Sakkarai Pongal

This was made on Pongal. I wanted to make Pongal, but not the authentic way, which is difficult if you dont know the correct measures. This recipe below suited fine and I tried it. The result was surprising, delicious Pongal, which all of us liked a lot.

 

Ingredients:
Rice - 3 cups
Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
Brown Sugar - 3 cups
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Water - 9 cups
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashews - 2 tbsp
Raisins - 1/2 cup

Steps:
1. Wash and pressure cook the rice and dal.(9 cups water).
2. In a pan, add 1 -1/2  cups of water and brown sugar.
3. Keep stirring until you get one string consistency. To check this, take a drop of the syrup between your thumb and finger, press and release the fingers, you'll see a single string of the syrup. If you dont see any string, stir the syrup for some more time.
4. Once the single string consistency is achieved, add the cooked rice and dal in this syrup and mix well.
5. Keep the flame low and mix well for 2-4 minutes.
6. Fry the raisins and cashews in the ghee and pour this on the pongal.
7. Add more ghee if required and remove from heat.
Serve hot.

Note:
You can use jaggery instead of brown sugar.Make sure to strain the syrup before mixing the rice and dal.
Fry the raisins and cashews separately.

Puran Poli/Obbattu/Holige

Festivals remind us of family, friends, fun and food... Im a born foodie and enjoy cooking especially on festive occasions. This year I prepared Puran Poli, Urad vadai, Sakkarai Pongal and murukku for Pongal.
Puran Poli is a must in all the festivals celebrated in Maharashtra. This recipe is not an authentic one, but nevertheless outstanding. I saw a video on youtube for this, by an elderly lady. Her name is not mentioned in the video. But I would like  to give the credit to her, cos otherwise I would not have made these. I have not used nutmeg powder and made some few changes.

Ingredients:
Puran(Filling) :
Dal - 2 cups
Brown Sugar - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Cardamom Powder - 1/2 tsp

Dough:
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Maida/All purpose flour - 2 tbsp
Besan/gram flour - 2 tbsp
Oil - 6 tbsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Steps:
1. Wash and soak the dal for 2 hours in 4 cups of water.
2. In a pan add all the flours and using little water knead the dough. Knead it well. Cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes.
4. Take a plate, add oil, salt and 2 tbsp water and knead the dough again. It will become a bit gooey and after sometime, the dough will become very soft. Cover it and keep aside.
5. Pressure cook the rice for 1 whistle.
6. Remove excess water from the dal. Let it cool.
7. Add sugar and brown sugar/jaggery in the dal and mix well. Blend it in a mixer/blender to a fine paste.
8. In a microwave, cook the mixture for 5 minutes on high, remove, mix well and again microwave on high for another 3 minutes. The dal will be cooked. Cook the mixture in a non-stick pan if you dont want to microwave.
9. Tie a muslin cloth to the rolling board. Make round balls of dough and puran. Fill the puran in the dough and roll it using little rice flour.
Note:  I tied a handkerchief to the rolling board, it was very easy to roll the polis. 
10. Cook the polis carefully on a skillet on both the sides.
Serve hot with ghee, amti or milk.

Egg Kurma

Had made this egg kurma on Sunday, but updating it today. Better late, than never. :) This egg kurma is a favorite at home. It's a simple and easy recipe which tastes divine. Try it to believe it.

Ingredients:
Eggs - 6
Onion - 2 finely diced
Tomato - 1 finely diced
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Chicken masala - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp apprx.

Grind:
Clove -5
Cinnamon - 1 round stick
Cardamom - 1
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Fennel seeds/Saunf - 1 tsp
Coconut - 1 cup
Pepper - 2 tsp

Steps:
1. Heat oil and fry all the things under 'Grind' for 4-5 minutes. You can stop when you get a good smell of all the spices, coconut becomes brown in color.
2. Let it cool and grind it to a fine paste using water as required.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan, add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.
4. Add onions and cook them well.
5. Once onions are cooked, add chilli, turmeric, chicken masala and coriander powder and saute well for 3 minutes.
6. Add the tomatoes and cook till they get blended well with the onion paste.
7. Add the coconut paste and saute well for another 5-7 minutes.
8. Add salt and check for the taste, add masalas if required and cook well.
9. Add 1 cup water let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
10. Put the boiled eggs and let it cook for another 5 minutes in low flame.
Serve hot with rice, dosa or paratha.

If you are a vegetarian, substitute the eggs with potatoes or any vegetable of your choice.

