Freezing Indian Food- My experience and tips

Recently I had been away from home for 2 weeks leaving my son and husband. Hubby dear rarely steps inside the kitchen. My son gets upset stomach if he eats a lot outside! So I, decided to freeze some food that could help them for 2 weeks. All they have to do is cook rice or heat up a chapathi. Ofcourse they can have a treat outside once ot twice a week. Most of the frozen indian food available in the stores are way too spicy for my kiddo! Online research gave me some guidance and helped me freeze some grub!

I wanted to share my experience with all those busy mom/dad's.

Needs some planning and good ziploc freezer bags or freezer safe containers. I would recommend freezing individual portions, so you don't have to reheat over and over again if using a bigger container. Small freezer bags are perfect for upma or dry subzi's.

Just remember to cool the cooked contents thoroughly before freezing and thaw them at least 12 hr s ahead before reheating. Whenever i cooked a big batch, i labelled and froze them.

Coconut or any yogurt based curry does not taste well once reheated.Well, this is what I learnt and did not freeze anything with coconut.

Let me give a list of those items that froze well and just as fresh once reheated. The verdict was given by my family.

• Simple Dal tadka
• Plain cooked toor dal
• Sambar ( podi potta sambar)
• Ven Pongal
• Vegetable rawa upma
• Spinach kootu with toor dal ( no coocnut)
• Rasam varieties ( i froze lemon, regular jeera and garlic rasam)
• Carrot and peas stir fry/ carrot kari
• Cauliflower and potato stir fry/ cauliflower kari
• Tomato soup
• Turnip curry
• Idli/ dosa batter before fermenting freeze in a container ( these are good for dosa only)

I was busy cooking and packing that I forgot to take pictures of all the food.
I would appreciate if you all can share your experience in  freezing indian food or any home cooked food in that matter!

Enjoy your weekend!

Erulli / Eruhuli Curry

It feels good to be back blogging. I had been away for almost 3 weeks taking care of some home issues. Now things are in place and am back.

Many of you may wonder about this name Erulli. This dish is very special to the brahmins in Trivandrum, Kerala. The original name must have been irupuli curry which in tamil means a curry made with 2 tart agents. The tartness by tamarind and sour curds make this dish very special. A curry very identical to arachuvitta sambar without any paruppu, dhania is pretty standard in trivandrum brahmins household.

My inlaws are from Trivandrum and I learnt this from my beloved mom in law, an expert in making this curry.
The key to make this dish yummy is to roast the fenugreek/ methi seeds. in the right consistency. Roasting too little or too much may make the erulli bitter. One can use small onions, potatos, drumstick, winter melon as the main vegetable in the curry.

Here is the recipe.

Get Ready:

• 1 potato  washed &cut into big cubes with skin
• 1/2 tsp tamarind pste
• 2 tbsp Curd/ yogurt well beaten
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• 3 red chillies ( iused small ones)
• 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• salt to taste
• water
• very little oil to fry the fenugreek& chilli

For tadka/ tempering

• 1 tsp coconut oil/ vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Few curry leaves

Go:

• In a kadai, add very little oil, add the red chilli and roast till fragrant. set aside. 
• add the fenugreek and fry till it pops or beomes dark brown in color. set aside.
• In another pan add the potatoes and water to cover about an inch above the potatoes.
• Add salt, turmeric powder and cook the potatoes in water till  half done.
• Add the tamrind paste and cook till the raw smell is gone. By this time the potatoes will be well cooked.
• In a blender add the roasted fenugreek, red chilli, asafetida, coconut a little water and grind into a fine paste.
• Add the paste to the cooked potato, tamrind gravy.
• If it's too thick add a little water, adjust salt to taste.
• Now add the beaten curd/ yoghurt to the gravy.
• Turn the heat off once the curry starts to froth/ bubble at the sides. Do not boil it once the yogurt is added.
• Do the tadka and serve with idli, dosa, rice.

A very easy and authentic erulli is ready!

Cilantro Lime Rice -- Chipotle style

For those who don't know,"Chipotle" is a famous mexical grill eatery here in the US. Their burrito bowl and salads are super yummy. One side dish that they serve is a cilantro lime rice. A very humble rice dish with tons of flavor.

