Kanava Thoran/Kerala Squid Chilly Fry

Kanava thoran is one of the popular seafood dish in the coastal areas of kerala.Squid is like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs,they release ink into the water while in danger and it changes its skin color to suit its surroundings as a protective mechansm.Its known as 'Kanava' in Kerala ,'kanava/kadamba' in TN ,here its known in Italian name 'Calamari'.In USA,Deep Fried calamari is very famous ,served in many Italian and other seafood restaurants as appetizers along with spicy or tangy dips like marinara sauce,olive oil,tomato ketchup with a lemon slice. Squids are not available as cleaned fishes like king fish,mackeral,salmon...I bought it as whole from a chinese grocery store.For cleaning tips,check here and here .In kerala ,my grandma makes 'Kanava thoran' often,this is her style...

Ingredients

Squid(Kanava) - 1 lb(cut into very small pieces)

Shallots/Red Onion - 1 no(sliced)

Green chillies - 2 nos(sliced)

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Fenugreek powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Red dried chillies - 2 nos

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Curry leaves - 1/2 sprig

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Oil - 3 tbsp

Method..

Heat up a pan,add water, kanava, onion and green chillies. Add salt to taste and let it cook for 10 mins.In a blender,grind together coconut, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric and fenugreek powder and grind once.Do not make a paste of it.Add this mixture to the cooked kanava.Heat oil in another pan.Splutter mustard seeds followed by red dried chillies and curry leaves. Add cooked kanava mixture into it and saute it for few mins.Garnish with curry leaves.

Nankatai - Vanilla Butter cookies

Nankatai is a usual biscuit available in all bakeries in India,also known as Benne Biscuits in different places.These rich and cute shortbreads cookies are in two variations like sugar or savory ones with salt and cumin seeds,comes in different flavours like almonds,kesar,cardamom,vanilla and also spicy ones.After coming here in US,found many types of cookies like chocolate,ginger,intalian biscotti and more.But i love the simple n elegent tea cookies in India. Small crispy cookies dipped in tea taste awesome!!!isn't....I searched a lot in Indian stores,couldnt find.Finally made myself.This is the first cookie in tried,i gotta a problem whenever i try it,my cookies always burn at the bottom,while the top part remains uncooked and white.Adding butter is also important,My first set of cookies was a flop coz of more butter,while baking, the cookies started to spread and became flat.I made the second set of dough carefully with little butter,it was nice.They look so good,here goes the second set of cookies toSusan for the Eat Christmas Cookies event in Food Blogga.

Ingredients..
Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup
Granulated Sugar - 1/2 cup
Softened Butter - 5-6 tbsps (approx)
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Vanilla essence 1tsp
Almonds spitted (for garnishing)
Method:
1.Mix all purpose flour,baking powder,sugar and vanilla essence.
2. Add butter a little at a time and knead the dough into a nice soft ball.
3.Keepthe dough for a couple of hours.
4.Preheat the oven to 180 degree F
5. Divide the dough into small round balls and flatten them on the top with your fingers,place half splitted almonds on top of cookies.
6. Bake for 15 mins or until the bottom starts to turn slightly brownish.
7. Let cool and store in a air tight container.

Inji-Poondu Kulambu

Inji-poondu kulambu /Ginger garlic curry is a curry made with Inji[Ginger] , Poondu[Garlic] and other spices,an authentic tamilnadu kulambu which is perfect for winter.Ginger and garlic added to kulambu gives wonderful flavour and of course good for digestion.Tastes good next time like vatra kulambu,even it stays good for a week outside fridge.Its basically a chettinadu recipe.When i was doing masters,all my friends loved this curry ,they ask amma for recipe.She makes this often for them.Great combo with curd rice and potato poriyal.Here goes Chettinadu special...
Ingredients..
Onion- 1
Tomato- 1
Tamarind- lemon size
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Salt
Oil 2tbsp
For seasoning..
Mustard seeds 1/2tsp
Urad dal 1/2tsp
Curry leaves
Garlic- 7-8 cloves
For grinding...
Ginger- a small piece,2 inch
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Dry chillies- 5
Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp
fenugreek seeds- 1/2 tsp
Method..

• Soak tamarind in warm water for 10 min,extract the pulp and keep aside.Chop onion into big chunks,pearl onions taste great.I used red onions here.Chop tomato finely and peel garlic.
• Heat oil in a pan,now fry ginger,cumin,coriander,dry chillies,pepper,fenugreek one by one carefully without burning it.Once its cool down,make a fine paste .
• Heat oil in a kadai,add mustard seeds,urad dal,curry leaves,garlic,onions,fry till golden color,add tomatoes,salt and turmeric powder,fry till they are soft.
• Now add ground paste,saute a while and add little water.Once the raw smell goes off,add tamarind pulp.cook on low flame for 10mins.when oil starts floating on top,switch off flame.Serve with rice,dosa/idli.

