Tickling Palates

Rava Khichdi Recipe (Suji/Semolina Khichadi Recipe) | South Indian Breakfast Recipes

2013-06-13T09:58:00.001+05:30

Rava Kichadi happens to be one of my favorite breakfast or an evening tiffin to be enjoyed with dollops of ghee. My Grandmother got this recipe from a brahmin man who ran a quaint little hotel in the 60's and its been the most loved recipe in our family ever since that. This recipe also happens to be our family's lucky recipe as its been served to all the grooms who came to see the bride and every time the alliance has always ended up being finalized at the first shot itself. As I have grown up used to this recipe, I dislike it when people pass off a humble rava upma with vegetables as rava khichdi. The difference between a rava khichdi and the upma is of course the addition of vegetables plus the the khichdi does not have dals added to the tempering unlike the upma and also it has other whole spices unlike the upma.

For this month first week of Avant Garde Cookies we all decided to rustle up dishes that starts with the first letter of our name and this rava khichdi is the first thing that came to my mind as I had always wanted to share this very favorite dish of mine in the blog with all of you. Hope you all make it too and enjoy it as we all do.

Rava Khichdi (Sooji / Semolina Kichadi)

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Rava (semolina/Suji) - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Carrot, small - 1
Potato, small - 1
Fresh peas - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Green chili - 3
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 1
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
Bay leaf - 1
Cashew nuts, halved - 10
Curry leaf - 1 sprig
Water - 3 cups
Salt - to taste
Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tbsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp

Instructions:

1. Chop the onions finely. Thinly slice the potatoes and carrots.

2. Microwave carrots, potaoes, green peas at high for 2 minutes. You can also blanch them. Keep aside.

3. Grind both green chili and ginger without adding any water and keep aside

4. Heat ghee in a pan, add the cashews and roast till golden brown, drain and keep aside.

5. Add oil to the same pan. Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf and saute till you get the aroma.

6. Add mustard seeds and let them crackle. Now add onions, curry leaves and saute till the onions turn pink.

7. Add the ground ginger and chili paste, mix well and cook for a minute.

8. Add rava, turmeric powder, salt and keep sauteeing over low flame for 2-3 minutes. The rava will get roasted well.

9. Raise the flame to full. Add the blanched vegetables and pour the water with one hand into the rava mixture while mixing with a spatula with the other hand.

10. Mix well. You can see the khichdi thickening while the water starts to bubble around. Simmer the flame now. Close with a lid a let it cook for 4-5 minutes.

11. Switch off stove and keep the khichdi closed with a lid so that the khichdi gets further cooked in the heat and it will become grainy and separate instead of being mushy.

12. You can add another tbsp of ghee, roasted cashews and mix well before serving the hot khichdi with coconut chutney and sambar.

Notes:

1. You can add tomatoes as well but it further makes the khichdi more mushy. So I never add it.

2. If you are calorie conscious, avoid ghee and make it with oil.

3. You can also avoid the cashews but the biting into the crunchiness adds more taste.

4. If you do not wish to bite into the whole spices, grind the spices excepting the bay leaf with the green chili and ginger.

This is off to Avant Garde Cookies.

Vazhai Thandu Poriyal Recipe | Plantain (Banana) Stem Curry/Stir Fry

2013-06-10T11:14:00.000+05:30

Vazhai thandu / Plantain Stem which is also known as Plantain pith happens to be rich in fibre and also has many medicinal benefits. When my younger one was suffering from constipation years back, the Doctor advised me to feed him the juice extracted from the plantain stem as a natural cure. The juice is also given to young girls to attain puberty as it cleanses the Uterus in a natural way and also heals the stomach cramps that they may suffer during the mensus time. As this is a no onion, no garlic recipe, its perfect to make and have with lunch during Vrat (fasting) days when you are not supposed to cook those ingredients. While my Mom makes the Banana Stem poriyal differently, this curry version is my MIL’s that is simple, quick which does not involve any grinding.

Vazhaithandu Poriyal| Plantain Stem Curry / Stirfry

Prep time: 15 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves: 3 – 4

Ingredients:

Vazhai Thandu / Plantain (Banana) Stem – 2 cups
Tur Dal (pigeon peas) – 3 tbsp
Sambar powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut – 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Urad dal – 1 tsp
Bengal Gram / Channa dal – 1 tsp
Whole dry red chilies - 2
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Asafetida – 1/8 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – 3 tsp

Instructions:

1. Remove the outer covering or thick hard shells covering the tender plantain stem and discard them.

2. Cut the plantain stem into roundels and further chop them fine. Remove any fibre that comes off while chopping and discard them.