Lemon rice needs no introduction to south Indians. Green chillies, ginger, asafetida, turmeric and lime juice make this a heck of a dish. However in cilantro lime rice, ther are no extra spices. Rice is cooked and flavored with lime juice and loads of cilantro.

I searched the web for this rice and found one Here at copykat.

Lets's get cooking!


Get Ready:

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 cups water
• salt to taste
• 1 and 1/2 lime to be juiced
• cilantro lots and lots chopped without stems.

Go:

• Wash the rice and let it stand for 15- 20 mins.
• In a pan, add the butter, olive oil and washed rice. Saute the rice till it is opaque.
• Add 2 cups of water, salt to taste. let it come to a rolling boil.
• Now simmer, cover and let the rice cook till soft.
• Turn the stove off and fluff the rice.
• Add the cilantro, juice from one lime and taste. If you feel you need more lime juice,add another half of lime juice.

Serve with curried beans, salad or anything.

We had ours with home made guacamole,spicy sauted green peppers and onions.

Enjoy chipotle style at home!

I am travelling and will be taking a break for 2-3 weeks. See you soon!

Aviyal - a vegetable medley

Aviyal is an exclusive vegetable dish from God's own country, aka Kerala. It is also frequently made in tamil nadu and mangalore cuisines. A medley of vegetables cooked with coconut, cumin green chillies and curd.
No sadya or feast is complete without aviyal. The traditional vegetables used in aviyal are cucumbers, winter melon, raw plantains, long beans, carrots, yams, egg plant, snake gourd etc. The sour curd gives a little tartness along with the heat from the green chillies. Adding raw coconut oil boosts tons of flavors and takes this dish to  an amazing  level... to please...

Traditional aviyal made by malayalis include shallots / garlic/ raw mango. These are not routinely added by the kerala brahmins. Again there is regional variation too.
Coming from a palghat iyer family, this is how aviyal is amde in our home, which I would like to share. the yogurt here in USA is not sour enough, so I add a little tamrind pulp to get that uthentic taste.

One could use any vegetables i guess found in hand.

Get Ready

• 2-3 cups of mixed vegetables cut into thick match sticks ( I used winter melon, carrots, suran, snake gourd, beans)
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• water just to cover the vegetables to cook
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp tamarind paste
• 2 tbsp plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1/2 tsp  cumin seeds
• 2-3 tsp coconut oil
•  few curry leaves

Go

• In a pan add just enough water to barely cover vegetables. Add salt, turmeric powder, tamarind paste and cook till they are soft, but not mushy.
• Grind grated coconut, green chillies, and cumin with some water that was used to cook the vegetables into a fine paste.
• Add yogurt to blended coconut mixture in the blender jar and whizz once till the yogurt is well incorporated.
• Add the ground paste to the cooked vegtables.
• Adjust salt to taste.
• Let it come to a boil and turn the heat off.
• Add 2-3 tsp of cocounut oil and tear some curry leaves into the aviyal.

Now go get a plate if steaming rice and enjoy!

Pesarattu /Green Moong Dal Crepes

2011 has taught me some wonderful things. I made new blogger friends, got to taste some amazing recipes shared by my friends.
Here I am at the end of this year sharing a traditional breakfast recipe from my neighbor state/

Pesarattu is a traditional breakfast from Andhra. It is usuallys erved with upma. However in Tamil nadu, it is served with either sambar or chutney. The main ingredient is green moong dal, with skin. i would say it's a cousin of our Adai. However in adai we use channa dal, moong dal, urad dal, and rice.

Adais generally need no fermentation and so does pesarattu. Try this nutritious breakfast that can keep you charged all through the morning.

Get Ready:

• 1 measure Green moong dal
• 1/2 measure basmati rice
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 inch ginger peeled and chopped
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp asafetida/ hing
• water
• oil

Go:

• wash the rice and moong dal together. soak overnight in water
• Next day, grind them finely with green chilli, ginger ina blender, adding water to a consistency of dosa batter.
• Add asafetida, salt to taste and mix well.
• In a griddle or tawa, add a little oil and spread.
• Pour a ladle full of batter and make crepes or dosas.
• Let it cook till it is crispy or brown.
• Flip the other side and cook for a few mins.