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu/Bottlegourd Masala Dal is one of our fav dish ,healthy n easy to make.I was thinking about cooking something different for Linda's amazing event of JFI: Toor Dal,finally I'm rushing at the last minute with my entry.Toor dal has a mild, nutty flavor & cooked as a routine Indian dish which is rich in Vitamin B1,protein,dietary fiber and minerals.Bottle gourd is a common vegetable in India,an yellowish green vegetable, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds embedded in spongy flesh.Known as 'sorakkai' in Tamil,Chorakka in Malayalam,Sorakkaya in telugu and lauki in Hindi.I dont know how 's known in kannada.Bottle gourd is eaten as cooked ,it gives a feeling of relaxation after eating it.Its rich in essential minerals, iron, protein ,trace elements and fibre.Its a nice sidedish for rice and roti.Yesterday i had it along with Rice ,Inji- poondu Kulambu ,Vazakkai poriyal and carrot Kosumbari. I'll post the other recipes later.


Sorakkai Paruppu Kootu

Ingredients

Sorakkai/Bottlegourd 1/2cup

Toor dal 1cup

Tomato 1

Onion 1

Green chilli 2

Cumin powder 1tsp

Coriender powder 2tsp

Red chilli powder 2tsp

turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Cliantro 1/3cup

Ginger a slice

Garlic 2 cloves

Oil 1tsp

Salt

Method

Boil the toor dal in the pressure cooker for 2-3whistles with salt and turmeric powder.Mash it into smooth paste.In the blender, grind together1/2 onions chopped, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, tomatoes, cumin seeds, coriander powder and the red chili powder. Slice the other onion finely and keep aside. Heat oil in a pan and fry the sliced onion. When the onions are turning a little brown, add the ground masala and fry around 15-20 minutes. All the water should have evaporated and the paste should be dry. Now add the boiled dal to it and add a little water if u need gravy. Add salt to taste. Boil for a while till you get the required consistency.Plz note fry the masala well.

Dates Apple Smoothie

"Smoothie" means something smooth.Smoothies were invented in the 1960’s as a healthy alternative to milkshakes,made from all natural fruits, making them of course naturally healthy.A blended and chilled beverage made from fresh fruit and nuts. It is sometimes blended with crushed ice, frozen fruit, frozen yogurt or fat free milk.I was scratching my brain these days thinking about what to send to Chandrika's event in this nov AFAM Dates ,finally ended up in these delicious healthy smoothie.Calorie content in 1cup of smoothie is 1 Fruit Smoothie contains 125 cal,1 Fruit Smoothie (wid.fat-free milk) contains 205 cal,1 Fruit Smoothie (wid.fat-free yogurt) contains 220 cal.Of course u all know about these cute and wrinkly yumm dates are high in iron, potassium, fiber and a bunch o’ vitamins, no fat or cholesterol.I love the combo of dates with almonds, crunchy nuts with milk ,apple n dates...
Ingredients
Low fat milk 4cups
Apple 1big
Dates 10 deseeded
Vanilla extract 1/2tsp
Ice cubes(optional)
Sugar 2tsp(optional)
Method

• Soak deseeded dates in 1cup of warm water for half an hour.
• Peel the apple skin ,finely chop into small pieces.
• Blend dates,apple,milk and vanilla extract till u get a smooth n frothy drink.Freeze your fruit beforehand, smoothie will stay colder and be thicker . U can add ice cubes ,if u need chilled one.Instead of milk,vanilla ice creams or fat free yogurt can be used .Add sugar ,if u need more sweet.i didt add,as dates and apple makes enough sweet.
• Garnish with chopped almonds.

Baigan Ka BHURR-taah

Although from south,i prefer having northindian dishes in restaurants mostly panner or chole dishes .Frankly speaking ,haven't heard about this bringal dish till my marriage.This is the second dish i got from my 's' cooking class,first one was palak dal.He used to cook all these while he was a bachelor...now interested in criticising my cooking...Now coming Baigan Ka Bharta...or BHURR-taah (pronounced like) ..here ingredients are roughly mashed while doing dish, roasted bringal with smokey spicy flavour,basically a Bhihari dish.Even bringal haters like me would like this.First time after making this,i couldn't identify whether it has bringal in it...I actually made this for sending to Rci bihar event,i couldn't make it within time.Now this is my entry to Suganya of Tasty Palettes for her wonderful Vegan Ventures this month.

Ingredients

Bringal/Egg plant 1 big
Onion 1 finely chopped
Cooked Green peas 1/3cup
Green chilli 2 slit
Garlic 2 clove chopped
Ginger 1 inch size minced
Tomato 1 finely chopped
Garam masala powder 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2tsp
Red chilli powder 1tsp
Cumin powder 1/2tsp
Coriender powder 1/2tsp
Lemon juice 1/2tsp
Oil 2tsp
Salt
Cilantro
Method

• Firstly prick the egg plant nicely with fork all over.Roast it in open flame ,its gives the nice smokey flavour or broil/bake it in bake oven for about 20 mins,till the skin starts charring.Turn it to another side after 10 mins so that its evenly cooked.i usually bake coz roasting in direct flame is bit complicated.Once its roasted,let it cool down for a while.Peel off the skin and mashed it roughly with fork.If u need a nice paste,blend it.
• Heat up oil ,add chopped ginger-garlic ,saute for a min.Throw down chopped onions and green chillies,fry for another few more mins till they are golden brown.
• Add red chili powder,cumin powder,coriander powder,masala powder,turmeric powder saute for a min.Add chopped tomatoes,cook it they are soft.
• Now add mashed egg plants and cooked green peas with 2 tbsp water ,cook in low flame for about 10 mins covered,so that all blend together.


