the blender. Then add this paste with the blended coarse dal and coconut powders.

Check for the salt, if required, add at this stage Run once more in the blender with some water (about 4-5 tablespoonful), this time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough. Just remember, don’t make it a fine powder. The mix should be coarse.

This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine.

If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty.

All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately.

The best way to grind it is always using a stone manual grinder and if not you can achieve the similar taste if you grind in the wet/dry automated grinder which we use nowadays to grind idly/ dosa batter.

GREEN DHOKLA / HARA BHARA DHOKLA

2012-01-06T18:50:00.004+08:00

GREEN DHOKLA / HARA BHARA DHOKLA

Schools have started and so has the daily grind for me with 2 little school going children and it is very important for me to ensure that the children eat a balanced diet which includes vegetables and greens.

I hid some greens (Spinach leaves, dried fenugreek leaves powder and coriander leaves), in my children’s favorite snack “dhokla”, my kids were enticed by the lovely fresh green colored dhoklas and ate them with delight.

I think it’s a nice way to make kids eats vegetables. Do try this steam cooked recipe packed with nutrition

HARA BHARA DHOKLA / GREEN DHOKLA

Ingredients

Besan (gram flour) - 1 cup

Semolina (Rava) - 1 1/2 tablespoons

Spinach leaves (Palak) – 10-12

Kasuri methi powder – ¼ tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Sugar – 1tbsp

Ginger paste - 1 teaspoon

Green chilly paste - 1 teaspoon

Garlic paste – 1 tsp (optional)

Citric Acid (Nimbu ke phool) - 1/2 teaspoon or Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Eno Fruit salt or Soda Bicarb – 1 ½ tsp

For the tempering

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

White Sesame seeds (til) – ½ tsp

Green chillies – 2-3

Curry leaves – A sprig

Asafetida (hing) - a pinch

For the garnish

Freshly grated Coconut – 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves – 3-4 tbsp

A CLOSE UP OF THE HARA BHARA DHOKLA

Method

Rinse the Spinach leaves and 3 tablespoons of coriander leaves in a colander. Make a fine puree of the leaves in a blender without adding water.

In a big bowl add in all the ingredients except the Eno fruit salt and mix well using water to make a thick idli like batter. Let this rest for 10 minutes.

Add in the Eno fruit salt or Soda bicarb, Add little water and mix well.

You will notice that the mixture rises. Don’t wait too long once the batter rises.

When you see that the batter has risen immediately pour it onto a greased thali and steam, else your dholkas won’t turn out puffy and nice.

Remember the batter should’nt rest after adding the fruit salt.

Once the batter is poured into a deep greased plate, steam for about 10 - 15 minutes in a pressure cooker without the whistle or in a steamer.

When it’s done in a pressure cooker, keep it for about 10 minutes after you hear the whooshing sound of steam coming out through the top nozzle.

Once you turn off the gas, let the dhoklas rest for a while. Check with a knife, insert into the cake, if it comes free your dhoklas are done.

If not, steam cook for some more time.

For the tempering, heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds, when the mustard seeds crackle add in the cumin seeds & sesame seeds. Fry 2 -3 whole green chillies with the stalk, Add the curry leaves, Add in some asafetida and pour this over the steamed dhoklas.

Garnish with Finely chopped coriander leaves and some freshly grated coconut.

Cut into pieces and serve with coriander chutney or tamarind and date chutney.

I would like to pack some of my Hara bhara dhoklas to Priya Sreeram’s Fast Food Not Fat Food event.

This event was originally started by Priya Mahadevan

OLAN (ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY)

2011-12-31T11:02:00.001+08:00

I love revisits and I would like to revisit this post of mine posted on the 4th of July 2006. I love this dish, its simple, not too spicy and nutritious. Enjoy this post with new pictures.

OLAN (ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY)

Olan is the one of the simplest dishes of Kerala. I think this dish is very unique to Kerala. The speciality of this dish is it has no spices at all except a little green chillies to add some punch to this otherwise bland dish.

The dish is made with Pumpkins and black eyed beans in coconut milk gravy and the seasoning of curry leaves in coconut oil gives it a totally Kerala feel to the dish.

The dish is extremely nutritious and healthy, it is supposed to be very easy to digest and light on the stomach. This dish is low in calories.

The Brahmins usually eat a lot of Pumpkins as they believe it is good for the brain.

The White Pumpkin is rich in calcium and vitamins B and C and has a high fibre content. The Orange Pumpkin is rich in Vitamins A and B, protein and calcium

The Black eyed Beans (Lobia) though a high calorie food is rich in protein, calcium and vitamins A and B.

Olan is prepared by Kerala Iyers in their weddings, Upanayanam (thread ceremony), for festivals, It could be easily said that no Saddhi (Feast) is said to be complete without the olan.

It is a must try dish, the aroma of the coconut milk and the taste will make u crave for more. Below is the recipe of this “tasty” health food.

OLAN - ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY - A CLOSE-UP

Ingredients
1 cup Black-eyed beans (Lobia or Van Payaru)
1 cup White pumpkin / Ash Gourd (Elavan)
1 cup Orange Pumpkin (Matthan)
3-4 nos. Green chillies (preferably slit)
11/2 cups Coconut milk (refer to tip)
5-6 nos. Curry leaves
1 tablespoon Oil (preferably coconut oil)
Salt

OLAN - ASH GOURD AND BLACK EYED BEANS IN A MILD COCONUT MILK GRAVY

Method
Soak the Black eyed beans overnight. Pressure cook it the next day till 3/4th done. Don’t cook it completely else it will get mashed in the olan.
Remove the skin of the White Pumpkin and Orange Pumpkin (the skin of the orange pumpkin can be retained as it gets cooked, provided the skin is tender, if very tough to cut then please de-skin it) and cut it into small square pieces. The chopping of the vegetables is also very important in Olan. It has to be cut into square pieces only.
Cook the vegetables and the half done black eyed beans with salt and the slit green chillies in a little water. When the pumpkins and the beans are completely cooked (don’t overcook the pumpkins, take in a spoon and see if it is soft, that means it is done, don’t cook it to the level that it gets mashed), To the cooked pumpkins and beans add 1cup coconut milk i.e. your second milk (refer to tip) and boil. When it thickens well, add ¼ cup of your first coconut milk.
Bring this to a boil and remove from fire.
Season it by frying curry leaves in 1tbs coconut oil.
Mix well and serve hot.

Tip : Grate ½ a coconut. Squeeze out 1/4cup of the milk from the coconut without adding water, this is known as the first milk which is very concentrated. Grind in a mixie with little water and take one more cup of milk from the coconut.

Nowadays, we can buy coconut milk in a tetra pack, even the ready coconut milk can be used, but incase of using the ready coconut milk, no need to follow the first and second milk etc. just add the coconut milk as per the measure given and follow the method.

**Olan can be prepared with just one type of pumpkin also, that is either the White Pumpkin or the Orange Pumpkin.

BOTTLE GOURD PARATHA /LAUKI /DOODHI PARATHA/ DHEBRA/THEPLA

2011-12-01T21:51:00.014+08:00

BOTTLE GOURD PARATHA /LAUKI /DOODHI PARATHA/ DHEBRA/THEPLA

Bottle gourd also known as Lauki and doodhi in India is a vegetable that many find tasteless and associate it with food that is usually served during sickness but the high nutrient value of this vegetable makes it an invaluable food in terms of the health benefits it provides and it would be excellent to add this vegetable to your diet.

Bottle Gourd - Image courtesy -Wikipedia

Benefits of eating Bottle gourd

Bottle gourd is a good source of fiber easy to digest and helpful in curing digestion related disorders like constipation, flatulence and piles.

• It is an effective food for weight loss as it is low in fat and cholesterol. It contains around 96% water and provides around 12 Kcal of energy.

• Bottle gourd is also rich in iron and has vitamin B complex and Vitamin C. If you are suffering from bleeding gums or scurvy bottle guard should be included in your diet.

• Bottle gourd is found to be a very healthy food for hypertension patients because it contains only 1.8 mg per 100gm sodium and 87 mg of potassium.

• Since the number of calories in bottle gourd is low, it can be used as a food for low-cal diets as well as for small children, diabetics and convalescents suffering from digestive problems.