3. You can soak the chopped plantain stem in a mixture of buttermilk and water to avoid any discoloration. This step is purely optional.

4. Soak the tur dal in enough water for 15 minutes or before you begin chopping the stem.

5. Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle, add urad dal and channa dal and once they become golden brown, add broken dry chilies, asafetida and sauté for a few seconds.

6. Now add the soaked tur dal after draining the water away, chopped plantain stem, salt and mix well. Close with a lid and cook for 2 minutes.

7. Now add sambar powder, turmeric powder, mix well and let it cook over low flame. Keep mixing in between for even cooking of the plantain stem. No need to close with a lid or add water. The moisture in the stem is enough to cook. It should take 5-7 minutes to get cooked till the stem becomes soft.

8. Before taking off add grated coconut, curry leaves, mix well and take off fire. Close with a lid and leave it for 2-3 minutes for the flavors to merge together.

9. Serve as a side dish with rice and gravies.

Notes:

1. If you are soaking the chopped plantain stem in buttermilk to prevent discoloration, drain the stem before adding it to the curry.

2. Do not discard the buttermilk used for soaking. Add salt to taste and drink it. It will taste a bit sour but trust me it is now full of fibre and nutrients to waste it away.

Poondu (Garlic) Sambar Recipe

2013-06-08T10:32:00.000+05:30

Poondu Sambar belongs to the typical South Arcot Cuisine that uses very less components for the main ingredient of a dish. I learned this recipe from my MIL and came to know that a sambar can be made with just garlic alone only after my marriage. This sambar does not have any other vegetables, not even onions and tomatoes that are used in almost all other sambar recipes. If you happen to love garlic as much as I do, this will be a real treat for your lunch. The taste and flavor of this sambar is very unique and the best recipe to make when you do not happen to have any vegetables staring at you in your refrigerator.

Anusha, Roshni and myself have joined forces to have a Palooza in a Pan every month to not only enrich our knowledge of the Cuisines across the World but also to add some healthy recipes to our repertoire in our search for finger licking, nutritious meals for our family and this Poondu Sambar goes in as my first contribution for the celebration of Legumes.

Poondu Sambar / Garlic Sambar

Prep time: 15 min | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

Garlic, peeled – pods from 2 medium sized bulbs
Tur dal (Pigeon Peas) – 1/2 cup
Tamarind – 1 small lemon size ball
Sambar powder – 2 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Vengaya Kari Vadagam – 1/2 tsp
Whole dry red chillies - 2
Asafetida – 1/8 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt – to taste
Oil – 2 tsp

Instructions:

1. Soak tamarind in hot water. Extract pulp and keep aside.

2. Wash and soak tur dal for 10 mins. In a pressure cooker, place the dal, turmeric powder, enough water and cook for 2-3 whistles till the dal is soft. Mash well and keep aside.

3. Place the peeled garlic in a mortar and just pound them once with the pestle. The garlic should just have a crack, just enough to let out its aroma, that’s all. You can do them individually too if you do not mind the time it takes. Keep aside.

4. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle add vengaya kari vadagam, asafetida, broken whole dry red chilies and sauté for 1/2 minute.

5. Add the tamarind pulp, salt and the garlic pods. Let it come to a bubbling boil. Now add sambar powder and cook for 2 minutes till the raw smell goes off over medium flame.

6. Now add the mashed tur dal, mix well, simmer the flame, close with a lid and cook for 5-7 minutes. The flavors would have merged by now.

7. Transfer to the serving bowl, add fresh curry leaves, mix well, close with a lid and let it be for 5 minutes.

8. Serve hot with a steaming rice and enjoy a hearty lunch with your favorite side dish.

Notes:

1. Use the country or “Naattu” poondu, the small variety to make this sambar. Avoid using the Chinese garlic that’s also called as “Malai” poondu.

2. If there is any left over, reheat on the same day to use if for next day. It tastes even better. Do not refrigerate it over night. The taste will not be the same.

3. Adjust the quantity of garlic pods according to your preference.

4. Do not add any other vegetable or onion for this sambar.

This is off to Palooza in a Pan.

Vendakkai Puli Kulambu Recipe | Vendakkai Puli Pachadi Recipe

2013-06-05T11:57:00.000+05:30

I love anything with vendakkai/okra and luckily it happens to be one of the vegetable that is loved by all at home as well. At my side of family, while we call this vendakkai gravy as puli kulmabu, in my MIL’s side they call it as Vendakkai Puli Pachadi with a slight variation in the recipe. I simply combined both the styles and started to make my own version which we all at home love. What ever be the name, its hard not to love this okra in tamarind sauce as it happens to be a significant South Indian gravy for lunch.