Christmas and New Year Cake

Had a very good time during Christmas and New Year. Hubby's cousin Dr. R and wife Dr. D had  visited us and we all had a guudddddddddd time(would like to presume :) ). D is a good cook and I assisted her in making the cakes.

We brought store made cake mix and with few modifications, made the cake even more tastier.
The  first cake for Christmas was Double Chocolate Fudge.The recipe called for 1 eggs, vegetable oil and water. We substituted vegetable oil with applesauce and added almonds and cashews(
D's suggestion). It was a wonderful treat for us and our friends. Take a look at the cake.

The second cake, is a Chocolate Caramel Cake. This one came with two pouches, one cake flour and the other caramel syrup. Again we use applesauce and almonds. Pouring the caramel on the cake was a tedious task, which D managed very well. This cake was yum  too. Have a look.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year 2010. Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year. Had taken a break from blogging, back with new recipes. I will start posting new recipes soon.
Through this blog, not only did I explore my cooking skills, also gained many friends. I would like to thank you all for visiting my blog and going thru my recipes and giving feedback about them. I appreciate your feedback and comments.
I wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year. May all your dreams and wishes come true.
Happy Blogging...

Chegodilu/Chekodi Indian Cooking Challenge - Nov

This is my first entry for ICC. Im really happy it was a simple recipe. I have eaten Chegodilu in Bangalore, we get it in many bakery shops, but I never knew their name. We(My friends and me) used to call this as ring murukku.

This is a very crunchy snack, and it got over in a jiffy. Thanks to Srivalli to teach me this wonderful snack.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 1 cup

Moong dal - 2 tbsp

Water - 1 cup

Ghee - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Sesame seeds - 1-1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 1-1/2 tsp

Salt and oil as required

Steps:

1. Soak the moong dal in water for 30 minutes.

2. Boil water in a pan, then add salt, moong dal and ghee.

3. When water comes to a boil, add rice flour little at a time and using a ladle keep stirring continously.

4. Remove from heat and cover it with a lid for 15 minutes.

5. Once the dough is cool, add the remaining ingredients(chilli, sesame n cumin) except oil and knead well.

6. Grease your palms with oil. Make small balls of the dough and roll them like a thread and join the ends together to form a circle.

7. Fry them in hot oil till they get a golden brown color.

Serve hot with tea/coffee.

First Award and ....

Yes, I received an award from Vicky of Viki's kitchen. Vicky needs no introduction from me. Her cooking skills are well known(very famous blogger) in the blogging world. She is so generous in gifting me this award and appreciating my cooking.. It's really a great honour to get an award from an experienced cook like her. Vicky's blog has a good collection of veg and non-veg cusinie. All those non-veg fans, you know what to type to find a NV recipe.

My friend Krishnasri, will also be blogging with me starting today. She is a very good cook and excels in preparing all kinds of cuisines. Her love for cooking started when she was in 8th standard. So you see, she has lot of experience.. and has tried, tested and tasted many recipes. Im so happy to welcome Krishnasri in this blogging world again.

Onion Podi Dosa

This was made for breakfast today. Just a simple and easy recipe. When Im lazy to prepare chutney, I do this.

Ingredients:
4 cups: 1cup = Long grain rice/idli rice : Urad dal
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Poha/Avval/Beaten Rice - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 Tsp to ferment the batter
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Oil as required

Steps:
1. Rinse and soak the rice for 5 hours.
2. Rinse and soak urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 5 hours.
3. After 5 hours, drain the water from the dal and seeds and grind it in a mixer. Pour very little water at grind to a fine consistency. You'll see small bubbles forming on the dal batter. Remove and transfer in a steel container.
4. Pour little water in the poha so that it covers it. Let it soak.
5. Grind the rice using sufficient water to get a coarse batter. Transfer to the steel container.
6. Grind the poha with remaining rice to a coarse batter. Pour the batter in the stainless steel utensil.
7. Add 1 tsp salt and mix the batter well in anti-clockwise direction.
8. Place the container in a warm place.(near the oven, on top of the fridge, etc)
Tip : Due to cold temperature, the batter may not ferment. You can place the batter on/near one of the stove tops which you are not using. This will make the batter ferment well.
9. Leave the batter covered overnight or for 12 hours.
10. After 12 hours, batter will be fermented .i.e. you will see the batter risen to double the size. Its ready to use now or you can refrigate it to use later.
Note: Leaving the batter for more than 12 hours will give a sour taste to the batter. To avoid this refrigate it.
11. Heat a non-stick skillet, pour a laddle full of batter and spread the form in the form of a circle.
12. Pour little oil on the dosa and immediately spread the onion. Let it cook for a minute. Apply the podi(mixed with water) on the dosa.
13. Flip the dosa carefully and pour 2-3 drops of oil, and let if cook for another minute.
14. Flip over again and transfer to a plate.
Serve hot with chutney and/or sambar.