• This vegetable has a large quantity of water and contains cooling, calming and diuretic properties.

• Drinking a glass of bottle gourd juice in the morning helps to prevent a heat stroke during summers.

• It also helps in curing the burning sensation in the urinary passage because of its water content.

• Taking a glass of bottle gourd juice in the morning daily can be very helpful for treating graying hair.

• Conditions like diarrhea can be controlled by consuming bottle gourd.

• Bottle gourd juice is helpful to curb hunger pangs in starvation condition.

• A mixture of sesame oil with bottle gourd juice is an effective medicine for the treatment of insomnia condition.

• Bottle gourd is also effective in treating cardiac ailments, alleviating bronchitis, cough, asthma and biligenic ailments

With so many benefits that the humble bottle gourd has, we should be including it in our diet shouldn’t we? One such dish is the Doodhi paratha or Lauki paratha also known as Dhebra in Gujarat, which is so tasty that we won’t be realizing how many parathas we are gobbling and enjoying the inherent qualities of bottle gourd at the same time. So do try this recipe and enjoy it.

Doodhi paratha close up

Ingredients

Wheat flour - 3 cups

Gram flour(Besan) – 1 tbspn

Bottle gourd - 1 (peeled and grated)

Yogurt – 1 tbsp

Ginger – ½ inch

Green chillies - 2-3 (finely chopped)

Red chilli powder - 1 tspn

Turmeric powder- 1 tspn

Kasuri Methi powder – ½ tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tspn

Cumin powder - 1 tspn

Asafetida – ½ tsp

Salt to taste

Oil - 2 tspns

Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp

Doodhi Paratha

Method

Peel the bottle gourd and grate it. Squeeze out water by pressing lightly between both palms, save the water, you may need it later and can add it to the dough instead of using water. It is better to remove it initially and add later, because bottle gourd has too much water and you may end up with a very runny dough if you don't. Make a paste of ginger and green chillies and add this to the grated bottle gourd, add 2 tbsps of oil, 1 tbsp yogurt, turmeric powder, kasuri methi powder, red chilly powder, asafetida, coriander powder, cumin powder, sesame seeds and salt and mix well with the grated bottle gourd, allow this to marinate for 10 minutes. After this add the wheat flour and gram flour and mix well, add some more salt at this point as salt added before may not be enough. Mix without adding water so that the flour and grated bottle gourd becomes one mixture. If required slowly add the squeezed out water from the grated bottle gourd that we earlier kept aside. just enough to form a firm dough, and knead till smooth. (like chappati /roti dough). Cover, let rest at least 1/2 hour, and knead again briefly. If resting more than 1 hour, punch and knead dough again before rolling out.

Divide into small balls about golf-ball size, and roll out into 12" rounds on a smooth surface. Heat a tava(flat non-stick pan) on medium flame, cook the paratha on one side first then flip to the other side after 2 mins. Flip one or two times more on either sides, adding vegetable cooking oil until you see brown spots on either sides. Serve hot.

This dish can be eaten with vegetables or with chutney and sauce as well.

It can be served as a nutritious breakfast or a main course for lunch or dinner.

This dish is not only healthy but also tasty.

VEGETARIAN RISOTTO WITH TOMATOES AND CHEESE

2011-11-27T11:14:00.000+08:00

VEGETARIAN RISOTTO WITH TOMATOES AND CHEESE

It’s vacation time here in Singapore and the kids are at home demanding for interesting food. So I decided to make this Italian dish for them which is rich in proteins, calcium and carbohydrates essential for kids.

Risotto is an Italian dish and I recently had this at an Italian joint here in Singapore and kind of liked it a lot. I felt it tasted very much like our Rice Khichdi / Pongal. They usually make this with Arborio rice which is a special kind of Italian short grained rice, this rice is named after the town of Arborio, in the Po Valley, where it is grown. When cooked, the rounded grains are firm, creamy, and chewy, due to its higher amylopectin starch content thus it has a starchy taste but blends well with other flavours. It is used to make risotto. But in my recipe I used normal Indian short grained rice. I also used fresh tomatoes and cheese to make it interesting for my kids.

Ingredients

Arborio rice – 1 cup

Onion – 1

Tomatoes – 2 ripe ones

Garlic – 2 cloves (optional)

Olive oil – 2 tbsps

Italian seasoning – 1 -2 tsps

Salt as per taste

Pepper – 2 pinches or as per taste

Fresh basil – ¼ cup

Fresh parsley – 2 tsp

Parmesan cheese – 3 heaped tablespoons

Method

In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, don’t allow it to fume. When it’s mildly hot, add in the garlic and the finely chopped onion and sauté for 3 to 5 minutes. Once the onions are transparent, add in the finely chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are squashy and soft. Add the risotto rice and cook, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Allow to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes, or until rice just starts to brown.

At this point add 1 cup of water and stir well to combine. Add a dash of salt and pepper. When most of the liquid has been absorbed, add one more cup of water, add in the finely chopped fresh basil and parsley and stir well.

As the water gets absorbed into the rice, continue to add water one cup at a time, stirring frequently, until the rice is cooked. After this I lay this cooked Risotto in a glass bowl and

Sprinkled it with some parmesan cheese and some Italian seasoning (Italian seasoning is a dried mix of popular Italian herbs, this is easily available in the markets) and put it in the microwave on a high until the cheese melted and became golden brown. After this I cut the Risotto like a cake and served it to my kids. The kids enjoyed it and asked for more helpings.

HARE CHANE AUR PANEER KI KARI / CHOLIYA AUR PANEER KI KARI/ HARBHARA AUR PANEER KI KARI / FRESH WHOLE GREEN CHICKPEAS WITH CRUMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE IN GRAVY

2011-11-18T20:59:00.000+08:00

HARE CHANE AUR PANEER KI KARI / CHOLIYA AUR PANEER KI KARI/ HARBHARA AUR PANEER KI KARI / FRESH WHOLE GREEN CHICKPEAS WITH CRUMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE IN GRAVY

Sony TV airs one of my favorite serials, “Kuch tho log kahenge” in which the heroine makes hare chane ki kari methi muthia ke saath for the hero with love.

This spurted my search for the recipe of hare chane ki kari and I stumbled upon Tarla Dalalji’s site and found this recipe. But my recipe has a twist from the original recipe as it doesn’t follow the same ingredients and also because I added crumbled paneer to the dish.

Fresh green sorted whole chickpeas-Image courtesy Wikipedia

Now for many like me who didn’t know what’s hara chana, they are whole green chick peas packed with a lot of nutritional value. Typically, these are available only a few weeks a year.

Fresh green whole chickpeas-Image courtesy Wikipedia

Whenever I go to Pune, my husband always buys harbhara (choliya/ hara chana/ fresh whole green chick peas). It comes in a bunch and you have to split open the pea like thing and get the harbhara in it, he eats it raw. I saw many people on the roads grabbing onto bunches of fresh harhara and eating it like peanuts.

Yo(my husband) asked me to try some, I somehow didn’t like the taste. I guess you need to develop a flair for it.

This dish is specially made for my dear husband and my little one who troubles me zillions to eat.

When you are using the fresh ones, you have to pick the peas, open them and sort them, after which you have to rinse them through a colander, it’s a very lengthy process and to get a decent quantity of chickpeas you have to pick a few bunches of the plant.

Since the fresh chick peas are not available in Singapore, I used the frozen ones available in Mustafa (a shopping mall which has a lot of Indian products). It’s known as Choliya under the Greentech brand.

For those who are unable to get the frozen ones you can find the dry green chanas in any Indian store all through the year. When you are using the dry ones, you have to soak them overnight and pressure cook them up to 3 whistles before you follow my recipe.

Since I am not too fond of the taste of the green chickpeas I tried to lace it with as many spices as I could lay my hand on and also added some crumbled paneer and when the dish was done it was so yummy that I would never say that I don’t like the green chickpeas much and I am looking forward to making it and relishing it again and again.

Hare Chane ki kari

Ingredients

1 ½ cups hare chane (whole green chickpeas)

Spinach (Palak leaves) - 4-5 for color/alternatively use green food color-1-2 drops.