• Stir occasionally.Remove from flame ,add lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro.Goes well with chappati or naan.

Inji curry-A sweet n sour ginger chutney

All keralties are very fond of this,a must dish in onam sadya . Known in different names such as Pulinji,Inji curry.what ever be the name ,its bascially a Sweet n sour ginger sauce.Main ingredients are Tamarind{puli} and Ginger {inji},hence the name.Ginger has a vital part in Indian cooking,aromatic, pungent and spicy, adds a special flavor and zest to stir fries and many fruit and vegetable dishes.Its a dietary supplement, shown to clean and thin the blood thus positively affecting the heart and almost every other organ in the body.Try to add grated ginger than paste in cooking coz grated gives much more flavour and maximum benefits.Now coming back to dish,Inji curry can be served as a side dish for meal.Goes well with rice and any curries,also with dosa /idli.Even though its a kerala dish,every malayalee has a unique style in preparing this,which varies from places within kerala.In northern kerala,coconut and coriender powder is added.Here goes my amma's style...

Inji curry
Ingredients
Fresh ginger minced 1 cup
( plz note ,not ginger paste,crushed ones)
Green chilles finely chopped 15
Tamarind 3-4 inch piece of ginger(size of small lemon)
Red chilli powder 3/4tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Curry leaves a few
Fenugreek seeds 1tsp
Jaggery 2tsp
Salt
Gingely oil 2tsp
(use any refined oil )

Method
Soak tamarind in a cup of warm water for about 15 mins and extract the thick juice and keep aside.Dry roast fenugreek seeds,powder it and keep aside.Heat oil in thick bottomed pan,add mustard seeds,then curry leaves.Now add crushed ginger and finely chopped green chillies and fry till golden brown.Add tamarind paste,chilli powder,salt .Bring it to boil,keep the flame on medium.It will around 10 to 15 min to get rid of the raw smell of tamarind and to get a thick sauce.Now add jaggery,allow it to boil.Add according to ur need of sweetness in Injicurry.Once its reaches a thick consistency and oil starts floating on the surface,remove from heat.Inji curry gets thicker once its cool down.Store in glass or ceramic containers for long life,keep in fridge.This same can be used to make Instant Puliyogare .This is my entry toThink Spice..Think Ginger Event hosted by Sunita .

Diwali Special !!!

A VERY HAPPY DIWALI TO U ALL!!!

Hope u guys had a wonderful and colorful diwali filled with happiness this year...

"Diwali", “row of lights” for which the festival is named , to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Light signifies goodness. So, during the Festival of Lights, 'deeps', or oil lamps, are burned throughout the day and into the night to ward off darkness and evil .It is a time to lit up 'diyas' in and around the house, and kindle the dark, amavasi night with dazzling display of fireworks. It is a time for rejoice , a time to put on new things, time for exchanging gifts and greetings and wishing each other.The preparations begin the day before Diwali,the house is washed and decorated with kolam (rangoli) . In the pooja room, betel leaves, betel nuts, plaintain fruits, flowers, sandal paste, kumkum, gingelly oil, turmeric powder are kept. Crackers and new dresses are placed in a plate after smearing a little kumkum or sandal paste. Diwali celebrations begins early in the morning. Family members applies sesame oil on their heads and take bath.They were new clothes,goes to temple and burst crackers.This year i missed all these things,this was our first diwali( thalai diwali).I made some traditional snacks,as i'm a beginner in cooking,tried with some simple ones..like Paruppu Vada,ulundu Vada,Paasi paruppu (moong dal) Vada and Suzhiyan.I tried suzhiyan from RAK's Kitchen,it was very tasty.

Ulundu Vadai (Urad dal vada)
Ingredients
Urad dal 1cup
Fenugreek seeds 1/2tsp
Green chillies 3 nos
Ginger 1tsp
Onions 1/3cup
Carrot 1/3cup (optional)
Rice flour 2tsp (to make vadas crisp)
Salt
Oil for deep frying
Method
Soak urad dal nad fenugreek seeds for an hour,grind both dals in ablender to athick batter without adding water.Add very little if needed to grind.If batter is bit watery ,add rice flour .so that batter will be thick,u get crispy vadas.Mix salt,ginger,onions,carrot into the batter.In a heavy bottomed pan,heat oil for deep frying.Wet our hands or apply little oil ,so that batter doesnot syick to the hands.Make vadas and deep fry it.Making holes in vadas are not that easy for beginners like me,my vada are not in very good shape.

Moong dal Vada(Paasi paruppu vada)
Ingredients
Moong dal 1cup
Ginger 1tsp
Green chilli 3
Salt
Oil for deep frying
Method
Soak dal for an hour,grind smoothly without adding water.Mix ginger,green chilli,salt to it.Heat oil ,pour batter into oil with a small spoon,u'll get different shapes of vada.Fry till golden brown.

First Wedding Anniversary!!!

Our 1st wedding anniversarywas on Nov 5th,a slight difference from the normal days.After a long time,i wore saree and went to temple.I want to begin the day with some sweet,how about a Pineapple Upside down cake.I saw many of these in blogsphere,especially inspiried by Mansi's mini ones.I havent baked cake before,so beginned with this fruit cake in my own style.