It is a very simple procedure, dont worry about the number of steps. :)

Apple sauce with Yogurt

I usually prefer oranges to apples. Decided to make something with apples, so googled for apple recipes. Found many recipes, selected this one cos of the time and effort. :) I havent picked up from one site, went thru some sites, so dont know whom to give the credit. :(

Anyways, here goes my simple apple with yogurt recipe.

Ingredients:
Apple - 1 peeled and cut in small pieces
Sugar - 1 Tbsp
Water - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Steps:
1. Pour water in a pan and let it boil.
2. When water comes to a boil, add apple and sugar and stir for a minute.
3. Keep stirring frequently every 2 minutes until all the water evaporates. Remove from heat when there is no water left or very less water is left.
4. Let it cool.
5. Add yogurt in the apple sauce and refrigate for an hour before serving.
Serve cold.

Tip : Before adding yogurt, you can grind the apples in a blender/mixie to get the apple sauce.

I dint make the apple sauce, cos I found the apples by itself very tasty.. Planning to try the apple sauce. If you detest apples, try this for a change.

You can try either ways which you like.

Zebra Cake

I was searching for Marble cake recipe but ended up making an eggless Zebra Cake. It is taken from the site from Farida's blog. This cake looks awesome and tastes yum.. I did not use eggs as my DH is not eating eggs this month. I have substitued eggs with vegetable oil and vinegar. Next time I plan to use applesauce as an egg substitute.

You can check Farida's blog as she has given detailed step by step instructions along with pics. Im still trying my hands on camera, i must confess, im a slow learner, especially where an art like photography comes into 'picture'. Any tips on photography...

Adai Dosa

I got this recipe from my mom. She used to make Adai dosas for Sunday breakfast. This was one breakfast item which we all looked forward to eagerly, also one reason to wake up a little early on a Sunday morning.

Mom makes this the traditional way, using many ingredients, predominantly drumstick leaves for that authentic flavour. I loveeeeeeee Adai dosa with drumstick leaves. Here, I make a simple version of Adai...

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup

Tuvar dal - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/2 cup

Channa dal - 2 cups

Red chilli - 10 - 14

Cumin seeds - 2 tsp

Onion - 1 finely chopped

Ginger - 1 tsp grated

Fennel seeds/Saunf - 2 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Salt and Oil as required

Steps:

1. Soak the rice and dals for 4 hours.

2. Using a blender/mixer, grind rice and dal along with cumin seeds, red chillies and salt to a coarse batter.

3. Let the batter ferment for an hour.

4. Add chopped onions, fennel seeds and curry leaves to the batter and mix well.

5. In a skillet, pour a ladle full of batter and make it a little thicker than dosa. If you make it thicker like an uttapam, it will take a lot of time to cook(tastes yummy).

6. Pour little oil on the edges and then flip over to the other side and let it cook for some more time. Serve hot with coconut chutney and jaggery.

Health Quotient: Its obvious this dosa is high on health quotient, cos of the lentils used. Would like to share info about fennel. Some believe that fennel has some diuretic effect, and may help reduce a problem with water retention. Fennel for some reduces the appetite and is therefore effective in weight loss. Click here to know more benefits.

Medu Vada

The recipe for this was given to me both by my mom and MIL. However, I found my MIL's version time-saving.

Ingredients:
Whole Urad Dal - 2 cups
Pepper - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Salt and Oil as required

Steps:
1. Soak the urad dal for 15 minutes.
2. Add pepper and grind the urad dal in a grinder/blender. Use very little water while grinding.
3. Add salt and onions and mix well.
4. Pour enough oil in a pan and heat it well. You can pour the batter using a spoon or grease your hands with oil and take a little batter, shape it like a doughnut and carefully put in the oil.
5. Cook on both the sides. Repeat the same until all the vadas are done.
Serve hot with chutney, sambar or curd.

Mysore Pak

This recipe is given by my MIL. It's a bit tricky, but it came out a succes in one try, im sure you can do it too. It was yummy.... Have a look..