Of course there happens to be another version as well where I make it with a ground paste that is added to the gravy but this one is simple, quick and will make a nice variation to the usual sambar that you will make daily for lunch. Usually tomatoes are not used to make this one but if you want you can always add but make sure to adjust the amount of tamarind pulp as you may end up with a much tangier kulambu. You can also have it as a side dish for idli and dosa.

Vendakkai Puli Kulambu / Vendakkai Puli Pachadi

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Serves : 2 - 3

Ingredients:

Vendakkai / Bhindi / Okra – 1/4 kgs
Tamarind – 1 small lemon size
Onion – 1
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder – 2 tsp
Rice flour – 1 tsp
Jaggery, grated – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste

For Seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp
Vengaya kari vadagam – 1/4 tsp
Whole dry red chili – 2
Asafetida – 1/8 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Sesame oil – 2 tbsp

Instructions:

1. Wash and wipe the vendakkai / okra and cut into into thin round slices. Chop the onions finely.

2. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of hot water and extract its pulp and keep aside.

3. Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds, when it splutters, add vengaya kari vadagam, fenugreek seeds, broken whole red chili, asafetida and curry leaves and sauté for 1/2 minute till you get the aroma.

4. Now add the onion and sauté till it translucent. Now add the chopped vendakkai/okra, a pinch of salt and cook over low flame for 2 minutes till it softens and gets partly cooked.

5. Now add the tamarind extract and let it come to a boil. Add turmeric powder, sambar powder, salt, mix well and cook for 5-7 minutes till the raw smell disappears and the kulambu will thicken a bit.

6. Mix rice flour in 1/4 cup of water and add it to the kulambu. Turn the flame to high and cook for 1-2 minute and you can see the kulambu thickening further. When you dip the spoon in the kulambu it should coat the back of that spoon. That is the right consistency. Take off the stove.

7. Now add the grated jaggery, mix well and close with a lid and let it be for 5 minutes for all the flavors to mingle well.

8. Serve hot with steaming rice to which a dash of ghee has been added and enjoy an aromatic lunch.

Notes:

1. Instead of big onions you can also use sambar onions or shallots. But remember that they have a sweet taste to them and and you may want to skip the jaggery at the end.

2. Instead of sambar powder, you can also add store bought kulambu chilli powder.

3. If you do have jagggery at hand, use sugar instead but jaggery is highly recommended.

4. You can skip the vengaya kari vadagam for seasoning if you do not have. But I love to add them as they lend a wonderful flavor to the kulambu.

5. If you do not have sesame oil, use any other vegetable oil for cooking.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza Recipe | Best Dough less, Eggless, Gluten free, Grain And Nut Free, Yeast Free Pizza Crust Recipe Ever

2013-06-03T11:35:00.000+05:30

For a long time, I had thought a Pizza needs flour and yeast, until I came a cauliflower crust pizza on Pinterest and I was really intrigued by that idea. It had been on my mind ever since to give it a try and find out how it tasted actually. I hate wasting food and there are millions of hungry mouths and empty bellies around us and any wastage of food always makes me feel so guilty. This very feeling made me postpone to try this one, this long as I did not want to be the one to eat the whole thing in case the kids did not like it. Luckily my kids loved it and in fact gobbled down 2 of them as I had made 2 versions of it, the other being a Vegan Pizza crust which also came out perfect.

A warning first that this is not your typical pizza and you have to eat it with a fork but you will be able to cut a perfect slice of it if you follow the instructions to the T. I hope I have convinced you after taking a look at the pictures.

I made a typical Indian flavored Pizza and made 2 versions with one being loaded with cheese and the other a vegan one. But I found that the one with the butter was even more firm and than the vegan crust. I would have never thought a pizza crust made with a vegetable would taste this good and turn out great as well.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza - Doughless, Eggless, Gluten free, yeast free and Nut free Pizza Crust

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 5 mins | Bake time: 15 mins | Grill/Broil time: 4 mins | Makes: One 8” Pizza

Ingredients:

Cauliflower, medium – 1 head
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – 1/8 tsp
Garlic Cheese spread / Oil – 3 tbsp (* See Notes)
Oil – 1/2 tsp

For Topping:

Mushrooms – 2, small
Red & Yellow Bell pepper – 1/2 each
Onion – 1/4
Salt – 1 pinch
Mozzarella cheese – 1/4 cup
Tomato or Pizza Sauce – to spread
Oil – 1/2 tsp

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry the cauliflower head. You can use a kitchen towel and pat to dry it out.