Pineapple Upside down Cake

Ingredients..
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar/granulated regular sugar
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple round slices, drained, reserve juice
1 quick cake mix ,i used Super moist Butter yellow mix
3eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 cup veg oil
Method..

Melt 1/3 cup butter,sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter ,pour evenly into the cake pan. Arrange pineapple slices over sugar.u can place cherries or pecans to make the cake more decorative in the middle of pineapple slices.In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix,eggs,veg oil for low speed for 30 sec. Stir in 1/3 cup pineapple juice , water if needed slowly for 3 min. Mix well and pour into cake pan over pineapple slices. Bake in pre-heated 350° oven about 30-35 minutes.Allow it to rest in the pan,after cooling completely,invert it upside down to a serving plate.

Paruppu Payasam (Moongdal Payasam)
I also made pradhaman,without payasam what celebration....I remember ,grandma used to make this for every year on onam,coz grandpa like to have this payasam with banana along with kerala traditional sadya...i love the taste of dal and jaggery combo.Thought that this will be a flop,coz i'm not that good in making desserts with jaggery.In kerala ,we call this as 'Parippu Pradhaman'.Parippu Pradhamans are of two types, Pradhamans using only parippu(dal) or a combination of parippu and rice. Both Bengal gram dal and moong dal are used in preparing pradhaman.Here i tried only moong dal.This was my first attempt in making pradhaman,very happy that it came well,so simple and delicious dessert...

Ingredients..
Moong dal/Cheru payar parippu 1 cup
Jaggery 1 1/4 cup(more or less can be used depending on how much sweet u need)
Thick milk 1 3/4 cup (coconut milk can be used )
Grated coconut 1/4cup (chopped dry coconut /copra can be used)
Cardamom pwd 1/2pod
Cashewnuts 8
Raisins 8
Ghee 1 tbsp
Water to pressure cook dal 2 cups
Water to prepare jaggery syrup 1 1/2cup
Method..
Heat ghee in a thick pan,roast cashew nuts and raisins till golden brown,keep aside.In the same pan,roast moong dal for 5 min or so,till a nice aroma comes.Moong dal has a nice flavour.Remove from the pan,cook dal in apressure cooker for 3 whistles,dal should be soft .Once cooked,mash the dal .Don't mash into fine paste.In the same pan,melt jaggery with water.Strain to remove impurities if any.Again boil jaggery syrup,add cooked dal.Boil till for few min.Now add grated coconut and milk to the above,go on stirring in low flame till its blended.Add cardamom powder,roasted cashew and raisins.Serve hot or chilled.

Vacation Dishes

I'm here with the dishes we prepared during our vacation trip at Harstene Island.We started our trip at Friday evening,it was like 2hrs drive from our home.It was rainy day as usual in Seattle, went in two cars,one gang went first they reached beach house and was waiting for us.On the other side,we lost our way,went far beyond the destination,reached some dead end.Thought like we reached first, started key questing.Actually caretaker was not there , key was placed under some log near the community entrance,details was given to us clearly.It was raining heavily,we began to search key,under some logs found there and was looking for community board.ohhh...atlast came to know that hm mm...we were at wrong place ,almost thirty miles ahead from destination.Fun was that,we were searching key in a log near a Pub ,not the community entrance...ha ha ha....it was a real fun key questing...
Now coming to foods, Here goes few recipes of my friend's special.

Anu's Baby corn salad and StrawBerry Punch....






Baby corn Salad
Ingredients
Baby corn 1
Onions 1/2
Pepper powder 1tsp
Garam masala powder 1/2tsp
oil 1tsp
Salt
For Garnishing..
Tomatoes,onions and Lettuce..
Method..
Heat oil in a pan,saute till onions are golden brown.Add salt ,pepper corns,masala and saute till a nice flavour comes. Now add baby corns ,keep in low flames.sprinkle water if needed and cook till corns are cooked.Garnish with tomatoes,onions and lettuce.


Strawberry Punch
Strawberry 1 pack
Lemon Juice 1bottle
Sugar to taste
Method..
Make lemonade with con.lemon juice or lemon with sugar .Add sugar according to Ur taste.Now add chopped strawberries into it.Keep refrigerated for few hours,so that the strawberry color spreads in lemonade.Otherwise blend strawberries and add with lemonade.Serve chilled.
It was really very tasty....

Gop'z Tilapia Fry -Kerala style
Tilapia (cut into desired pieces or any kind of fish) 1
For marinate
Red chilly powder 2tsp
Pepper powder 1tsp
Onions chopped 1tsp
Ginger-Garlic paste 1tsp
Turmeric Powder 1/2tsp
Lemon juice 1/4tsp
Salt
Make a thin paste of red chilly powder,turmeric powder,pepper,onions,ginger-garlic,lemon juice, and salt with little water. Apply to the fish pieces and marinate for 15 minutes.Heat oil in a pan, the fish pieces and fry on both sides till done.