Onion - 1 Big

Tomatoes – 2 red and ripe ones

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – ½ inch

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Badi elaichi – 1

Cinnamon stick – 1

Star Anise – 1 tsp

Kasuri Methi powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Garam Masala – 1 tsp

Chole Masala – 1 tsp

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Paneer (Cottage Cheese) crumbled 3-4 heaped tablespoons

Salt as per taste

Oil – 2 tbsps

Fresh Green Coriander leaves for garnish

A close up of the dish

Method

Finely Chop the onion and tomatoes. Make a coarse paste of the ginger and green chillies in a blender. Soak the frozen paneer in some warm water. After a while crumble and keep it aside. Blend the spinach leaves with some water and keep aside.

Rinse the frozen choliya (whole green chick peas), drain and keep aside. For those who are using the fresh green chickpeas or the dried ones kindly read above the ingredients list, the method to cook it.

Heat oil in a wok(kadhai), add the cumin seeds, badi elaichi, cinnamon stick & star anise.

Once the cumin is fried, Add in the coarsely grounded ginger and chilly paste and fry, after a minute add the finely chopped onions and sauté, once the onions are transparent, add the finely chopped tomatoes and sauté until it is totally squashy and fried. Add in the Kasuri Methi powder, Coriander powder, Cumin powder, Garam Masala, Chole Masala and Chaat Masala, asafetida and salt and fry for a minute. The masala should get fried well, At this point add in the blended spinach leaves paste, sauté until the oil comes out of the puree. Now add the whole green chickpea without any water and mix well with all the masala. If you are not using spinach for color, you can add in 1-2 drops of green color just for the color (this is optional)

Cover and cook in a low flame. Let the green chana cook in its own juices. When you see the water is getting dried. Add in 2 teacups of water and let it cook on a slow flame. Keep adding water everytime you see that the chana is dry until you can see that the chickpeas are cooked. Once the chickpeas are cooked and can be mashed easily with the back of the spatula, add the crumbled paneer, cook covered for a while. While cooking, keep mashing a few chickpeas with the back of the spatula for a mushy thick gravy. Cook for about 10-15 minutes on a slow flame. Ensure that the mix has gravy by adding water and letting the mix boil. When you see that it is an even mix and has enough gravy to your heart’s desire. Put off the flame. Garnish with finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves and serve hot with fulkas or rice.

PANEER BURJI (SCRAMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE)

2011-11-05T10:58:00.001+08:00

PANEER BURJI (SCRAMBLED COTTAGE CHEESE)

My kids absolutely love this dish, it’s not spicy and tastes yummy and the best part is it can be cooked in a jiffy. Bombay is very famous for its stalls selling bread and anda burji (scrambled eggs).

The way you cook Paneer burji is similar to the way anda burji is made is what my dear hubby says.

Since we don’t eat eggs we enjoy the richer version of the burji, “scrambled cottage cheese”. Anything which has cheese does sound luxurious doesn’t it? LOL!!!!!

Paneer Burji

Ingredients

Paneer – 500 gms

Onions – 2 small or 1 big

Tomatoes – 1 ripe and big

Green chillies – 2-3

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves 1-2 tbsps for garnish

Close up

Method

Soak the Paneer chunks/cubes in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Rinse well and crumble the paneer using your hand. Keep this aside. Meanwhile finely chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies and coriander leaves.

In a wok(kadhai). Add 1 tbsp oil, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and when they start to splutter, add in the green chillies and when they are fried add in the onions and sauté until transparent, now, add in the tomatoes and some salt and sauté until you see the oil comes out of the masala. Now add the crumbled paneer, add salt, turmeric powder and toss everything well till you see the masala is mixed well with the crumbled paneer. Now keep the flame of the gas low and cook it covered for about 5-7 minutes. The paneer gets further softened and the masala enters into it during this time. Garnish liberally with finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves. Toss well and serve hot with fulkas/ parathas.

Leftover specials

If Paneer burji remains until the next day.

Just make a Frankie (Recipe coming soon) out of it or
Make a paratha with the mix and it becomes Paneer paratha and a tastier version of Paneer paratha at that.

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)

2011-11-01T10:50:00.000+08:00

MUTTAKOSE PATTANI THUVARAN (CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY CURRY)

As I mentioned in my earlier post, after Diwali I am looking to cook foods that are bland, not so colorful and light. So I decided to make cabbage and green peas thuvaran with some molaghu rasam. I love the combo of cabbage and green peas. Its absolutely delightful.

Close up for Muttakose pattani thuvaran

Ingredients

Cabbage - 1 medium size

Green peas – 1 ½ cup (fresh or frozen)

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Udad dal - 1 tsp

Green chillies – 1-2

Grated ginger / ginger paste – 1 tsp

Asafetida (Hing) - a small pinch

Freshly grated Coconut – 1-2 tbsps

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp (Prefer coconut oil)

Salt as per taste.

CABBAGE AND GREEN PEAS DRY

Method

Chop the cabbage & rinse well under running water in a colander. Rinse the green peas as well and keep aside.

In a Kadhai (wok), Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil, when it is hot, Add the mustard seeds and udad dal, when it begins to crackle, when the udad dal becomes slightly pink, add the green chillies and grated ginger and fry well, Add the green peas and sauté for 2-3 minutes, after this add the chopped cabbage. Add asafetida and salt and stir well. Close with the lid and cook on low flame till it is cooked. Stir well, wait until the water drains completely and then add in the freshly grated coconut and stir fry till everything is mixed well. Serve hot with Rice and Rasam.

Tips :-

You can add turmeric powder for some color, but after all the colors of Diwali I wanted it plain and bland.
Instead of green chilly you can add red chilly
You can avoid coconut for health reasons.

PARUPPU THOGAIYAL (A Chutney made with Lentils)

2011-10-28T11:36:00.011+08:00

PARUPPU THOGAIYAL (A Chutney made with Lentils)

After the Diwali snacks and sweets onslaught, I am thinking of foods which are easy to digest and lighter on the stomach. Togayal is one such dish which usually is a treat to the taste buds and light on the stomach as well. Thogayal is generally served as an accompaniment to a meal.

I made bottle gourd kootu and paruppu thogayal and it felt like a slice of heaven.

Paruppu thogayal can be eaten with Idly, dosai or any snack. We can also eat this by mixing it with hot rice and a dollop of ghee or some gingelly oil.

This thogayal can be made with Moong dal or toor dal. I used moong dal as it’s a healthier option.

Ingredients

Yellow split Moong dal / Pigeon Pea (Toor dal) – 1 cup

Coconut – 2 tbsps (Freshly grated)

Dry red chilli – 1 (To taste)

Curry leaves – A sprig

Peppercorns – 1 tsp

Asafetida – ½ tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil – 1-2 tbsp

Method

Heat oil in a Wok (kadhai), Add the Yellow split moong dal or Toor dal (whichever you are using) and the red chillies and roast until the dals turn pink and the chillies turn plump. Keep aside on a plate. Dry roast the peppercorns and keep aside. Now add the coconut, salt, curry leaves and asafetida and roast until the coconut is light pink in color and a lovely aroma is emanating, allow this to cool down as well.

Now, run the roasted dal mixture in the dry mill of your blender to a coarse powder consistency. Keep aside.

After this, run the roasted coconut. Mix the dal mixtures and coconut mixture together.

Check for the salt, if required, add at this stage Run once more in the blender with some water(about 4-5 tablespoonful), This time don’t run the blender too much, just one spin would be enough. Remember, don’t make it a fine powder. The mix should be coarse.

This should be coarse as shown in the picture not too fine. If you grind all the ingredients together and not separately as directed then you will notice that the dals don’t get powdered and if you run it too much to ensure that the dals get powdered then the mixture will be too fine and not so tasty. All the ingredients get grounded at different levels hence it has to be done separately. The best way to grind it is always using a stone manual grinder and if not you can achieve the similar taste if you grind in the wet/dry automated grinder which we use nowadays to grind idly/dosa batter.

BADHUSHA

2011-10-26T20:19:00.000+08:00

BADHUSHA

I would like to wish all the visitors to my blog,

A VERY HAPPY & PROSPEROUS DIWALI.