2. With the help of a grater, grate the cauliflower. Only grate the flower part and avoid grating the stem. Spread the “riced” cauliflower either on a paper or on a dry cloth and let it air dry for at least 30 minutes. You can also place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

3. Heat a pan with oil, add the “riced” cauliflower, salt and sauté over low flame for 3-4 minutes. Take off stove. Add red chili powder, garam masala powder, garlic cheese spread / oil, turmeric powder and mix well. The consistency will be dough like.

4. Place a parchment paper on a baking tray and grease the paper with oil. Dump the cauliflower masala in the center of the paper and pat with your finger tips to form an 8” inch disc.

5. Preheat the oven at 220 C (450 F) and slide the tray in to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or till the edges become crisp and the center becomes firm to the touch. You will also be able to sense the cooked smell of the cauliflower by the end.

6. While the pizza crust is baking, prep the vegetables by chopping them into big chunks. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

7. Heat a pan with oil. First add onions and sauté for 1/2 minute over high flame. Then add bell peppers, mushrooms and salt and cook for 1 minute over high flame and take off fire.

8. Once the crust is baked, take the pan out of the oven. Spread the tomato or pizza sauce on the crust all over and arrange the partly cooked vegetables as you wish. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese all over the vegetables.

9. Once again insert the tray into the oven and grill or broil the pizza for 2-3 minutes or till the cheese on top melts and becomes bubbly.

10. Take the pizza out of the oven, let it cool for 1 or 2 minutes, cut with a pizza cutter and serve hot.

Notes:

1. If you do not have the time to dry out the “riced” cauliflower and if you do not want to pre cook them before baking, place them in a thin kitchen towel and squeeze the heck out of them. You will be surprised at the amount of water it releases. Mix in the other ingredients and bake the crust.

2. What if you do not have garlic cheese spread? well, you can add 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and softened unsalted butter. If you do not want to add butter and wish to make a vegan pizza crust, skip the butter and replace it with oil.

3. You can skip the Indian spices and go all out for an Italian one by using Mixed Dry Italian herbs, also skip the cheese spread or butter and use grated Parmesan or cheddar cheese instead.

4. Use your better judgment while adding salt as you are adding it both to the crust and topping separately and also the cheese has salt too.

5. Do not bake for a long time as anyways after adding cheese you are going to grill or broil again.

6. Oven timings will change accordingly.

This is off to The Groovy Gourmets where we are making different sorts of Pizzas this month.

Butter Scones Recipe | The Easiest and Best Eggless Scones Ever

2013-06-01T08:30:00.000+05:30

Scones can either be had as a breakfast, brunch or as a snack. Scones are single serving cakes or quick breads that does not have yeast in them and an English version of our own Indian biscuits. Scones are very lightly sweetened and on occasions like high tea’s they are also lightly glazed on top. I have already made these Banana Cinnamon Scones which are so flavorful and this time chose these old fashioned butter scones that are so soft to the bite and flaky as well. The scones were easy to make and are ultimate in taste when eaten slathered with jam.

For this month’s last week of Avant garde Cookies, Roshni challenged us to cook out recipes from story books. The word immediately reminded me of Enid Blyton. Any kid’s childhood is so incomplete without her reading her books. When I told the theme, Arun was extremely delighted as he loves “The Famous Five” and “Secret Seven” very much. He started giving out a lengthy list of recipes to try out from the Famous Five’s picnics at the country side. I made a lemonade, a sandwich but finally wanted to make these scones as well. The boys just gobbled them after slathering it with jam. Though it was not a pastry dough, it was really flaky and oh so buttery.

Old Fashioned Butter Scones

Prep time: 5 mins | Bake time: 15 mins | Makes: 12

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 1+1/2 cups
Baking powder – 3 tsp
Castor sugar – 1/4 cup
Unsalted butter – 3 to 4 tbsp
Milk – 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Salt – 1 pinch

Instructions:

1. In a bowl mix together flour, castor sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Add softened butter to the flour and rub into the flour with your finger tips till it resembles bread crumbs.

3. Add 1/2 cup milk first and mix to form a soft dough. Add more milk only if needed. Do not knead.

4. On a greased tray place the dough and pat into an 8” circle. Make an impression with a blunt knife across the circle so that you can easily take off the scones after baking. You can also cut the dough with cookie cutters and transfer to the baking tray.

5. Preheat the oven at 220 C (425 F) and bake for 15-20 minutes.

6. Remove the tray and cover with a towel and let it completely cool down. If you want the scones to be crisp do not close with the towel.