Niv's Prawns masala - Kerala Style
Prawns 2lbs
Coconut oil 2tsp
Curry leaves

For masala..
Coconut 1/2cup
Turmeric powder 1tsp
Red chilli powder 1tsp
Jeera powder 1/2tsp
Garlic paste 1tsp
Salt

Method..
Clean prawns.Do not take the shells from it.If u prefer without shells,then try in that way.In a thick pan,pour 1tsp oil,add mustard seeds,curry leaves.When it splutters,add prawns .Cook for 10-15 mins,add some if needed.When its cooked,prawns shell turns into orange-red colour.In the mean time,grind the items listed under masala with little water.Pour this masala along with prawns.Cook for another 10 mins till the raw smell of masala goes.Atlast again add 1tsp oil,saute for 5 mins.Usually Crab in done in this way in kerala,Prawns also can be done.While eating,remove the shell like we eat crab.Enjoy !!!

A Vacation to Harstene Island & Fantastic Four Meme

Weeks back I was on a vacation to beautiful Harstene Island in WA. A large forested island with a abundant wildlife,a quiet and peaceful feeling in a beautiful beach house in harstene pointe.A relaxing weekend ,enjoyed the misty forest view across our deck,enthralled with wildlife such as deer,raccoons,birds.A perfect place for a family reunion.We were four couples ,had a fun time by playing games,beach combing and last but not least cooking together and eating.'Too many cooks may spoil the broth' but here too many cooks made fabulous dishes,will be posting few dishes soon.Stunning view of sunrise from the deck overlooking water and of course enjoyed the private Jacuzzi in the evening watching the sunset on the water.

The Beach House we stayed

A Stunning view from the beach house

Harstene Pointe Beach

A forest view

An evening from the deck

Deer near beach house

Fantastic Four Meme!!!!

I'm tagged by Spicychilly,Bharathy, for Fantastic Four Meme.Its the first time, I'm been tagged by someone.I am very thrilled and at the same time a bit nervous also.Anyway thanks Bharathikka for tagging me,who persuades me in blogging. I love reading these Memes,which helps to know more about fellow blogger.Here goes my Meme...

4 Places I've Lived

• My sweet home "Trivandrum"..God's own country..kerala...during childhoods.


• Again capital city "Trivandrum"...after marriage, I'm lucky coz 's' home town is same...ho ho !!!!


• Beautiful Garden city ...."Bangalore"


• Now residing in 'Rainy city' of USA ..."Seattle"

4 Jobs I had...

• A mischievous daughter and a sister pampering little brother..As a student enjoyed life roaming with friends.


• An elder daughter-in-law in a sweet family,going to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary within weeks.....still not responsible...naughty!!!!


• Junior chef, proud being a blogger...


• Last but not least,a full time lovely job, specialized Homemaker....

4 Favorite Places I've Holidayed....

• Munnar,kerala for its tea plantations,breathtaking beauty,winding lanes and rolling hills and beautiful dense forest and grasslands....


• Kodai,TN ..a charming hill station with its wooded slopes,mighty rocks ,waterfalls,lovely lake and bracing air...


• Ooty,TN.. for her Lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands ,miles of tea gardens and Ooty to mettupalayam rail journey...


• Hartstene Island ,WA....a exotic beach,wildlife and forest...

4 Favourite Foods...

A tough one...not satisfied with the number..mm

• Meen curry(fish) with kappa(tapicoa) and mom's aviyal....yumm kerala style dishes.


• Malabar chicken briyani with raita and pappadam.


• Grandma's dishes...all kinds..,she's my inspiration in cooking


• Masala dosa..of course my style.

4 Places I'd rather be...

• Lovely home ,Trivandrum with family and cousins..enjoying mom's & grandma's foods.


• Now here with my 'S' in our house with a cup of tea,enjoying rain with nostalgic feelings of kerala.


• Exploring New york and Disneyland...


• Oh forgot My fav Eiffel Tower ....Paris.

4 Persons i like to tag...

• Lissie of Salt and Spice
• Seena of Simple and Delicious
• Rajeswari of Rak's Kitchen
• Vijaya of Dailymeals.

A Healthy Breakfast

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.~ Adelle DavisThis is an old proverb, a well said fact.Eat to live ,not live to eat.I'm not a diet person but a bit health conscious .Even though many people say like they are on diet,that never happens.The one meal we should never skip is breakfast, yet this is the meal that most people omit. Eating something for breakfast is critical because it gives us the energy we need to start your day .Skipping breakfast increases our hunger,leads to consume more foods ,like junk foods.Here's simple ,but healthy breakfast with bread..


Bread Upma
Ingredients..
Bread 5slices
Onion 1/4cup
Frozen peas,carrot 1/3cup
Tomato 1
Roasted peanuts 5(optional)
oil 1tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Urad dal 1tsp
Cumin seeds 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Garam masala 1/2tsp
Redchilli powder 1/2tsp
salt to taste
Cliantro

Method..
In a Pan,heat oil,splutter mustard seeds.Add urad dal,cumin seeds,peanuts and saute for few min.Be careful not to burn them.Now add chopped onions and saute till golden brown.Throw chopped tomatoes ,saute will they are cooked.Add peas and carrots and fry .If needed sprinkle water .Once veggies are cooked,add turmeric powder,red chilli,garam masala,salt,cliantro and saute.In the mean while,put bread in a mixer and make fine bread crumbs.Recently i found that bread crumbs is more tasty than bread pieces for upma.Finally add bread crumbs to the fried veggies and mix well.Saute for few Min's in low flame.serve hot.This is my entry to WYF: Diet Food hosted by Hima of SnackORama .