These days I look for sweets which are less sweet. I usually have Badhusha in a shop here in

Singapore

and adore it because it’s not that sweet as other sweets, so this Diwali I decided to make Badhusha also known as Balushahi in some parts of

India

. While I was browsing for a no-fail recipe I stumbled across Raks kitchen (Raks happens to be a fellow blogger from

Singapore

as well, Please click on the hyperlink to see the step by step pictures in her blog). I had tried making Badhusha earlier but it was a huge flop as it came out very hard. I didn't want to try any stunts and followed exactly as mentioned in her blog.

Ingredients

Maida/All purpose flour -1 ½ cups

Butter – ¼ cup

Oil – 1/8 cup

Sugar - ½ tsp

Curd – 1 ½ tsp

Cooking soda/sodium bi carbonate - 2 pinches

Water - ¼ cup (approx.)

Oil - for deep frying

For Syrup

Sugar - ½ cup

Water - Just to immerse the sugar

Cardamom powder - 2 pinches

Saffron Optional - a pinch

Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Method

In a big bowl, Add melted butter, oil, sugar, curd and sodium bi-carb and use a whisk to mix well, to make it almost frothy. Now add the flour to it and mix well to make it crumbly. Now add water to make the dough, I used ¼ cup of water only, it was just right, kindly adjust accordingly. Knead the dough well like you do for chappati. The dough should be smooth and not have any lumps. Knead well till you feel it is smooth. I kneaded for about 10 mins. Beating and folding the dough and trying to make it as smooth as possible. I made 23 small balls out of this, as I made slightly smaller sized badhushas. You can adjust the size according to how you want it. Now take a ball and pinch the edges and fold it inwards to make rims decoratively (You can refer to Raks blog where she has uploaded a video to show how it is done). I didn’t have much patience so I tried only 2 pieces with decorative rims and the rest I just made by flattening the balls and putting a depression in the middle with my index finger. Repeat to finish everything and keep covered.

Meanwhile add sugar to a pan and just add water to immerse it and boil till one string consistency,

i.e; if you pour in little water, it should not dissolve and it should lay a fine thread. Add saffron, cardamom if desired and squeeze the lemon juice lastly.

Heat oil just enough, check it by adding a pinch of batter, if it rises immediately, then its just right. Don’t let the oil fume at any point.

Add some five badushas, we prepared, carefully in to the oil. Remove from fire and let it get cooked in the pre heated oil. Approximately it would take 5 minutes.

At one stage the badushas float, then again keep the kadai on fire and cook in medium-low flame, adjust heat at the end to make it golden brown, for me it took around 5-8 mins.

Drain in a paper towel and immediately add to the hot sugar syrup, to cover the badusha, Since my badushas were small I put in 5 at a time. Leave for a minute and then drain the badushas to a greased surface.

After it cools down, the sugar syrup would have coated the badhusha beautifully, transfer to a dry container. Enjoy this sweet this Deepawali.

Notes

If you reduce the quantity of butter or oil, then there will be drastic change in the texture of the badushas too, it will turn hard or crispy. You won’t get the layers inside too.
Adding lemon juice is to prevent crystallization of the sugar syrup.
Be patient while frying, please do as mentioned, otherwise the texture gets affected too.
Consume within a week. Do not refrigerate.

TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS

2011-10-20T19:30:00.000+08:00

TENKUZHAL (TENGOZHAL) CRISPY RICE SPIRALS

Every Diwali in my house and in my mother’s house, one permanent bhakshanam(savory snack dish) is the Tenkuzhal, we call this Tengozhal at home. The reason that everyone used to like this savory snack is because it’s not spicy. Children used to absolutely love this crispy, crunchy snack. Here in Singapore almost all my Indian and non-Indian friends love this snack and request me to bring some for them and Diwali is one such time where we share sweets and savories with our near and dear ones and what better way to share what is prepared at home with love.

TENGOZHAL

Ingredients

Rice Flour - 2 Cups

White lentil/(Black gram skinless)/Udad dal or ready Udad flour - 2 Tablespoon

Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds – 1 tbsp(I love this in the tengozhal so I put more, you can put 1 tsp

Asafetida - a pinch

Butter - 2 tablespoons

Salt as per taste

Coconut oil – 1 tbsp (for the palakkad iyer / keralaiyer touch)(optional)

Oil for frying

You need the Tengozhal press nazhi and you have to use the plate with holes (bigger holes to be precise)

Method

Dry roast the udad dal in a pan and grind it in a blender to make a fine powder. I used the ready flour easily available in the market nowadays.

Dry roast the cumin seeds and when it pops remove, cool it and grind it for one spin in the blender. Don't make it into a fine powder. We are putting it in the blender so that it breaks into half and the aroma comes out.

In a big bowl, Add rice flour, udad flour, broken cumin seeds, sesame seeds, salt as per taste, butter and asafetida. Mix well so that you know everything has blended well. Now add water slowly and make a dough. The dough resembles the dough we make for chapatti / roti. At this stage add the coconut oil and knead well for another 5 minutes, palakkad iyers usually fry the bhakshanams in coconut oil which gives it a very unique and flavorful taste, to remind me of that I added the coconut oil, this is optional and if you want you can avoid it.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, and when the oil is hot add a little piece of dough to check, if the dough rises immediately then the oil is ready for frying.

Now stuff the dough in the nazhi(press) and close the mould. Squeeze it through the mould in big circles or smaller circles. Mind you, keep your hand a bit far once you drop as the steam will hit your hand. Deep fry the Tengozhal in low flame till it is crisp. I like my Tengozhal white and crisp. If your rice flour is good your tengozhal will come out white as mine in the picture and if not you will have to fry till its done to an almost golden brown color. Remove and place on paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Once cool, store it in a air tight container. Indulge in this crunchy delight as and when you want it.

PORULVALANGAI URUNDAI / KETTI URUNDAI

2011-10-10T19:08:00.006+08:00

PORULVALANGAI URUNDAI / KETTI URUNDAI
Warning!!!! These are for people with strong teeth only.

At home we call this Poruvalangai urundai but its actually Porulvilangai urundai. In

Singapore

they call it Ketti urundai. My brother absolutely loves this and this post is for my brother.

I read a lot about why this laddoo shaped sweet is called Porulvalangai urundai and came up with many answers. I won’t repeat them though as they are all over the internet. This urundai is very good for health as it has got all healthy ingredients. In olden day’s people who used to travel from one place to another used to carry this with them as it has a longer shelf life and a lot of nutritional value to give them extra energy or boost while traveling.

There are various recipes to make this sweet as they say, anything nutritious can be added. This is my recipe. I tried to make it a bit softer by adding ghee as we have 2 people at home with cavities and fillings and I couldn’t afford to take risks…LOL!!!!!

My mother used to tell me how her grand mother (my great grandmother) would be able to eat these urundais at a very old age. I guess they were using their teeth aptly unlike us.

Here is a delicious recipe which you can make for Diwali. It is less sweet, healthy and nutritious and very very tasty.

Porulvalangai Urundai

Ingredients

Green Beans or Yellow split moong dal – ½ cup

Rice – ¼ cup

Chana ka daali / chutney daal/ pottu kadalai – ½ cup

Cardamom powder – 1tsp

Sesame Seeds – ¼ tbsp

Salt - a pinch

Jaggery – 1 cup

Ghee – 1 tablespoon (optional)

Dry ginger powder -1/2 tbsp

Cashew nuts – 1-2 tbsp
Raisins - 1-2 tbsp

Method

Dry roast Green Bean(Moong dal) or you can also use yellow split moong dal, the rice and pottu kadalai, till a good aroma comes. Be careful when roating, don’t burn it else your laddoo will taste awful. Be around and monitor it and roast it on a low flame. Then grind these finely in a blender (mixer)

Dry roast sesame seeds separately and add in to your mixture. Also add in a pinch of salt, the cardamom powder and the dry ginger powder. Blend well with a dry wooden spatula.