7. Store in an air tight container and serve with jam or cream.

Notes:

1. Old fashioned scones do not have sugar in them. But I added a little as I did not want the kids to complain.

2. You can also use vegetable shortening instead of butter.

3. For a variation you can add dry fruits like raisins and chopped dates, grated orange or lemon rind for some flavoring and also some chocolate chips if you do not fancy a plain one.

4. As I used salted butter, I omitted salt in the recipe.

5. You can give an egg wash on top of the scones before baking if you want a golden crust.

6. Oven timings will vary accordingly.

This is off to Avant Garde Cookies.

Partnering with Ziplist

2013-05-31T16:19:00.000+05:30

I had always been a pen and paper girl ever since I started to save recipes as a little girl. Then started saving recipes in the computer even much before I started blogging. It does not matter whether you are a food blogger or not it is always handy to save them so that you can always go back and refer at a later date.

Keeping that in mind, I would like to share with you all that Tickling Palates has entered into a partnership with Ziplist to enable all the readers to help save recipes online and organize the collection of saved recipes.

Ziplist is a free service that helps you to save recipes from across the web by which you can create your own collection of recipes, manage your grocery shopping list and get great savings and share with your entire family.

As you can see, there is a ziplist button (Recipe Box) at the top navigation bar that helps you to easily access the Ziplist services and save recipes not only from this blog but also from any other food blog blog across the web.

As Ziplist is a free service, you can create a free account by signing in with your email id or with any of your social networking ID provided by them. After I explain the benefits of this wonderful tool I’m sure you will want to give it a try as well.

I’m sure you all know how much our mobile phones have become a part of our lives. After you have saved the recipes to Ziplist, you can very easily access your shopping list using Ziplist’s mobile app. You can also very easily access the grocery deals in big outlets and can save money. With Ziplist, meal planning becomes a breeze and you can entertain your family and friends by cooking up new, delicious and healthy recipes from your collection and be highly appreciated.

You can save recipes from all food sites that has partnered with Ziplist, tag them, filter them, use search option to look for saved recipes. You can also share these recipes with your friends or family members. And the most interesting thing is that each family member can also add his/her favorite recipe to the list.

Above all using this service to save recipes, creating shopping lists and using the mobile app is totally free. I hope, I got you excited enough to try out the service. Please click the Recipe Box and start saving you favorite recipes from your favorite blogs.

Homemade Bialys Recipe (topped with Caramelized Onions)

2013-05-24T12:17:00.000+05:30

The first time I saw Bialys was in a picture of a New york bakery shop (I believe it is Kossar's) neatly arranged inside a rack. They looked like mini Pizzas to me only to learn that they were not when I read the recipe for this month’s we knead to bake group. A Bialy is a round shaped bread with a depressed middle but not a hole like in doughnuts, and typically filled with cooked onions and sometimes poppy seeds. Bialys is considered to be a close cousin of the Bagels. The difference is while a Bialy is baked, a Bagel is boiled and then baked. The pronunciation of bialys goes like bee-AH-lee.

The name Bialy comes from Bialystocker Kuchen which translates as “bread from Bialystok” which is in Poland. In the days when there used to be Bialys in Bialystock, it seems the rich Jews ate Bialys with their meals, while the Bialys were the whole meal for the poorer Jews.

In the early 1900s, many Eastern Eurpoeans, including the Polish, immigrated to the US and settled down in New York. Naturally, they also brought their Bialy making skills with them and that is how the New York Bialy became famous.

What lends Bialys their signature chewiness is the use of flour that is high in gluten. So to make Bialys, use bread flour if you can find it. Otherwise use all-purpose flour and add 1 tbsp vital wheat gluten (for the 3 cups). If like me, you can find neither bread flour nor vital wheat gluten, go ahead and make it with plain flour and use whole wheat for dusting and rolling to get that wonderful chewy crust.

Homemade Bialys topped with Caramelized Onions

Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Prep time: 10 mins | Rest time: 3 hours (divided) | Bake time: 20 mins | Makes: 8

Ingredients:

For the dough:

All purpose flour – 3 cups
Active Dry Yeast – 1 tsp
Sugar – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1 tsp
Water – 11/4 cups
Milk / Oil – to brush
Oil – 1/2 tsp (for greasing)
Whole wheat flour – 4 tbsp (for dusting)

For the Onion Filling:

Onions, medium – 3
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp
Chaat Masala powder – 1/2 tsp
Salt – to taste

Instructions:

1. In a mixing bowl, place the dry ingredients and mix well. Heat water to lukewarm temperature (110 F) and add it to the flour and knead to make a soft and elastic dough. You can also use your food processor to do this.