Serve hot with chutney, milagai podi or sambar.

Wishing all my friends a wonderlful 2012! may your life be filled with love, good health and of course scrumptious food!

Thai Buttenut Squash Soup

 
Home made soup is the way to go if you are looking for a pure vegetarian version. Most of the canned variety has chicken stock and is a no no for me. The beauty of homemade soups are they freeze beautifully and can be enjoyed any time even if you make a big batch.

I was flipping through a magazine while eating lunch and this simple soup caught my attention. The name sounded fancy as Thai butter nut squash soup. I don't know if butter nut squash is frequently used in Thai cooking or not. Tried this one recently and wanted to share this wonderful recipe with all my friends.
If you like the taste of  coconut milk, you will love this.

One can cook this in a pan or even use pressure cooker. if using pressure cooker cook everything for 1 whistle.

Get Ready

• 2 & 1/2 cups butter nut squash peeled, seeded
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 inch ginger peeled and chopped fine
• 1 clove garlic chopped
• 1 cup vegetable stock ( can be replaced with water)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup Maggi coconut milk powder
• 2-3 tbsp Thai red curry paste ( store bought)
• 1/3 cup unsalted peanuts coarsely crushed
• Lots of cilantro to garnish
• 2-3 tsp lime juice or juice of 1/2 lime

Go:

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
• Add the onions and saute till softened. Add ginger, garlic and cook for a minute.
• Stir in the red curry paste and cook for another minute.
• Microwave 2 cups of water for 30 -40 secs. Add the coconut milk powder and whisk till frothy and lump free. if you are using canned coconut milk, use may be half a can.
• Add water or vegetable stock, cubed butter nut squash.
• Adjust salt to taste, let it come to a boil and lower to a simmer.
• Cover the pot partially and cook till the squash is soft and tender.
• Puree soup in the pan if you have an immersion blender. If not, let it cool and puree in a blender/ mixie.
• Add lime juice.
• Garnish with crushed peanuts and cilantro.

This soup was medium spicy, if you want it more kick add one green chilli while sauteing onions. Add more or less coconut milk according to your taste.  After blending the soup if you feel it's too thick, dilute with water to you desired consistency and bring to a boil in a pan. Just remember to add the lime juice at the end as you don't want to boil the soup after adding lime juice as it may be bitter.

Wishing You all a wonderful holidays!

Tutti Fruti Cake

Tutti Fruti cake needs no introduction to many Indians. It's always available in bakeries across towns and tastes awesome with a cup of Chai! We get this cake in our local Indian bakery. Every time my husband goes there he doesn't stop with buying one.

 Tutti fruti aka candied fruit, pineapple essence and pineapple juice makes this cake so aromatic and flavorful. The moment I saw the recipe at paritaskitchen ,I bookmarked it. Unfortunately got around to doing it now.

So, here goes the recipe! I did not have pineapple juice, but replaced it with mango juice! It still tasted pretty amazing.

Get ready

• 2 cups all purpose flour/ maida
• 1 & 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup tutti fruti mixed with 1 tbsp of flour
• 2 large eggs at room temp
• 1 stick unsalted butter softened at room temp
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pineapple essence/ extract
• 2 tbsp mango juice

Go:

• Pre heat oven to 350 F, Grease a loaf pan or any pan you want to bake in.
• Whisk all thedry ingredients together ( flour, baking soda and powder)
• Cream the butter and sugar well till light and creamy. takes about 2-3 mins .I used the back of a spatula for this.
• Using a electric hand mixer, add one egg at a time and beat well till they look pale  and creamy.
• Add the pineapple extract, mango juice and mix well.
• Add the milk and flour and gently fold till everything is combined well. do not over beat/ mix.
• Finally add the tutti fruti and fold well.
• Bake for 40 -45 mins or till a tooth pick comes out clean when inserted.
• Allow it to cool well, slice and enjoy.

The hardest part is to wait for the cake to cool. If you rush and cut, the cake will become all crumbly.

Enjoy with tea/ coffee!

Chick Peas Curry/ Garbanzo Beans Curry

It was raining cats and dogs here, so glad it's gone! But the mercury is dropping :((

Here is a simple curry to warm up your inner souls.