In a wok, add 1 cup of jaggery with ¼ cup water. The jaggery starts to melt and dissolve in the water. Wait for it to froth and cook the syrup till you achieve one-string consistency (when you add some drops of syrup in a glass of water, it can be rolled like a flexible ball, another way of checking the paagu or syrup is take a teaspoon dip in paagu and dip it in a glass of cold water. If it becomes candy-like then it is ready). At this point switch off the gas. Pour this syrup into the grinded flour and roll it quickly to small lemon size balls. Fry the cashew and raisins in ghee and keep one each for decoration as seen in the picture. I added a tablespoon of hot melted ghee as well along with this. Be careful don’t take too much time to roll the flour into balls else it will become tough to roll. Incase that happens just keep the entire mix on a low flame until the jaggery melts and roll the balls. Once cool the laddoo becomes hard, its ready for attack. Now taste this nutritious poruvalangai urundai. For those with weaker teeth, break the urundai, pop it into your mouth and relish it.

DILL LEAVES SAUTÉED / SHEPU CHI BHAAJI

2011-09-27T17:24:00.006+08:00

DILL LEAVES / SEED
In India, dill is known as 'Savaa' in Hindi and 'Soa' in Punjabi not related to Soy, In Telugu it is called soya and soya-kura (for herb greens). It is also called 'sapsige soppu' (ಸಪ್ಸಿಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು) in Kannada.

Read more about Dill here

Dill Leaves / Shepu

Dill seeds / Suva

Dill is very rich in minerals, vitamin C and flavonoids, It gives protection Against Free Radicals and Carcinogens, It is considered an Anti-Bacterial Spice and it’s a flavorful way to help prevent bone loss.

Dill is mostly a culinary herb today, but it does have some value in medicine, mostly as a stomach soother and anti-gas remedy. It is also said to increase mother's milk and help treat breast congestion from nursing. It is mild, and makes a good remedy for colic in babies.

Dill water is used often for relief of the above symptoms.

Dill can also be made into a Tea, and sweetened with honey, or prepared as an infusion by steeping 2 teaspoons of seed in 1 cup of water for 10-15 minutes, then straining. Take 1-2 cups per day.

Tea made from a tablespoon of dill seed can help cure indigestion and treat hiccups. It has also been used successfully to treat colic (at 1/3 concentration). Save any remainder and soak your fingers in it to help strengthen your nails.

DILL LEAVES SAUTÉED / SHEPU CHI BHAAJI
This time when I had been to India my mother-in-law had made “Shepu chi bhaaji” and it was really yummy. Unfortunately it was not enough for a second helping as usually leafy vegetables when cooked always reduce drastically in quantity. Dill leaves and seeds are available aplenty in Singapore these days compared to a few years back, so I thought why not make the most of it. I have always been boiling dill seeds in water and giving my kids. On Sunday, I went to the supermarket and found a dark green fresh bunch of Dill leaves and I couldn’t resist buying. Here is a simple recipe for you'll to enjoy.

Dill Leaves Sauteed / Shepuchi bhaji

Ingredients

Dill (shepu) leaves – 1 bunch

Asafetida – A pinch

Onions – 1 (optional)

Garlic - 2 cloves

Green chilies - 2

Salt as per taste

Method

De-stem the Dill leaves. Wash them well in a colander by running water through it. Drain and chop the leaves. Peel and slit the garlic into slivers. Break the green chillies into two.

In a wok, add a teaspoon of oil, once its hot, add a pinch of asafetida, add in the garlic slivers and green chillies, add in the onions for extra flavour(if you want) sauté till the garlic is orange in color. Don’t burn it. After this add in the chopped dill leaves, salt and sauté. You will see that it shrinks in size. Saute until the water is completely gone and until you see that the dill leaves look a bit fried. Serve hot wih fulkas/chappatis, Jowar/bajra rotis. Enjoy this flavorful healthy curry (sabji).

MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)

2011-09-14T09:22:00.000+08:00

MEDHU VADAI OR ULUNDHU VADAI (Savory Indian doughnut)

The Savory Indian doughnut is what my non-Indian friends call our Medhu vadai in

Singapore

and I tell you they love it to the last bite.

Nothing can beat the crunch of the outside to the softness & puffiness of the inside. It’s bland but when it combines with sambhar or coconut chutney or yogurt, it turns into something else.

I have been trying to make the perfect Medhu vadais since the year 2001 when I got married and moved to

Singapore

but always ended up making mysore bondas (dropping the medhu vada batter into round balls instead). The taste is the same but the look is different. I wanted it to look like the ones we buy in the hotel. Until one day my friend Vidya who hails from Trichy got me some perfectly shaped doughnut like vadas, crispy on the outside and soft and well cooked on the inside. I asked her for the recipe and she told me that it is difficult to grind in the Blender (mixie) and she usually grinds for the vada batter in the wet grinder. She also told me that you should add water along the way an Urad / Udad dal should be ground into fine bouncy paste. Once I bought my little Premier Wet grinder, I decided to attempt Medhu Vadais with Vidya’s recipe. Now mind you Vidya’s mother is a fabulous cook and a perfectionist. Her mother had given her a tip of adding toor dal while soaking the Urad / Udad dal. This not only makes the vada crispy but also keeps the batter be bound together and makes it easy to make the doughnuts with the batter.

Medhu Vada

Ingredients

Skinless Black gram / Urad Dal – 2 cups

Yellow split Pea / Toor dal - 2 tablespoons

Green Chillies – 4-6 nos

Ginger – ½ inch (optional)

Onion – 1(optional)

Salt – 3/4 tsp

Asafetida (Hing or perungayam) - ½ tsp

Curry leaves – A sprig

Oil- for frying

Method

Soak the Urad dal and toor dal in water for 2-3 hours. Grind the soaked urad dal along with chillies, ginger and salt into a fine paste i.e. when you take the batter in your fingers you should not feel the grains. While grinding like I mentioned before kindly add water slowly, you can sprinkle water. Ensure that the batter doesn’t become watery. The batter should be thick and not like the dosa batter which flows down when dropped from a spoon.

Heat oil in a kadai. Dip your hands in water. Take the batter of the size of a small ball in your palm or a plantain leaf or a polythene sheet and pat it to form a circle. Dip your index finger in water and make a hole in the patted batter in the center. I prefer to do it on my palm as it is easy to maneuver the batter.

Fry the vadas in oil till golden brown on both sides.

Medhu Vadai

Different Types of Vadai

Coriander Leaves and Curry Leaves - You can add curry leaves and finely chopped coriander to the batter.

Spinach Vadai (Keerai Vadai)

You can add any green leafy vegetables like Palak keerai, Arai Keerai, Mullai Keerai, Murunga Elai(drumstick leaves),

Onion Vadai

You can add finely chopped onions,

Cabbage Vadai

You can add finely chopped cabbage,

Potato Ulundhu Vadai

You can add grated potato into the batter

You can use all or any of the permutation and combinations and still have a wholesome and nutritious snack which is very delectable.

RASAM VADA

Soak the vada in Rasam.

Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the rasam will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.

While serving the Rasam vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

SAMBHAR VADA

Soak the vada in Sambhar.

The sambhar should not be very thick. Soak the vada atleast for half an hour before serving. Only then the sambhar will penetrate into the vada and will taste good.

While serving the Sambhar vadai just garnish it with finely chopped coriander and then serve.

DAHI VADA

Soak the vada in Dahi.

Kindly click on the link to follow the recipe. In my recipe replace the moong vada with the Urad vada and follow the method as per the link.

Tips

I have already given you the tip of adding Toor dal alongwith urad dal while soaking.

Here are some more tips :-

- You can add a pinch of baking soda just before making the vada, this makes the vada

crisp

- Add a boiled and mashed potato to the batter and mix it well. By adding boiled potato

the vada will remain crisp and puffy for a long time

- If the batter is watery it will not freely drop into the oil. It will break half way through

the journey from your hand to the oil. If it is like that don’t worry. Add some Rice

flour to the vada batter.

- To check if the Vada is cooked fully wash the tip

of a knife and pierce the vada. If no batter sticks on the knife then the vada is fully

cooked or else it needs more cooking.

Neivedyam to the lord.

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI (Raddish with leaves and Fenugreek leaves dry curry)

2011-08-08T19:29:00.001+08:00

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI (Raddish with leaves and Fenugreek leaves dry curry)

Here is a recipe created by me. Fusion of fusions and a lot of confusions, presenting the Mooli aur Methi ki Sabzi with a twist.