2. Shape into a ball and place it in a bowl greased with oil and turning it around so that the dough ball gets completed coated with oil. Cover and let it double for 2 hours. At this stage you can refrigerate the dough and bake it later. When you want to bake, make sure to keep the dough at room temperature for about half an hour and before proceeding with the rest of the recipe.

3. Meanwhile, let’s make the filling. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When it crackles, add onions and sauté over medium heat. Sprinkle little salt and continue sautéing until they become soft and turn golden brown in color. Add the red chili powder, chaat masala powder and stir well. Take off fire and let it cool.

4. Sprinkle your work surface lightly with whole wheat flour and place the dough on it. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and shape each one into a roll by flattening it and then pinching the ends together to form a smooth ball. Place the rolls on a lightly greased baking sheet and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for about one hour (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours for refrigerated dough) till pressing with a finger on the top leaves a dent.

5. Work on one piece at a time, while you keep the others covered so they don’t dry out. When the rolls are ready, pick them up one at a time and place it upside down on the work surface. Grease a small bowl on the outer with oil. Place the bowl on the roll press gently using rotating motion so that it makes an indent in the middle. Now use finger tips to perfect the indent. Make sure you do not poke a hole in the middle. Remember not to press on the edges, or they will flatten out. Once shaped, you should have a depression of about 3” in diameter with 1” of puffy dough around the edge, so your Bialy should be about 4” in diameter. Prick the center of the Bialy with a fork so the center doesn’t rise when baking.

6. Place the shaped dough on a parchment lined (or greased) baking tray leaving about 2 inches space between them. Place the caramelized onion filling in the depressions of each Bialy. Brush the outer dough circle with milk.

7. Preheat the oven at 230C (450F) and bake for about 20 minutes or till they’re golden brown in color. Cool them on a rack. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Notes:

1. Using whole wheat flour for dusting and gave the rolls a wonderful crust for me despite not using bread flour.

2. You can use poppy seeds along with onions and also crumbled cottage cheese for the filling.

3. You can store in an air tight bin for up to 2 days.

4. If the Bialys get cold just microwave it for a few seconds and serve it warm.

5. Oven timings will change accordingly.

This is off to We Knead to Bake #5.

Cantaloupe Slush Recipe

2013-05-23T19:15:00.003+05:30

A few days ago both myself and my friend went on a shopping spree and the day we chose happened to be the most hottest day on record of this year’s Summer. More than the shopping we did, we stopped at several shops selling fruit juices as the heat was just unbearable. I was so glad that we both left our kids at home. Even imagining, handling both the kids and the baggages in that unbearable hot weather makes me feel faint.

Of all the things we both gulped down on that day, the Slush was my most favorite. It was so soothing and I really kept craving for it. Finally made it last week and still the craving continues not only for me but for my kids as well as they both fell in love with this Cantaloupe Slush. I have been begged and threatened to make it on all the days for the rest of their summer holidays.

You can enjoy it either as a mid day frozen treat or as a healthy after meal dessert as either way it would make an ideal treat on a hot summer day.

Cantaloupe Slush

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: Nil | Serves: 3

Ingredients:

Cantaloupe, cubed – 2 cups
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Sugar / Honey – to taste
Ice cubes – 2 cups

Instructions:

1. In a blender, place all the ingredients and pulse at regular intervals till they become mushy.

2. Transfer to a container and place it in the freezer for 15-30 minutes. It would have set partly by now. Fluff with a fork.

3. Spoon into individual glasses or bowls and serve immediately.

Notes:

1. You can use any or a combination of fruits like banana, chikoos, ice apples, mango, strawberries etc., In short any soft and mushy fruit would be ideal.

2. If you want to serve immediately, you can also freeze the fruits before hand.

Date Tamarind Chutney Recipe | Sweet Chutney for Chaat Recipes

2013-05-21T18:18:00.000+05:30

A chaat is so incomplete without the dates and tamarind to spruce it up. This chutney is a very healthy one considering the ingredients that goes into it. This chutney is also known Khajur(Dates) Imli (Tamarind) ki Chutney. Though it is available at big supermarkets in bottled form, I prefer making it at home as it takes very less ingredients and also it is much more economical, super easy and without any added preservatives. My kids love this chutney so much that they can eat it almost with everything and anything.