Chole, Channa or  chick peas curry has many variations in every house hold. Using the tea bags to cook the chick peas gives a nice dark color to the curry.
It goes very well with rice, chapathi's, pita bread, toast ,or to eat it by itself, you name it!

 Get Ready:

• 1 & 1/2 cup  dry chick peas soaked in water overnight  ( can use canned ones)
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 3/4 cup petite diced tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder
• 1/4 tsp dry mango powder ( optional)
• salt to taste
• water
• 1tbsp oil
• 2 whole green cardamom
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tea bag ( optional)
• Jaggery/ brown sugar a little ( optional)
• Cilantro

Go:

• Pressure cook the chick peas with whole cardamom, tea bag (optional) and water up to a an inch above the chick peas for 5-6 whistles. If cooking on stove top, it may take a very long time and I''ve never tried. Turn the heat off.
• In a heavy bottomed or deep pan, add the oil.
• Once hot add the cumin seeds and let them sizzlze.
• Add the onions and fry till slightly brown.
• Add the diced tomatoes and fry till the mixture is dry and oil starts to separate out. This may take 4-5 mins. Make sure you cover the pan, or be prepared for a tomato splash!
• Add all the dry spices, cumin, coriander, garam masala, chilli and dry mango powder and saute till the raw smell goes away.
• Discard the tea bags, but drain and reserve the water in which you cooked the chick peas. If using canned ones, add them after rinsing to the tomato, onion mix at this point.
• Add some of the cooked water, salt to taste and combine everything well.
• If the curry is too thick add more water till you get the consistency you want.
• Adjust spices according to your taste.
• Let it come to a boil and simmer for 5-7 mins.
• Add a pinch of brown sugar or jaggery to taste. this is totally optional.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Spaghetti squash Curry

Whose up for some fun?

See if you can identify all the ingredients in this dish?

Sharpen your nuclear vision and get started!

I started this as a guessing game. Many of my friends thought it was vermicili upma/ pulao.
 It does look like that doesn't it!

Spaghetti squash is a winter squash. It gets it's name  as the cooked squash separates into spaghetti like strands. It's plenty in the market now and cheap. I am cooking it for the first time.
It is always good to try with spices and flavors I am used to than experimenting, isn't it?

Spaghetti squash apparently has only 40 calories/ cup and that's pretty amazing guys! also has plenty of beta carotene and fiber, you know the good stuff for colon!
 I used onions, red bell pepper and green peas jut for different colors. you can use or omit these if you want to.
Hardest part of cooking squash is to cut it. This time I nuked it and was a breeze. I cooked for 10 mins, but 8 would be sufficient. The most important thing is to poke multiple holes on the squash,so you don't end with an explosion of squash inside your microwave.

Get ready:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced
• 1/3 cup frozen peas
• 1 red chilli
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt to taste.
• cilantro for garnish

Go:

• With a big knife, poke 4-5 holes in the squash.
• Microwave the squash by placing directly on the turn table for 8-10 mins. turn it over once in the middle.
• You will notice steam releasing from the inside of the squash. It will collapse a little and feel soft to touch once cooked.
• Set aside tocool. Cut the squash, remove the seeds and flesh from the centre.
• With fork pull all the flesh and it will come out as spaghetti/ vermicilli. set aside.
• In a pan add oil and do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal, red chilli.
• Add the onions and saute till soft.
• Add the bell pepper, peas, salt a little and cook uncovered till soft, but crunchy.
• Add the strands of spaghetti squash, adjust salt to taste and toss them all well.
• cook for another2-3 mins on low fire.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or chapattis

A very easy curry ready in less than 30 mins !

Pepper Cumin Puff Pastry Twists / Khari Biscuits

I cannot believe it's the most wonderful time of the year soon. Families, friends, fun and of course Food are part of the holiday season. Here is an easy party snack that could be served as an appetizzer or an evening tea time snack.
So simple to make that you can involve the little hands in home too!

Puff pastry sheets plus some cute cookie cutters will do the magic. I used cumin and pepper to flavor mine. Adding ajwain or omam will be yummy too!
I had one puff pastry sheet remaining in the freezer. I used that and ended with a wonderful munching snack!