I haven’t heard of Radish along with it’s leaves cooked combined with Fenugreek leaves and I decided to try this combo just for fun and lo and behold it turns out to be too good and everyone likes it including my friends with whom I shared it proudly. I am sure Archimedes must have felt the same way when he discovered the laws of buoyancy the way I felt tasting my invention. It was extremely exciting and I am thinking of creating a whole new topic on my blog dedicated to the new things that I am going to try. Ain’t that going to be fun.

Without further ado…let’s go on to read the recipe of a dry curry made with Radish along with its leaves and Fenugreek leaves.

MOOLI AUR METHI KI SABZI

Ingredients

Radish with leaves - 3-4 (use small radish)

Fenugreek – 1 cup

Onion – 1 (optional)

Besan (Chickpea flour / Bengal gram flour) - ½ cup

Ginger paste – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Black gram dal (Udad dal) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Red chili powder - ½ tsp

Turmeric powder - ½ tsp

Salt as per taste

Oil

Method

Roast the chick pea flour (besan) until golden brown, keep this aside. Wash and peel the radish and chop them into small squarish pieces and keep aside. Separate the radish leaves, rinse them thoroughly and chop them finely and keep aside. Sort the methi leaves(de-stem), rinse well under running water in a colander and chop them. Keep this aside too.

Now in a wok, add one 1teaspoon of oil, once the oil is hot, add the mustard and udad dal and when it splutters add in the chopped radish,

If you are using onions kindly add finely chopped onions before adding the radish and sauté until transparent only then add the radish.

After this add in the radish leaves and fenugreek leaves. Also add in the turmeric, asafetida, red chilly powder and salt as per taste and stir well.

Cover the wok with a lid and let it cook in its own juices. Don’t add any water as once you add the salt the radish, its leaves and the fenugreek leaves will release its own water and it should cook in that only. After about 15 minutes you will notice that the radish is soft and can be easily mashed by hand and the water has dried completely and the vegetable has become dry. At this stage add in the roasted chickpea flour and mix well. Check for salt, you can add some more salt in this stage. Mix it well and cook until dry as you see in the picture.

Serve this unusual concoction of mine with fulkas/parathas or dal and rice or sambhar/rasam and rice. It’s a fusion recipe and can go with any cuisine.

SUKANYA'S CONCOCTIONS

2011-08-01T19:24:00.001+08:00

SUKANYA’S CONCOCTIONS

This will feature dishes concocted by me. Usually there are traditional ways of cooking a certain dish. Same dish is cooked in different ways in different states of

India

and also in different parts of the world. Human being has a tendency to get bored easily. Variety is the spice of life. No wonder then that so many fusions took place in the culinary world. Spices that were brought from

India

by the East India company started being used in

Britain

. Coffee from

Brazil

was enjoyed by people in Europe. Mediterranean and Continental food have found its place in a traditional place like

India

. Thai food is eaten in

USA

, Chinese food enjoyed in Europe. Pizzas, Burgers and Noodles have captured the world and the list is endless. We can see that what was traditionally cooked and relished in certain parts of the world are not the only thing that’s being eaten by them. People in their relentless pursuit for variety and change have sought solace in food from other countries. Some countries like India where the taste buds of people find it difficult to adapt to foreign cuisines have devised their own fusions, so here you see Chinese food cooked with some Indian spices, this has been done to alter the taste to suit the Indian palette and this has given birth to a whole new genre of fusion cuisines. Such fusions have happened all over the world. A foreign cuisine is taken and altered to suit the taste of the local people. This has always worked. People like to try new recipes and flavors but they find it more comforting if it has the flavors, spices & tastes that is near to their own cuisines. Food has always been something which has provided comfort to man and there is no doubt that people like food which they find comforting to them.

CRISPY BREAD ROLLS INDIAN STYLE

2011-07-15T17:05:00.001+08:00

CRISPY BREAD ROLLS INDIAN STYLE

Its Tea time again and I’m pondering over what snack to make for my kids. I thought why not make bread rolls as it’s a really long time I haven’t made them as I am trying to avoid fried foods. But heck its raining isn’t that reason enough to have something fried with a mug of piping hot tea. Bread rolls is a dish that can be made with ingredients at home. So dunk into this crispy and delectable snack. I am sure the kids will enjoy it too.

BREAD ROLLS

Ingredients

Slice Bread - 1 Packet

Potatoes - 5-6 medium sized

Green Chillies -2

Ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Salt as per taste

Coriander Leaves

Method

Boil the potatoes. Peel and mash them. In a wok, add one tablespoon of oil. Add the cumin seeds and when they start to fry, add in the ginger and chilly paste, the coriander powder, cumin powder and asafetida. After a minute or two, when you see they are fried well, add in the mashed potatoes and salt as per taste. Mix well. Finally garnish with finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. Mix well. Allow this mix to cool.

Now take a slice of bread and dip it gently in water from both sides

Do not cut the sides of the slice bread, they hold the entire roll together.

Squeeze the bread to let out the water, do this gently or the bread will break.

Add the potato filling in the bread and turn the bread into an elongated roll-shape or round shape.

Deep fry the roll in the hot oil.

Fry until golden brown, remove the bread roll from the hot oil and drain the excess oil on a tissue paper.

Serve hot with green coriander chutney, tomato ketchup / chilly sauce.

Potato filling inside the bread roll

VERMICELLI UPPUMA (SEMIA UPPUMA)

2011-05-28T19:03:00.001+08:00

VERMICELLI UPPUMA (SEMIA UPPUMA)

Its vacation time here in

Singapore

. Here is a special snack that kids and adults will enjoy. It is nutritious too. Vermicelli is made from semolina, It’s a much healthier option compared to the All purpose flour noodles that kids like to eat these days. Because it appears like noodles, kids absolutely love this dish. You can add vegetables and make it too. I have just showcased the traditional south Indian style of preparation that I learnt from my friend’s mother which was so delightful that it remained etched in my memory forever.

Delicious Vermicelli uppuma served on a platter

Ingredients

Vermicelli – 2 cups

Onions – 1

Green chillies – 2

Ginger – a small piece

Curry Leaves – A sprig

Oil - 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Chana dal (Bengal Gram) – 1tsp

Curry leaves – A sprig

Asafetida (hing) - a pinch

Freshly grated coconut – 2 tbsps

Salt as per taste

Method

In a wok, add 2 tablespoons of oil, Now add the mustard, cumin and Bengal gram, when the mustard starts to crackle and the Bengal gram turns a light golden, add Green chillies, grated ginger, curry leaves and asafetida. Fry till the chilly becomes a light green, now add the onions and fry until transparent. Now add 2 cups of vermicelli, add salt as per taste and roast it along with all the ingredients until the vermicelli is a light pink in color. Ensure that it doesn’t get black, you have to stand and monitor this and keep sautéing. When you see the vermicelli become a light pink in color, add steaming hot water till you see the vermicelli immersed. The water shouldn’t drown it completely otherwise the vermicelli will become soggy and sticky. Now just mix everything well and cover the wok with a lid and keep the gas on sim (low flame).

After 5 minutes open and check, give it a good stir and close the lid again. After another 5 minutes you will notice that the Semolina has absorbed all the water and is looking transparent and fluffy, give it one more stir and add the 2 tablespoons of freshly grated coconut, stir and cook covered for 2 minutes, after this put off the gas and let the vermicelli rest with the lid on the wok for about 5 minutes so that all the flavors can be absorbed in. Then open the lid and serve hot. Kids love this uppuma.

Tip : You can add in Cashews while seasoning, if you want.

Vermicelli Uppuma close-up

FALOODA & KULFI FALOODA.....REVISITED WITH NEW PICTURES

2011-05-20T11:39:00.000+08:00

Considering the heat in Singapore, I would like to revisit my earlier post of Falooda and Kulfi Falooda with brand new pictures. I kind of love revisits. This was earlier posted on 17 Spetember 2007.
FALOODA
According to Wikipedia :- Falooda is a South Asian refreshment drink made by mixing milk, vermicelli, basil seeds (sabja/takmaria), tutti frutti and sugar along with ice cream. The vermicelli used is often made from arrowroot rather than wheat. The most popular flavours of falooda include rose, kesar (saffron), mango, chocolate, and fig.