Ingredients:
Besan/chickpeas flour - 2 cups
Sugar - 2 cups
Ghee - 1 Cup
Oil - 1 Cup

Steps:
1. Sift the besan using a sieve.
2. In a wide bottomed pan, add 1 glass water and sugar and keep stirring. You'll get a one-thread consistency in sometime. (Take a drop of the syrup between your thumb and finger)
3. In another pan, add oil and ghee, keep it in medium flame.
4. Once you get the sugar consistency, pour the besan little at a time in the sugar syrup and keep stirring continously.
5. Using a ladle, keep adding oil in the besan-sugar syrup mixture. You need to add oil at frequent intervals, making sure the mixture doesnt stick to the pan.
6. Within 6-7 minutes, you'll see the mixture is cooked, and you dont get the raw smell.
7. Immediately remove the mixture and pour it on a greased plate. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
Cut into the shape you want.

Carrot-Beetroot-Pumpkin Halwa

Had to cook something before these 3 not often liked vegetables go waste. I used to make Carrot halwa, used the same procedure without any innovative approach. I love sweets, but have never liked carrot halwa. I've always cooked it for family and friends. Sometimes, I guess, you cook for others, though you personally dont like or dont eat what you cook. I know few vegetarians who have never tasted non-veg, cook amazing nv food.

This was very yummy, it tasted like basundi. I tasted a little(hubby's persuasion)and then had a generous amount without worrying about weight woes.

Ingredients:
Carrot - 1
Beetroot - 2
Yellow Pumpkin - 50 gms/1/2 cup grated
Milk - 3 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Cardamom seeds/powder - 5
Cashews and raisins for garnish

Steps:
1. Grate the vegetables.
2. In a non-stick pan, pour the milk and add the veggies.
3. Keep stirring frequently until the milk thickens. Once the milk starts bursting like bubbles, remove from heat(stove). This process usually takes 20-30 minutes. Using a pressure cooker may not give good results, though it saves time.
4. In another non-stick pan, heat ghee and add the veg-milk mixture and keep stirring continously.
5. After 5 minutes, add sugar and keep stirring. Once you add sugar, it will turn to a liquid consistency and colour will change. This is expected.
6. Keep stirring frequently every 2 minutes until the halwa is ready. When you feel the consistency is thick enough, remove from heat. This process needs a little patience.... Remove from heat.
7. Fry raisins and cashews in ghee and garnish on the halwa.
Serve hot or cold with icecream.

If you try this recipe, do let me know how it turned out for you.

Besan Laddu

Had to make this for my husband's Diwali potluck. I love besan laddoos made by my aunt back home in Pune. I have never liked store bought besan laddoos for 'n' reasons(i love my aunt's besan laddoos :)).

Hubby informed me at the last minute about the besan laddoo, which left me with no other option than checking online. Was skeptical not about making laddoos, but the method to choose. Finally, we both agreed to proceed with Manjula Aunty's recipe. The way she explains and gives small details helps a lot for cooks like me who are trying something for the first time.

Followed the recipe given by Manjula aunty of http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/ . It came out very well and was appreciated by one and all. I used the same procedure.(doubled the quantity).

I would recommend everyone to go ahead with her besan laddoo recipe, it will make ur day. :)

Methi Paratha

Methi Parantha... healthy and yummy. We all love methi parathas and I am sure each of us make it differently. Well, this is how I make mine.

Ingredients:
Kasoori methi - 1/2 cup
Wheat flour - 4 cups
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt and oil as required

Steps:
1. In a bowl, add all the above ingredients and knead well using little water at a time.
2. Once the dough is pliable, add little oil and knead again for 2 minutes.
3. Rest the dough for atleast 15 minutes.
4. Make round balls of equal size and roll into thin paranthas.
5. Cook the parathas on the skillet on both the sides. Apply oil on both sides.
Serve hot with curd, raitha or pickle.

Health Quotient:
Indian Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine recommend fenugreek to treat arthritis and bronchitis, induce labor, improve digestion, and maintain a healthy metabolism. Fenugreek also has a long history of use for treatment of reproductive disorders in women. Recent studies have shown that fenugreek helps lower blood glucose levels, and may be an effective treatment for both type 1 and 2 diabetes.
Fenugreek is also being studied for its cardiovascular benefits. Researchers in India found people who took 2 ounces of fenugreek seed each day had significantly (around 14 percent) lower cholesterol levels after 24 weeks, and had lowered their risk of heart attack by more than 25 percent. The same study showed that participants with type 2 diabetes had significantly lower blood sugar levels after eating fenugreek. To know more benefits of fenugreek, click here.

Gobi masala/cabbage masala

Recently I have posted cabbage peas curry. One more cabbage recipe, cooked in a different way. This is something which tastes little different than other cabbage curries. The difference being that instead of adding various masalas or another vegetable, besan is added, which gives a very different flavour. It's worth a try, especially for those who do not like the smell of cabbage.