Sweet Appam

Happy Navaratri!!!!!

"Ayigiri Nandhini Nandhitha Medhini
Viswa Vinodhini Nandhanuthe
Girivara Vindhya Sirodhini Vasini
Vishnu Vilasini Jishnunuthe
Baghavathy He Sithi Kanda Kudumbhini
Boori Kudumbhini Boorikruthe
Jaya Jaya He Mahishasura Mardhini
Ramyaka Bardhini Sailasuthe."Navaratri is dedicated to Goddess Saraswathi/Durga,the "Goddess of Learning" and considered as personification of courage,strength and power.Its a festival of nine days,last three days are more scared than others,they are called Durgashtami, Mahanavami and Vijayadasami.In my house in kerala ,during the durashtami day in the evening ,a ceremony called "Poojavaipu" is performed.Books ,musical instruments are placed before the goddess ,"Golu" is kept in golu padi,decorated with flowers and other decorative items.Idols of God,Goddess and other mythological characters are placed on padi and pujas are performed.
The following day, Mahanavami, is totally devoted to the worship of Saraswathi. Pooja is performed both in the morning and in the evening and many more items such as rice, payasam, thirali,vada,appam etc are offered to Devi.During our childhood days,we love this festival than other,coz as studies are suspended during the puja days.On the Vijayadasami day after a Puja in the morning, the books and implements are removed and this ceremony is called `Puja Eduppu'. The time for the break up of the puja marks the beginning of learning and work. In our house,we write "Om Sri Ganapataye namaha" on rice , particularly the children, and read a few sentences from books. Its a day to begin new ventures, business or education as it is an auspicious day and assures one of success. On Vijayadasami, toddlers are taught their first alphabet ,ceremony is conducted in all temples,its known as "Ezhuthiniruth".

Sweet Appam
Ingredients....
Rice flour /wheat flour1cup
Sugar/jaggery 1/4cup
Coconut 1/2cup
Cardamom 1/2tsp
Banana 1 ripe
Refined oil for frying
Method..
1.Mix well the riceflour with cardamom,coconut and sugar.
2.Mash banana well with hand,add along with above items.
3.Sprinkle water to mix,make a thick batter like that of vada batter
4.Heat oil in a pan,take small balls flatten it with fingers in a oilpaper/banana leaves.
5.Deep fry them till they are golden brown or pour batter in appam pan.
U can use wheat flour also.Maida is generally not used on festivals.I used riceflour here.
Instead of sugar,jaggery can be used like melt jaggery in 3-4tsp of warm water,strain for impurities .mix this along with rest of the ingredients.Jaggery i found here is not that good taste ,so i used sugar.
This is my entry to Saraswati pooja/Navaratri under the event RCI-Tamilfestivals hosted by Viji and also to JFS:Dassera/Diwali hosted by Vee

An EGG Wonder!!!!!

When Bee and Jai announced their event named Click and the theme is Eggs,i was wondering and thinking to do something creatively.Recently i did fabric painting in t-shirt,From that got an idea about pencil drawing in eggs ...Eiffel Tower ,Paris in an egg .....sounds nice.I used Fujifilm S5500 camera,4 megapixels in automode ,taken in dimlight.

Chicken Thoran

Chicken thoran is a Kerala style chicken stir fry .Thoran is made with chicken boneless pieces with coconut and masala.It a side dish for rice,roti or can be used as filling in burgers/sandwiches.Its a bit time consuming dish,coz chicken should be chopped into small pieces.I usually make with boneless chicken breast strips,can be chopped easily.U can even make with minced chicken.But taste good in chopped ones. when our marriage was fixing,my in-laws gave me a hint to win my man's heart ,thats by making this chicken thoran. A beautiful smile can be seen in his face ,when ever i make thoran.This is my grandma's style of thoran....

Ingredients..

Boneless chicken pieces(chopped into small pieces) 1cup

Ginger-garlic paste 2tsp

Onions 2nos

Grated coconut 1/2cup

Red chilli powder 2tbsp

Pepper powder 1tsp

Coriander powder 1tsp

Jeera powder 1tsp

Chicken masala powder 1tsp

Turmeric powder 1/2tsp

Oil 3tsp

Mustard seeds 1tsp

Salt to taste

Curry leaves

Method...

In a sauce pan,heat 2tsp oil.Add mustard seeds.when its pops up ,add chicken pieces,ginger-garlic paste,pepper powder,red chilli powder,jeera powder,coriender powder,chicken masala powder,salt,turmeric powder and cook it.Sprinkle some water if needed.In other pan ,add 1tsp oil.Add chopped onions and curry leaves to it ,roast till its brown.Add coconut , roast till its brown in color and keep aside.When chicken is cooked,add this roasted items into it.cook for few min,till coconut and chicken are blend together.As roasted coconut is added to thoran,it will remain good for 3-4 days.