Falooda is very popular throughout North India, Pakistan and Myanmar (where it is known as pha-loo-da) and is easily available in hotels and on beach stalls. A variant is falooda kulfi, where falooda and kulfi are served together with a syrup. The most common flavour added to falooda is rose, which is taken from the syrup. Some people also use milk to enhance the drink.

The dessert is very similar to the Persian faloodeh and the Thai drink nam manglak, which is made from basil seeds mixed with sugar, water, and rose water. The Iraqi Kurds also have their own version; but made with thicker vermicelli.

Falooda is one of the famous drink cum dessert of India, and available in almost all restaurants in Bombay. During the fasting month of the Muslims, The Falooda is sold on streets outside mosques and areas populated by Muslims. Its is believed that after breaking the fast with dates or salt, it is good to have something cool, that will cool the system before you eat. Eating heavily after observing a fast may cause acidity so usually drinks which are cooling to the system are had first. Falooda has rose and basil seeds both of which are very cooling to the system, hence it is a very popular drink.

Ingredients
Milk – 1 litre
Sugar – 5-6 tbsps
Green cardamoms – 2-3
Pista – 1-2 tbsps
Almonds – 1-2 tbsps
Rosesyrup – 3-4 tbsps
Jelly – 1 small packet
Basil seeds Takmalunga seeds (also called takmarya) – 2-3 tbsps
Dehyderated Vermicelli – 100 gms
Ice cream – Any flavor of your choice.

Method
First of all Make the jelly using the instructions on the packet. You can use Strawberry Jelly (any brand available in the market), Do check the ingredients, You get vegetarian Jellies and even Halal jellies in the market. Once you make the jelly, allow it to set. Cool the jelly in a refrigerator.
Soak the basil seeds in water for half an hour.
Take Milk in a pan, Add sugar, Crush the Green cardamoms and powder the cardamom seeds and add to the milk. Allow the milk to boil. Now add the dehydrated vermicelli and the basil seeds and allow it to cook in the milk. Once the vermicelli and the basil seeds are soft. Add the rose syrup and mix well and allow to boil for another minute or two. Remove the pan from the flame and allow it to come to room temperature. Then refrigerate this mixture.
Meanwhile, Cut into slivers, blanched almonds and Pistachio nuts for garnish. Keep aside.

Serving Instructions

In a tall transparent glass, Add the boiled refrigerated mixture, while pouring, scoop the vermicelli and basil seeds that must have settled down and pour into the glass first, then then top it with the milk settled above. Remove the refrigerated jelly and cut it into slices Add a layer of this sliced jelly.
Place a scoop of your favorite ice cream on top. Vanilla, Strawberry and Tuti Fruity flavored ice creams go best with the Falooda.

Garnish with nuts.

Add a straw to drink the milk and a long spoon to enjoy the other ingredients. Indulge in this cool and royal treat.

Note: If you like it more sweet you can add more sugar.
The vermicelli used for Falooda is usually made from cornflour.

KESAR KULFI FALOODA
Kulfi is an Indian ice cream. Kulfi is made from thickened and reduced milk flavored with nuts or saffron and cardamom. It is very Rich and creamy. It has lots of dry fruits in it and enhances the flavor of your falooda when used as a topping instead of ice cream. If your Falooda is topped with Kulfi instead of ice cream it becomes Kulfi Falooda, which is yet another beverage cum dessert delicacy for us to enjoy. Enjoy a desi drink topped with a desi ice cream.

Here is a recipe for Kesar Kulfi

KESAR KULFI FALOODA

Ingredients
Full Cream Milk – 2 litres
Sugar – 1 cup Sugar
Cardamom (elaichi) powder – 1 tsp
Saffron - a few strands
Arrowroot or Cornflour powder – 1 tbsp

Making the kulfi
Dissolve the saffron in 2 tbsp of warm milk and allow to soak for half an hour.
Take Milk in a pan, Add sugar, cardamom powder and the soaked saffron along with the milk in which it is soaked. Allow the milk to boil.
Simmer on a low heat until the quantity reduces to about 1 litre. Now mix the arrowroot or corn flour in a small bowl alongwith some milk, ensure there are no lumps, it should be a smooth mixture. Add this mixture to the boiling milk. Stir continuously and boil for a further 5-10 minutes, until the mix thickens like custard. If it is too thin, add a little more corn flour dissolved in cold milk and cook for a further 5 minutes. Allow the mixture to come to room temperature. Pour the mixture into Kulfi mould and keep in the deep freezer. Once the kulfi is set, it is ready for you to eat it just like that or you can top up your falooda with this Kulfi instead of icecream. Making the kulfi takes time, so you can make it in advance and then store it for whenever you need it.

MORU APPAM / KUZHI PANIYARAM (BUTTERMILK FRITTERS)

2011-05-15T11:36:00.002+08:00

MORU APPAM / KUZHI PANIYARAM (BUTTERMILK FRITTERS)

This is a snack I absolutely adore, soft and spongy on the inside and crisp and crusty on the outside. This dish gets its name because sour buttermilk (moru) is used in the batter. It is known as Moru Appam in Kerala but in Tamilnadu it is known as Kuzhi Paniyaaram.

One evening when I was pondering over what to make for tiffin (evening snack), I raided my fridge and found a big bowlful of Dosa batter, the batter was slightly sour. Sometimes inspite of refrigerating the dosa batter, it becomes sour. Once, the batter becomes sour the dosa doesn’t taste so good. I thought of putting it to good use by making moru appams. It’s like making the best out of something that would go waste.

Traditionally Moru Appam is made by soaking raw rice and Udad dal in the 3:1 consistency (3cups of raw rice and 1cup Udad dal) just as we do for the dosa batter and then adding on the other ingredients as mentioned below.

I made the Moru Appams with the leftover dosa batter. I would say it is the easier, faster and tastier way to make this dish.

Moru Appams are traditionally made in a vessel called the Appa Kaarai / Paniyaram vessel which has holes in it (like a muffin tray). You drop the oil in the holes and when the oil is hot, you can drop the appam batter into it. But for those who don’t have this vessel, you can deep fry in the frying pan as well.

MORU APPAM / BUTTERMILK FRITTERS

Ingredients

Left over dosa batter – 12-15 ladleful

Rice flour – 2 tbsps

All purpose flour(Maida) – 1 tbsp

Green chillies - 2 small finely chopped

Ginger - ½ inch piece grated

Toasted Cumin seeds (Jeera) - ½ tsp (Optional)

Asafetida (Hing) – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 6-7

Fresh Coriander - 1 tbsp

Chopped coconut slices – 2 tsps (Optional)

Buttermilk (Moru) - ½ cup (Optional)

Salt as per taste

Method

In a big bowl, add 15 ladlefuls of left over dosa batter, add the 2 tbsps of rice flour, 1 tbsp of Maida, 2 finely chopped green chillies, ½ inch ginger grated finely, Toasted jeera if you like, ½ tsp of Asafetida, curry leaves 6-7 torn and put into this mix, fresh coriander leaves chopped finely and added to this. I haven’t added the coconut slices to my mix here, but if you like the coconutty flavor go ahead and add it. Add the buttermilk and mix everything into a batter. The consistency should be like the dosa batter. Allow this to rest for about half an hour till the batter soaks in all the flavors added into it.

After this, heat the appa karai with some oil in all the holes, once the oil is nice hot pour the batter to ¾ level of each hole, the oil will be bubbly and frothy, wait for a minute or two and then with the help of a chopstick prick the appam and turn it around so that it can cook it on the other side too. Do this gently with a light hand, else the oil can splash and burn you. When you see that both sides are Golden brown as in the picture, remove them from the appa karai. Then fry the next batch. If needed pour some oil in the holes, wait for it to be heated and fry the next batch.

Enjoy the golden brown Moru Appams, soft inside and crisp and crusty outside with some white coconut chutney.

Tips

· In case you are using the sour leftover dosa batter then you can skip the sour buttermilk, otherwise, the mor appams will be too sour.