Having a bottle of this chutney in your fridge takes care of your instant cravings in a very healthy way. Need ideas on how else to use this sweet chutney other than in chaats??? My kids douse a liberal quantity of this chutney over a pack of murmura/pori (Rice krispies) and tuck it in. You can serve it with nachos as a dip. Have chapathis at hand, slather a liberal dose of this chutney, sprinkle some boiled sprouts, finely chopped veggies like carrots, cucumber and zucchini, season to your taste and serve as Wraps. The ideas are plenty if you let it grow on you.

Date Tamarind Chutney

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Makes: 1-1/2 cups | Shelf life: 7-10 days

Ingredients:

Dates – 1/2 cup
Tamarind – 1/4 cup
Jaggery (Molasses) – 1/2 cup
Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp
Roasted Cumin powder – 1/2 tsp
Dry Ginger powder (sonth / sukku) – 1/4 tsp
Black salt – 1/4 tsp
Water – 2 cups

Instructions:

1. Crumble the jaggery. Remove any seeds and fibre from tamarind. If using seeded dates, remove the seeds.

2. Heat water in a pan and add all the ingredients to the hot water. Let it simmer for 5-7 minutes till the jaggery completely dissolves. Take off fire. Close with a lid and let it cool down completely. I leave it for 2-3 hours so that the dates and tamarind could soften well and absorb the other spices.

3. Transfer the entire contents to a blender and grind till smooth to a sauce consistency. Add less then 1/4 cup of water if you find the mixture very thick to grind.

4. Transfer the ground chutney to a pan and bring it to a boil over low flame. When you start to see small bubbles around the chutney, take off fire and let it cool completely.

5. Transfer to a dry, clean jar and use as required. You can keep this chutney up to 10 days if refrigerated.

Notes:

1. If you do not have roasted cumin powder, simply dry roast the cumin seeds in a pan add the cumin with the other ingredients.

2. If you do not have dry ginger powder, simply add 1/2 inch dry ginger (sukku / sonth) instead.

3. If you do not have black salt, replace with chaat masala powder.

4. You can also add 2-3 dry whole red chillies instead of the powder. Make sure to remove the seeds before adding.

5. As I let the ingredients to soak in well, it gets ground smooth and I never pass the chutney through a sieve.

6. Simmering the chutney after grinding is optional. I normally do it as it not only helps to thicken the chutney, but also gets rid of any raw smell of the ingredients and also increases the shelf life.

Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal Recipe / Beach Sundal | Navaratri Sundal Recipes

2013-05-20T11:18:00.000+05:30

The Summer in Chennai is synonymous to Marina Beach, Molaga bajji, the crowd, balloons, fans and mask sellers, panju mittai (cotton candy), cone ice cream carts with bells and above all the sundal sold at the beach. There is immense pleasure in munching on them while enjoying the gentle chill breeze, listening to the waves lapping at the shore. This beach sundal recipe is an authentic one and I got it from a person who used to sell it on the beach as a kid.

In fact I grew up eating this year after year not at the beach but in a church in our neighborhood where we used to attend VBS class as kids and this person was the caretaker there. All the kids who attend the class will be given some healthy snacks during the break time and this sundal will be served on most days to us in paper cones just like in the beach to cheer us all.

My kids love them so much and most Sundays this is our snack in the Evenings. Arjun always prefer to eat them from paper cones and wanted to pose with the cone made by him. Its not perfect looking but I did not want to disappoint him.

Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 20 mins | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Dry white peas – 1 cup (200 gms)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp (optional)
Green Chilies – 3
Fresh grated coconut – 3 tbsp
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Grated Mang0 – 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Salt – to taste
Oil – 1 tsp

Instructions:

1. Soak dry peas in enough water over night or for 8 – 10 hours.

2. Next day discard the soaked water and wash the peas with fresh water. Place peas in the pressure cooker and add enough so that the water stands 1 inch above the peas. Add salt and turmeric powder. Place the cooker on the small burner of the gas stove and cook for 2 whistles. After the pressure is released, drain excess water and keep aside. The peas should have been cooked soft.

3. Meanwhile, place coconut, ginger piece, green chili in a mixer grinder and first pulse the contents and then grind to a coarse paste without adding any water.

4. Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds and when it crackles, add curry leaves. Now add the coarsely ground paste and sauté for 1/2 minute.

5. Add the cooked peas and mix well. Check salt at this stage and add if not enough and take off from fire.

6. Squeeze the lemon juice and sprinkle the grated mango all over and once again toss well for all the contents to mix well.

7. Garnish with coriander leaves, if preferred and serve hot in paper cones just as they do at the Beach.

Notes:

1. If you want the typical aroma of the sundal as they do at the Beach, after mixing well, line a bowl with fresh banana leaves (Vazhai ilai) and transfer the sundal to it and close the bowl with a lid tightly. Leave it for 10 –15 minutes and then serve.