Mambazha Pulissery - kerala ripe mango curry

Mambazha Pulissery ,an authentic kerala style ripe mango curry.A sweet n sour curry made with mambazham/ripe mangoes and yogurt.Ripe mangoes enhances the taste,even pulissery can be made with ripe plantain,pappaya,cucumber,pineapple .This puliseery is one of my favourites from childhood. Amma is very famous among her friends for her style of mambazha pulissery n olan.This is her recipe , sour yogurt and sweet & sour mangoes makes this dish delicious.As you mango is rich in vitamin A,E,iron,antioxidant ,anticancer abilities and helps to prevent heart diseases.Yogurt has calcium,beneficial to bone &teeth and boost immune system.

Ingredients...

Ripe mangoes 1 no.

Turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Water 1/2cup

Green chillies 2nos

Red chilly powder 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Grind to paste...

Grated coconut 1/2cup

Jeera powder 1/2tsp

Curry leaves 4-5

Seasoning...

Oil 1tsp

Mustard seeds 1/2tsp

Red chilly 3nos

Fenugreek seeds 1/2tsp

Curry leaves

Method...

1.Cut mangoes into pieces and boil with water,turmeric powder,green chillies,salt,red chillipowder.Cook till mangoes are well cooked and can be mashed.

2.Grind coconut and cumin powder into a fine paste and add to the boiling mangoes.Boil for few min .Turnoff the flame.

3.Whip yogurt to smooth and add to the boiled mangoes with enough salt.

4.Heat oil in another pan,add mustardseeds.when it pops up,add fenugreek seeds,red chillies,curry leaves.Fenugreek seeds enhances flavour to pulissery.Add seasonings to pulissery.Serve with rice.

Egg Omelette Curry

Egg Omelette Curry/Guddu Omelette Pulusu, a spicy andhra curry with rice....sounds tasty isn't.For the egg lovers who's fed up eating usual egg dishes,this would be definitely a great relief .Make this curry when i'm bored with normal curries usually on weekends.Its like kerala Varutharacha curry , a slight change in omellete.

Ingredients

For Egg omelette.....

Egg 2

Onions less than 1/4cup

Grated coconut 1tbsp

Toor dal(sambar dal) 1tsp

Red chilli powder 1 tsp

Turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Asafoetida apinch

Salt to taste

For curry/pulusu

Grated coconut 1/4cup

Tamarind pulp 2 -3 tsp

Coriender powder 1tp
Jeera powder 1tsp

Onion 1/4cup

Red chilli powder 2-3 tsp

Curry leaves 5

oil 1tsp

Mustard seeds 1tsp

Method...

For making egg omelette...

Soak toor dal for 15-20 min.Gring dal,coconut,onions,red chilli powder,turmeric powder,salt in a blender with enough water into a smooth paste.Add egg into the paste,mix well.Make thick omelettes.Cut into pieces and keep aside.

For making curry/pulusu...

In a thick bottomed sauce pan dry roast coconut without adding oil till it becomes slight brown color(like we roast for theeyal) and keep aside.In the same pan,add 1tsp oil .Now add onions,curryleaves,red chilli powder,jeera powder,coriender powder for a few min.Turn off flame.Blend roasted coconut and this masala with enough water into a paste.In a pan,heat 1tsp oil ,add mustard seeds.when it pops up,add masala paste,tamarind pulp with enough water.(Add some water extra b'coz after adding omelette,gravy becomes thick)when curry starts boiling ,add omelette pieces into it.Reduce fire to low flame.Let it boil for 5 -10 mins.See how much gravy u need and remove from flame accordingly.

Goes well with rice.

Rawa Kesari/KesariBhaat

Rawa kesari,an easy and wonderful dessert .Yesterday was my 's' birthday,who's a sweet lover...more than that never fed up with eating it,what else can i make for my sweet kothiyan rather than this tasty kesari.Actually i did't know that it's so simple n can be made so quickly.Amma makes kesari very tastly,but i havent noticed how she makes,u know well girls rarely enter kitchen before marriage,same with me too.But after marriage we should start cooking,no other option but now i love cooking .Though kesari is quite simple,one should be careful while adding water to rawa to avoid lumps.when i made,got lumps and mashes it with dal masher.Anyway it came out very well,he loved birthday sweet.
Ingredients

Rawa/semolina/sooji 1cup

Water 2cup

Sugar 1 1/2cup

(i used granulated sugar)

Cardamon 2 powderd

Ghee 1/4cup

Kesari colour apinch

Cashewnuts 8-10

Raisins 8-10

Almonds 8-10

Method...

In a thick bottomed pan,pour 1tsp ghee and roast rawa till it becomes cream in color or till a nice flavour comes.Boil water in another pan ,add kesari colour to it.In a small pan roast cashew,raisins n almonds with ghee and set aside.once rawa is roasted,bring fire to low flame.Add water and stir continously to avoid lumps.When it's almost cooked,add sugar,cardamon,ghee and mix well.Keep stirring till the kesari leaves the pan.At last add roasted nuts .u can serve hot or if u like to cut kesari in pieces.pour it in a ghee spread plate,when it is cooled ,cut into required shapes.