Ingredients:
Cabbage - 1/2 chopped
Onion - 1 chopped lengthwise
Besan/gramflour - 1/4 cup
Urad dal - 1 Tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt and oil as required


Steps:
1. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds.
2. When the mustard seeds splutter, add urad dal and cumin seeds and saute for a minute.
3. Add the onion and fry till the onion are cooked.
4. Once the onions turn brown in color, add garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric and salt.
5. Saute till the masalas are cooked well and then add the cabbage.
6. Saute the cabbage for 5 minutes at frequent intervals.
7. Sprinkle little besan at a time and saute well for another 4 minutes.
8. Pour little water and let the cabbage cook.
9. Saute the cabbage at regular intervals till its cooked well.
Serve hot with roti or rice.

Tip: You can skip the water part and saute for some more time to get a crunchier cabbage masala. Tastes good both the ways.


Healthy Quotient:
Cabbage is the best vegetable to eat if you are on a weight loss diet. The reason being very calories and less fat as compared to other vegetables. Now we know why they call it, dieter's friend.

Ragi cookies

A big thanks to Sowmya of creativesaga who has posted about this recipe. Ragi and oats both are very healthy. This cookie is packed with loads of nutrients and vitamins. I made these cookies today, they tasted really good. I have used the same proportions as Sowmya. The only change I did is add almonds. Also I ran out of butter, so used vegetable oil.
Please click here to go to Sowmya's recipe.

Health Quotient:
Ragi/Millet is gluten-free and packed with vitamins and minerals. We are all aware of the health benefits of Oats. Millet is actually a seed not a grain.
Millet is a delicious way to start or end your day. Try some today and experience the benefits of millet nutrition that made it the prized grain of so many ancient cultures!

Kabuli Chana Masala

This is a snack that I make on some lazy evenings when I m hungry and want to cook something in couple of minutes. I have some cans of chick peas stored, they come in handy most of the times. My hubby loves this a lotttttt. Im sending this for the MLLA Event hosted by Sia of http://www.monsoonspice.com/ and the event was initiated by Susan of the http://www.wellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/. Click here to know about the event details.

Ingredients:
Kabuli Chana / Chick Peas - 2 cups boiled or 1 can
Tomato sauce - 1 tsp
Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt and oil as per taste

Steps:
1. Heat little oil in a pan, add the chickpeas and saute for a minute.
2. Add tomato sauce, chilly powder and salt. Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and garnish with lemon juice and onions.

You can add more spices as per your palate to enhance the flavour. I also added Buffalo sauce to this, it tasted yum...
Have it as a tea time snack. Its good during the monsoon and winters.

Health Quotient:
Chick peas/Garbanzos give you energy to burn while stabilizing blood sugar. In addition to its beneficial effects on the digestive system and the heart, soluble fiber helps stabilize blood sugar levels. If you have insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes, beans like garbanzos can really help you balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy. Studies of high fiber diets and blood sugar levels have shown the dramatic benefits provided by these high fiber foods. To know more about the benefits and storage of these, click here.

Chewy Chocolate Walnut

Own version of chewy bars. Chewy bars are something I love to eat. Thought of making one for kids. This one comes in a package. I mean, chocolate and walnut-museli or cornflakes combo. Kids will love the chocolate, and you'll be delighted to make them eat nuts and cereals. You can alter the recipe as per your palate. I have used the ingredients available in my kitchen.

Ingredients:
Corn flakes / Oats /Muesli - 1 cup
Walnuts - 1/4 cup, chopped
Chocolate chip - 1/4 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup

Steps:
1. Using a double boiler or microwave, melt the chocolate. Click here to know the details.
2. Once the chocolate melts, add muesli(Oats/Cornflakes).
3. Stir well and add milk a little at a time. Keep stirring at frequent intervals.
4. Add the walnuts and stir well for a minute or so until you get a perfect blend of all the ingredients.
5. Remove from heat.
6. Place these on a parchment paper or greased plate and refrigate it for 30 minutes. You can also mould them in a silver foil and refrigate it for 30 minutes.
Serve cold with milk or as a dessert.

Health Quotient:
Walnuts are a delicious way to add extra nutrition, flavor and crunch to a meal. Adding walnuts to your diet can be an important step in improving your cardiovascular health. To lower your risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease, enjoy a handful of walnuts, or other antioxidant-rich nuts, at least 4 times a week. To learn more about walnut nutrition and health benefits, click here.
This is my entry for CFK -chocolates hosted by Hema of salt2taste.blogspot.com and Sharmi of http://www.neivedyam.com/ who initiated the CFK event.