Get Ready

• Pepperidge Farm Puff pastry sheet thawed as per packet instructions
• Salt to taste
• Cumin seeds
• Black Pepper  ( be as generous as you want :)))

Go

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Open the puff pastry sheet on a floured surface
• Sprinkle salt, cumin seeds, cracked black pepper and roll in gently. this will help the pepper and cumin to stick to the sheet.
• Cut them into rectangles or desired shape. I gave mine a twist.
• Arrange them on a foil lined greased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 mins till they puff up and golden.
• Let them cool and enjoy!

Potato Bonda

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! How many of you hit the stores to get those best deals?

Well, I never did! We were traveling over the thanks giving break and came home couple of days ago.Sorry, If i had missed your posts.

Bonda is a traditional south Indian snack served in the evenings with hot coffee or tea. Usually made with urad dal batter or potatao covered with besan, rice flour batter and deep fried. These dumplings are so comforting and super tasty.
I saw a low calorie one here and I had to make them. I had all the ingredients in hand and made them for evening snack. Oh, my god, they were so good and they were low calorie, with out all the deep frying.
Non stick appam / paniyaram pan is the best thing I've ever bought!
Thanks Chef in You for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I modified the batter a just a little and added a squirt of lemon juice to the potato mixture.

Here it goes

Get Ready:

• 2 medium potatoes,peeled cooked and mashed
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 3-4 green chilli chopped
• 1/3 cups frozen peas
• lots of cilantro ( i don't measure this)
• salt to taste
• lemon juice to taste
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal

For the batter:

• 1/4 cup besan/ chick pea flour
• 1/3 cup rice flour
• a pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 cup water, plus a little extra.
• little salt to taste.
• 2-3 tsp oil

Go

• In a pan, add 2 tsp oil.
• add the mustard seeds, urad dal and do the tadka.
• add the onions and fry till soft.
• Add the green chillies nad suate for few seconds.
• add the peas, salt and cover and cook for 2-3 mins.
• Add the mashed potato, adjust salt to taste and cook them all for 1-2 mins.
• Add the cilantro, squirt some lemon juice to taste and turn the heat off.
• after it cools, make small balls and set them aside.
• Prepare the batter by adding the besan, rice flour, salt, chilli powder, pinch of soda by adding 1/4 cup of water. it should be thick to coat the potato balls. 9 almost like pan cake batter/ dosa batter). if too thick add little water to the desired consistency.
• Heat the appa karal. add 1 tsp oil in each hole/well
• Dip the potato balls i n the batter, to coat it completely. keep heat on medium.
• Add it in the wells, flip them to other side with a chopstick or fork once they are cooked on oneside.
• Cook till golden and crispy on the other side .

Serve hot with chutney, ketchup or just like that.

I had them with freshly brewed south indian coffee and it was amazing....!

Try this and let me know, i am sure you will like it!

Cranberry Orange Bread

Quick breads were discovered  here in America. This includes anything that uses a leavening agent other than yeast. They get their name coz you don't wait for the yeast to help raise the bread. They were  popular during the period of great depression.

You may wonder why i mention this now? please don't read between the lines!

Here is a perfect quick bread for the holiday season. I wanted to make cranberry and orange muffins and had bookmarked a few. Most of the recipes used fresh cranberries. I was a little reluctant to use fresh ones due to their tartness. I was pretty sure my kids would not eat them. I used craisins which are dried sweetened cranberries. I used 1/4 cup OJ from the orange I zested and 1/4 cup store brought OJ. The reason being, i spilled the fresh OJ! The zest and the fresh OJ gives it a nice fragrance and the whole house smelled fabulous while baking!
Feel free to replace fresh cranberries


Get ready

• 1 &1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice
• Zest from 1 orange
• 1 stick Unsalted Butter, at room temperature ( if from fridge, nuke it for 30 secs)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup dried Cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 2 large Eggs

Go

• Pre heat oven to 350 C
• add 2 tbsp of flour to the cranberries, walnuts and mix well. this helps them from not sinking at the bottom of the bread.
• Mix salt, baking powder, flour and keep aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar well.
• Add the eggs and cream them well. I used only a whisk!
• Add the OJ, zest, flour, cranberries, walnuts and fold in well till everything is well incorporated.
• make sure you don't beat them too much as it make your bread very tough.
• Pour it in a loaf pan, (i used foil one) and bake for about 50 mins or till a tooth pick comes clean.