· Some people add a tablespoon of Maida(all purpose flour) for it to come out non sticky, porous and floating in shape like a ball in the oil but once we put the maida the Mor appams become oily (they soak in more oil). You will have to dab it well in a serviette before serving to remove the excess oil.

· If you don’t want to put finely chopped green chillies and grated ginger, you can grind them into a paste and add into the batter.

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY (MASHED SPICY POTATO CURRY(DRY)

2011-05-02T19:42:00.001+08:00

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY (MASHED SPICY POTATO CURRY(DRY)

This is absolutely on the top of my “Comfort foods” list. This curry can never stop exciting me to have my grub. Hot rice, a small dollop of ghee (thanks to weight watching) mixed with rasam and the hot and spicy urulakizhangu kaara curry, simply lip smackingly awesome.

Urulakizhangu means potato in Tamil, Kaaram means spicy, Curry means a dry curry (it can also mean something with gravy), but this recipe is a dry curry recipe.

On a boring day when you have run out of ideas as to what to cook and feel totally uninspired and feel like nothing could be as laborious and cumbersome like cooking, this would be the dish that would totally cheer you up. Simple, yet delicious. Hardly takes any time to cook. Ready in a jiffy. You can even have this with Yogurt and rice.

URULAKIZHANGU KAARA CURRY

Ingredients

Potatoes – 5-6

Red chillies - 1

Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Coriander powder – 1 tsp

Cumin powder – 1 tsp

Sambhar powder – 1tsp

Pickle Masala(Achar Masala) – 1 tsp

Asafetida – pinch

Salt to taste

Oil – 1 tbsp

Mustard -1 tsp

Cumin – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a sprig

Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

In a Kadhai (wok), heat some oil add mustard, when the mustard begins to crackle add the cumin and break the red chilly into 2 pieces and let it fry. Keep the gas on sim and then add all the masala powders, asafetida, curry leaves, and salt as per taste and then add the mashed potatoes. Mix well, check for salt, if less add now and mix. While mixing don’t mash the potato just turn it gently. Let this cook for a few minutes.

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves. Mix well and serve hot with Poori/ chappati or hot rice and sambhar/rasam/dal

Tips :-

If you don’t get the pickle masala, dry roast, 1 tsp of mustard seeds and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds and grind into a fine powder.

SWEET AVAL / VELLA AVAL / SWEET POHA (SWEETENED BEATEN RICE FLAKES)

2011-04-07T18:54:00.004+08:00

BEATEN RICE

Flattened rice (also called beaten rice) is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes. These flakes of rice swell when added to liquid, whether hot or cold, as they absorb water, milk or any other liquids. The thicknesses of these flakes vary between almost translucently thin (the more expensive varieties) to nearly four times thicker than a normal rice grain.

This easily digestible form of raw rice is very popular across Nepal, North East India and Bangladesh, and is normally used to prepare snacks or light and easy fast food in a variety of Indian cuisine styles, some even for long-term consumption of a week or more. It is known by a variety of names: Poha or Pauwa in Hindi, Baji in Newari, Pohe in Marathi, Chindé in Bengali, Chira in Assamese, Phovu in Konkani, Chudaa in Oriya and parts of Bihar and Jharkhand, Atukulu in Telugu, Bajeel or Bajil in Tulu, Chudwey in Urdu(Dakkani), Aval in Malayalam and Tamil, Avalakki in Kannada, Pauaa/Paunva in Gujarati, and Chiura in Nepali, Bhojpuri and Chhattisgarhi.

Flattened rice is also a convenience food and very similar to instant mashed potatoes in uses and spirit.

(Info courtesy – Wikipedia)

SWEET AVAL / VELLA AVAL / SWEET POHA (SWEETENED BEATEN RICE FLAKES)

This dish is usually prepared for Krishna Jayanti as Lord Krishna loves Aval (Beaten rice) and Vellam(Jaggery). Since my daughter has a sweet tooth and keeps asking for something sweet once in a while I decided to make the Vella Aval. Personally Iam partial to the savory versions of Aval.

Close up of the Sweet Aval

Ingredients

Poha (Beaten Rice flakes) – 1 ½ cup

Jaggery – 1 cup or 6-7 cubes

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Freshly grated Coconut - 2 to 3 tbsp, grated

Ghee - 1 tsp (optional)

Method

I have used the thick slightly reddish Aval in my recipe. Check for husks or stones if any and remove them from the Aval. Put the Aval in a colander and rinse it thoroughly. Let it rest for about 15-20 minutes. The aval becomes soft, keep aside.

Meanwhile crush the jaggery with a mortar and pestle. In a wok, add the crushed jaggery and ½ cup of water. You will notice theat the jaggery starts to melt. Add the cardamom powder to the jaggery and when the jaggery completely melts and starts to froth. Add the aval to the jaggery mixture and mix the aval with it properly. Add a teaspoon of ghee. Close with a lid and cook on a low flame. The steam that builds up slowly aids in cooking the aval further. Cook for about 10 minutes on a low flame. Keep opening the lid and stirring every now and then so that it doesn’t get burnt. Finally add the freshly grated coconut. Switch off the gas. Put the lid on the wok and keep closed for 5 minutes. Serve hot. Enjoy the sweet Aval.

I am sending the Sweet Aval to Priya Suresh’s Celebrate Sweets – Sweets with rice event. This event was originally started by Nivedita from Nivedita's Kitchen

I would also like to send this to Srivalli's Breakfast Mela

BHARVA BHINDI (STUFFED OKRA/LADIES FINGER)

2011-03-21T20:12:00.002+08:00

BHARVA BHINDI (STUFFED OKRA/LADIES FINGER)

I would like to apologize to all the people who visit my blog regularly as I am not able to blog these days although blogging is one of my favorite hobbies or pass time as you may call it.. Partly due to work and family pressures and partly due to Facebook which has slowly but surely taken a lot of my leisure time. I promise myself that I would atleast retain the habit of posting one recipe a month. Here is a recipe everyone in my house loves. I could call this version of Bharva Bhindi a more south indianized version or a fusion between south and north Indian. Do try this recipe and enjoy the bharva bhindis.

BHARVA BHINDI WITH A DIFFERENCE

Ingredients

Okra / Bhindi -1/2 kilo

Cumin seeds – 2 tsps

For stuffing:

Coriander powder – 1tbsp

Cumin powder – ½ tbsp

Amchoor ½ tbsp

Red Chilly powder – 1 tbsp

Bengal gram / Chana dal -2 tbsp

Black gram dal /White lentil /Udad dal – 1 tbsp

Sesame seeds – 1tbsp

Salt as per taste

Method

Dry roast the Chana dal and udad dal and make a coarse powder. Dry roast the sesame seeds and when it starts to splutter, allow it to cool down and make a coarse powder in the mixie. Mix the above 2 powders and all the other ingredients (cumin powder, coriander powder, amchoor powder, red chilly powder and salt as per taste). Keep it aside.

Now rinse, wipe and make a slit on each okra/ bhindi and set side. Stuff the powdered masala into the slit in the okra. If the masala is not enough, make more, if remaining keep aside.

Heat 3 tbsps of cooking oil. Add the cumin seeds and when they splutter. Add the stuffed okra pieces. Place them in the wok in such a way that all get the heat. Sprinkle some water and a bit of salt, the remaining masala powder and cook covered on a low flame for about 30 minutes, being careful not to burn them in the process. Keep turning the okra occasionally.

When it is soft and done, remove from the fire and serve hot with Fulkas / chappatis ot Rice and dal.

Tips : -

You can add some roasted coconut as well to the masala powder mixture and stuff in the okras. This gives a very nice and fresh coconutty flavor to the okras.

You can also add some onions sautéed in oil to the powder mix.
Okra is a very delicate and fast to cook vegetable so please ensure that while cooking on the gas stove you keep the flame low.

MICROWAVE VERSION

This recipe comes out nicer in a microwave as the okra get cooked evenly and there is no stickiness too.

If you are using a microwave oven, please keep the okras on a plate and microwave on high for 10 minutes. Open the microwave after 5-7 minutes and turn the okras. Check if done, if not keep for another 5 minutes.

And serve as above.

I would like to send this recipe to Charitha’s C- for Colourful Curry’s event that she is hosting in her blog Woman’s Era 2008.