2. Do not miss the lemon juice as that’s what makes it a typical beach style sundal. The taste will definitely vary if you miss it.

3. You can either grate or chop the raw mango into fine pieces. It is your choice. I usually grate them to save time.

4. An authentic one does not have onions in it but if you prefer, then you can add it. You can also add some finely chopped cucumber and tomatoes and enjoy it like a salad.

Butterscotch Blondies Recipe

2013-05-17T11:25:00.000+05:30

I’m a Lacto Vegetarian. Before you start thinking out loud, a lacto vegetarian diet includes all sorts of dairy products like milk, yogurt, butter, cheese, cream but excludes eggs. My Doc has been after me for a long time to include eggs in my diet, but for which I have yet to develop an appetite for. Recently I have started to eat eggs in the form of baked goodies and yes earlier I used to enjoy only the eggless bakes. I had always thought that both brownies and blondies are one and the same with some differences of which I never showed an interest to find out. I was not entirely wrong also. while the brownies get the intense flavor from the chocolate used in them, the blondies get their flavor from the brown sugar that is used in them to bake.

For this week’s Avant Garde Cookies it was time for blog hop and I chose this Butterscotch blondies from Anu’s space, as I had never baked blondies before. I had a lot of kids at home and I was sure that they would really love them and it was also easy for me to pack them as we all went for a short trip. They all had a great time munching on them while travelling and it was also mess free for the elders to clean them up later. I also referred to Simply Recipes.

Butterscotch Blondies Recipe

Prep time: 10 mins | Bake time: 45 mins | Makes: 20 squares

Ingredients:

All purpose flour – 2 cups
Butter, melted – 1 cup
Brown sugar, packed – 2 cup
Eggs – 2
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – 1/4 tsp
Butter scotch chips – 3/4 to 1 cup
Vanilla essence – 2 tsp

Instructions:

1. Grease a square pan (10x10) and preheat the oven at 180 C (350 F).

2. Sieve together flour, baking soda, baking powder and keep aside. In a small bowl, break the eggs and lightly beat with a fork and keep aside.

3. In a bowl whisk together melted butter and sugar. Add in beaten eggs, vanilla and whisk once more. I used a balloon whisk for mixing.

4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix together with a spatula. Stir in butter scotch chips and transfer the contents to the greased pan.

5. Spread evenly with a spatula and tap the pan on the kitchen counter gently to level out further.

6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

7. Let it cool in the pan. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Notes:

1. You can replace 1/2 of brown sugar with regular sugar.

2. You can also add chocolate chips and chopped walnuts along with butter scotch chips.

3. Beat the eggs only lightly till the yolk and white combine and not till frothy.

4. You can either halve the recipe or double the recipe very easily but adjust the baking time accordingly and use a correct sized pan accordingly too.

This is off to Avant Garde Cookies.

Lychee Sparkler | Easy Summer Drinks

2013-05-16T08:00:00.000+05:30

Lychee / Litchi is a fruit grown in China and South East Asia that belongs to the soap nut family which happens to be rich in Vitamin C. Eating 9 lychee fruits a day, fulfills an adult’s requirement of their daily dose of Vitamin C says Wikipedia. But I hate this fruit like anything and never buy it at all. There is a reason why I never ask Hubby to go for grocery shopping because he has a habit of picking up things at random off the shelves and also has a knack for buying things that goes into the category of “not liked by all” at home. One such random purchase is a big carton of Lychee juice last week during his outings.

If I thought that the kids at home would help themselves to a liberal helping and empty the carton for me, I was let down badly by the vigorous shake of their heads when served. So instead of giving them the plain juice from the carton made them into a sparkler / lemonade for them and it turned out to be a wonderful thirst quencher on the hot and humid day.

Lychee Sparkler / Lychee Lemonade

Prep time: 5 mins | Cook time: Nil | Serves: 4

Ingredients:

Lychee / Litchi Juice – 1 carton
Sugar – 8 – 10 tbsp
Lemon Juice – Juice of 1 lemon
Mint leaves – 1 handful
Club soda / Chilled water – 200 ml
Ice cubes – to serve

Instructions:

1. Powder sugar in a mixie jar and before taking it off, add the mint leaves and pulse just once to crush the leaves to release their essence and flavor. Transfer to a pitcher.

2. Add lemon juice and lychee fruit juice and mix well. Finally add in club soda / chilled water and stir well.

3. Fill glasses up to half with ice cubes. Pour the sparkler / lemonade over the ice cubes. Garnish with mint leaves and serve immediately.