The same batter can be used to make muffins too. I baked 4 of them and it takes about 15 mins to bake them.

Enjoy it any time and share it with your friends.
I am taking this to work tomorrow for everyone to relish!

Also check out my Cranberry Salsa , which is to die for!

I am sending this bread for Breakfast Club and this event

Pottukadali Thenkuzhal / Dalia dal Munchies

Thenkuzhal is usually amde with rice flour and urad dal flour. I found this recipe at Priya's website and had book marked it. I used a different mould and made them as thenkuzhal.
They were so crunchy at the same time melt in your mouth and was unbelievably good. I replaced butter with vegetable spread/ margarine and the results were pretty good too!

Get Ready:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup pottukadalai flour
• 1 tbsp vegetable spread ( used kroger brand  I cannot believe it's butter)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• salt to taste
• 1 cup + 3 tbsp water
• Oil to deep fry

Go:

• Sift both the flours so lumps are there.
• Add salt, cumin seeds, asafetida, salt to taste to the flour.
• Add water little by little and for ma dough till it leaves the sides. Do not add all the water at once.
• Heat oil in a pan to deep fry.
• Once hot, fill the dough in the murukku press and make shapes of little discs.
• Deep fry till all the bubbles settle and nice golden color. The right consistency is when you hear a little rustling noise from the deep fired items.

Beware, once you start eating them, you cannot stop with 1 or 2! Enjoy at tea time!

Bell Pepper Besan Subzi

 Bell pepper curry is very much liked by the adults in my household. Kids somehow don't seem to care for it a lot! It really bugs me when I have to prepare 2 different things, one for kids & us!
When I was a kid. if we don't like something, mom said " Just eat what is served on the plate, you don't have to go for seconds"! Me and my brother we followed the rules and till date, and grew to like vegetables that we hated!

But that rule is not working for me with my kids. Either I am not strong in disciplining them, or.....see, I don't even have a second reason!
 Hoping one day my munchkins will eat bell pepper raw!!!
I tasted this besan bell pepper curry at my Gujarathi friends place and fell in love with this version! I have tweaked it to my taste and her it is!

Cooking the besan on a low/ medium heat over 20 -25 mins will give a nice crispy base for the bell peppers. The besan coats and sticks to the peppers and tastes great.  Try this and let me know if your family likes it or not!


Get Ready:

• 1 cup chopped bell peppers ( used yellow and green)
• 2/3 cup Besan / chick pea flour
• 2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 red chilli ( optional)
• 1/2 tsp white sesame seeds ( optional)

Go

• In a pan add the besan red chilli powder and dry roast on a low flame just for 1 minute. The besan will be fragrant and then you stop. ( learned this technique from Here .Trasnfer to a bowl and set aside.
• Clean the same pan, add 2 tbsp oil.
• When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, red chilli and do the tadka.
• Add the bell peppers, turmeric powder, salt and cook on medium heat. cook for about 2-3 mins till the peppers are half done.
• Add asafetida, little salt, and 1/3 cups water to the besan, chilli powder mixture and make into a thick paste.
• Add this paste to the bell pepper and stir frequently so the besan coats the peppers.
• Let in cook on medium flame till the besan gets crispy, stirring not too frequently.
• Turn the heat off and serve hot with rice/ phulkas!

Thai Coconut Soup/ Tom ka Ghai

Tom ka ghai is asimple thai soup made with coconut milk and authentic thai spices. It usually has chicken, pork or seafood. Here is my creation of this as a vegetarian one. The kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass and galangal gives such an amazing flavor for this wonderful soup.

 Get Ready

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chopped carrots, mushroom, corn, beans
• 1 stalk of lemon grass, thin stem, crushed and cut into 2"
• 1 " galangal sliced
• 3-4 Kaffir lime leaves/ aka narthanaga ilai
• 1/3 cup chopped spring onions ( green part)
• 1/3 cup cubed Tofu
• 3-4 green chilli slit
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• cilantro 1 tbsp

 Go

• In a pan add the water,coconut milk, lemon grass, galangal, green chillies, kaffir leaves and let it come to a boil.
• let it cook for 2-3 mins.
• Add all the vegetables,tofu, salt to taste and cook till the vegetables are soft ,but crunchy.
• Add the spring onions, soy sauce.
• let it cook for 1 minute.
• garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot and it's one of the most addictive soups you've ever had.

Diwali Wishes and Rava laddu

 

 image courtsey: diwali cards

Wishing all my super duper blogger friends a fabulous Diwali!

I would like to share a simple rava laddu recipe with you all.

Get Ready:

• 1 cup Rawa/ sooji
• 1 cup sugar
• 2- 2.5 tbsp ghee/ clarified butter
• 2 tbsp milk, or more as needed
• 2 tbsp coconut powder ( available in indian store)
• 1 tbsp golden raisins
• 1-2 tbsp broken cashews and sliced almonds
• 1 tsp cardamom powder.

Go:

• In a non stick pan, add 2- 2.5 tbsp of ghee and add the cashews, almonds and raisins. Fry them on a medium flame till the cashews are oink and the raisins plump up.
• Now add the rava and roast stirring frequently till pink or a nice aroma arises. Remember to have the heat on med to low.
• Add the coconut powder, sugar, cardamom powder and mix till everything is well combined. 
• turn the heat off.
• add the 2 tbsp of milk and mix everything well. it should be the consistency of wet sand so you can make balls.
• If too dry sprinkle a lit bit more milk.
• cover the pan and let it cool for 5 mins.
• Apply some ghee or water to your hands and make them into small balls.
• Let them cool and store in an air tight container.

Enjoy this festive treat with your friends and family!

Corn flakes Chivda

Diwali is just round the corner. Here i am with a very easy chivda or mixture recipe using corn flakes. I used kellogs brand, plain cornflakes. One doesn't have to deep fry the corn flakes for this chivda. It is very easy and breezy recipe that can be done in no time.

I am on call for this weekend so didn't have the luxury to have a lot of time to prepare sweets and snacks.

Also check out my Ribbon pakoda

Thenkuzhal

 Get Ready:

• 4 cups corn flakes
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup cashews broken
• 1/3 pottu kadalai/ roasted dalia
• 1/3 cup Peanuts with skin
• 1/3 cup Murmura/ Pori ( optional)
• 1/3 cup aval/ poha
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut powder ( optional)
• 1 tbsp dried cranberries (optional)
• a few  curry leaves
• Oil to deep fry

Go:

• Heat oil and deep fry the cashews till golden, raisins till plump, peanuts, poha, pottukadali, curry leaves till crisp one by one and keep them aside on a paper towel.
• In a large bowl add the corn flakes, the deep fried cashews, raisins, poha, pottukadali, pori, coconut powder, cranberries, salt, chilli powder and toss them well.
• The oil on the deep fried items will help the salt and spices stick to the chivda.

Store in an air tight container and enjoy anytime. Rava laddu coming soon!

Arisi Upma /Cream of rice Upma

Arisi upma or cream of rice upma is avery traditional breakfast/ evening tiffin in the south. It is usually made in a heavy bottemed bronze vessel called " vengala panai". I was never a fan of this as kid. I remember having a long face whever this was served for tiffin. However I used to like the crispy caked part of the upma stuck to the bottom of the vengalapanai. It is very simple one pot mead made with rice, toor dal, cumin, coconut & spices.

Now as an dult i really appreciate the simplicity of this good old dish. My cousin from Aberdeen, UK had requested this recipe and here it is for you R....

Traditionally no vegetables are added. I added some carrots and peas to make it mre colorful and interesting for the kids. It is up to you to add any vegetables or leave them out. I am presenting a method where a pressure cooker could be used.

The first step here is to make the cream of rice, i.e to make the "kurunai".
Let's get started guys!

Get Ready ( serves 2-3)

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1 fistful toor dal
• 1/2 tso cumin
• 1/3 cup finely chopped carrots
• 1/3 cup frozen pead
• 1/3 cup grated coconut
• Salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 2-3 tsp coconut oil ( gives a lot of flavor, mre the better)
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 tsp channa dal/ kadali paruppu
• 1 red chilli slit
• pinch pf asafetida
• few curry leaves
• 2 and 1/2 cups water ( if you want very soft consistenct add 2 and 3/4 cup water)

Go:

• Sprinke some water on the raw rice, just enough to coat all the grains. set aside for 30 mins. This helps to get an evenly ground cream of rice or kurunai.
• In a blender add the rice, toor dal, cumin and grind coarsely. set aside.

• In a pan, preferrable non stick add the coconut and regular oil. Once hot do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chilli, asafetida, curry leaves.
• Add the carrot, peas and saute for 3 -5 mins.
• Add the 2and half cups of water,grated coconut, salt to taste.

• When the water comes to a boil, add the ground rice, toordal,cumin mix.
• It will boil and splutter. so reduce the heat and cover for 1-2 mins.
• Open and stir till the the maavu as it is called doesn't stick to the sides of the pan.

• turn the heat off and cover. let it sit for 5 mins.
• Transfer it to another vessel and pressure cook it for 1or maximum 2 whistles.

Serve hot with a drop of ghee and sambar, chutney, gotsu. Howevr my favorite is Vellam or jaggery! i used one red chilli which was not very spicy. If you want add more  red chilli during the tadka.

Eggless Banana Chocolate Muffins

 I have not posted a whole lot of eggless recipes when it comes to baking! I had tried a few which mainly called for baking soda or baking powder. However, I did not like the after taste of baking soda when there was nothing to over power it's taste. I used flax seeds this time and i was very pleased with the final outcome.

My muffins were soft, they rose well and most of all did not have any after taste. They were soft even on day 3.  The rule of thumb for egg replacements when using flax seeds is 1 egg = 1 tablespoon flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water. I had coarsely ground flax seeds in hand, which I powdered fine and mixed with water. It gives a gelationous base for the muffins.

The beauty of this recipe is there is no butter ! The recipe can easily be doubled .


Get ready  (makes 7 muffins)

• 1/2 cup plus 3 tbsp all purpose flour/ maida
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 over ripe bananas mashed
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 tbsp flax seeds powder
• 3 tbsp water

Go:

• Pre heat oven to 400F. line muffin liners or spray the wells with cooking oil. fill some water for the empty wells, so you don't burn the pan
• Mix the chocolate chips with 3 tbsp of flour and set aside. this helps the chocolate chips not to sink at the bottom of the muffin
• Mix the flax seeds powder with water and set aside
• Whisk the mashed bananas, oil,flax seed mixture, oil and vanilla extract till creamy
• Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt to the the liquid ingredients and fold.
• Fold in the chocolate chips, making sure to not to over mix them.
• Fill the muffin liners 3/4th and bake for 15- 18 mins or till a tooth pick comes out clean.

Enjoy this for breakfast,school lunch or as an after school snack! See how the chocolate chips are on top and almost everywhere!

Onion Chutney/ Vengaya Chutney

 The festival season has just started! we still have Diwali, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year and many more to come. We all will be cooking many fancy things to enjoy with our friends and families.

But we still need to cook our basic rice, dal, rasam, idli, dosa etc.. A perfectly hor plate of idli's or dosas would be incomplete with this super flavored onion chutney. I used pearl onions which gives a tons of flavor. One can easily replace it with red or vidalia onions. Yes...I know peeling those little pearl onions is a task, but think of the chutney... you won't mind doing that job!

I am sure you are checking your kitchen to see if there are some onions lying around! Using the red pearl onion gives a nice color to the chutney.


Get ready

• 1 cup pearl onions peeled
• 2 red chilli ( i used the round small ones)
• 1/4 tsp tamarind paste
• 1/2 tsp jaggery powder or to taste
• salt to taste

For Tadka

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal
• A pinch of hing/ asafetida 
• curry leaves 3-4

Go:

• Grind the onions,red chilli, tamrind paste, jaggery and salt to a fine paste. No need to add water.
• In a pan do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal and hing.
• Add the onion paste and cook on medium heat till the water evaporates and the chutney leaves the sides of the pan. i.e for 2-3 mins.

Serve with hot steaming idli's, crispy dosas or with rice!


Enjoy!