Spring Onion Rice

Scallion which is commonly known as Spring onions /green onions.A leafy vegetable which used in noodles,soup,sauce,seafood as garnishing.It has a mild flavour and silvery skin,its bulb is soft and pear shaped which is rich in iron and vitamins.Spring onion thoran is famous in kerala.my MIL makes tasty thoran out of it.From her menu,i found that many dishes can be made with this leafy ones. Everyday i make some quick rice dish for my 's',who's is a rice lover for office lunch pack.One fine morning,as i was wondering what kind of rice to make ...found some spring onions in refrigerator.i took n cook ,by the way got this wonderful dish.

Ingredients...

Basmati rice 2cups

Spring onions 1bunch

Mustard seeds 1tsp

Channa dal 1/2tsp

Urad dal 1/2tsp

Coriender seeds 1/2tsp

Cumin seeds 1/2tsp

Red chillies 3-4

Roasted peanuts 1/4cup

oil 1tsp

Ghee 1/2tsp (optional)

Dry coconut(optional)

salt to taste

Method..

Cook rice and cool it.It should be sticky.Heat oil in a pan,add mustard seeds,urad dal,channa dal,coriender seeds,cumin seeds,red chillies and saute for few min.Wash spring onions and chop it finely.Add spring onions to the seasoning items and cook in low flame without adding water(cook till it gets brown in colour),coz spring onions had water content.Add enough salt to it . Add rice and mix well,cook for 2 mins.Add ghee ,coconut and mix well .Garnish with peanuts and serve hot.

Mysore Masala Dosa

Mysore Masala Dosa, a crispy pan cake with spicy chilli chutney and stuffed potato masala with hot tea....This is one of my favourite from childhood, amma usually makes dosa on sunday morning with potato stuffing served with green coconut chutney and spicy kerala sambar..when i started cooking,i tried to mix n mash ingredients .some are my own discoveries ,some from cookery sites.After coming here, my experiments has increased. so my 's' is bit tensed co'z he's a good tester....Last week i was telling him like on sunday i'm goin to try mysore masala dosa.He was bit worried n tried to pull me back from doing it .But after eating ,he wants me to blog this recipe.here it goes my style of masala dosa...

For Dosa batter...

Idili rice/Long grained rice 3cups

Urad dal 1cup

Methi seeds 1tsp

Salt to taste

Boiled rice 1cup (optional)

Soak rice,dal,methi seeds for 6 -8 hrs .Blend them till it forms a smooth batter with enough water.Let it ferment for 8-10 hrs or keep overnight.As its cold here,i used reheat the bake oven for 5 min .place the dosa batter inside it and take it back by morning .An other way to ferment is to add boiled rice while blending .This helps to ferment quickly even it is kept outside overnight.

For potato masala(stuffing)...

Potatoes 2 large

Onion 1large

Green peas 1/4cup

Carrot finely chopped 1/4 cup

Green chilles 2

Turmeric powder 1/4tsp

Asafoetida a pinch

Garam masala 1/4tsp

Red chilly powder 1/2tsp

Ginger-garlic paste 1tsp

coriander leaves

oil 1tsp

Mustard seeds 1tsp

urad dal 1tsp

Pressure cook potato,carrot ,peas for one whistle.In a sauce pan ,heat oil,add mustard and dal.when it pops add chopped onions ,green chillies ,ginger-garlic paste and stir fry till it's light brown.Now add turmeric powder,red chilly powder,garam masala, asafoetida and stir.Add boiled vegetables and afew drops of water ,cook for few mintues .finally add coriander leaves.

For masala spread inside dosa...

Many varieties of speads can be tried like Red chilly chutney,coriander chutney,coconut-paruppu podi.Here i used red chilly chutney.i'd like to share all spreads recipes here.

Red chilly chutney

Red chilles powder 2tsp

onions 1

Garlic pods 1

Tamarind pulp 1tsp

salt

Make a fine paste out of this ingredients in a blender without addingwater.

Coriander chutney/mint chutney

Coriander leaves 1/2 cup

Green chillies 2-3

Tamarind pulp 1tsp

Garlic pods 1

salt

Make a fine paste out of it.

Coconut paruppu podi/coconut channa dal powder

Channa dal 1/2cup

Dried Coconut 3 tbsp

Red chilly powder 2-3 tbsp

Cumin powder 1tsp

Garlic pods 2

salt

Mix all items and make in fine powder in a dry mixer without adding water.

To make masala dosa

Heat tawa for few mintues.spread few drops of oil in the tawa and spread evenly with a tissue.

Pour one spoon of dosa batter into it and rotate in clockwise direction.Cook for few mintues by closing the dosa with a lid so that dosa cooks faster.

Now spread 1 spoon of red chilly chutney evenly .Then some potato masala in one side of dosa and fold the other edge of dosa.

now masala dosa is ready.serve it hot.

Arattikaya Palakura Pulusu/Raw Plantain palak curry

'Arattikaya Palakura Pulusu' as the name indicates, a curry made with plantain n palak,basically an Andhra dish.when i was thinking about what to post in JFI:Banana event,my 's' suggested this dish coz this is one of his favourite...specially plantain..he ask to put plantain in all curries .... our family mention this curry as "Valliyoor kuravu pulusu".actually no one knows why such a name and from where they got.He says like this dish is bascially from valliyoor ( a place in tamilnadu)made with kuravu (spinach)...anyway whatever it is,dish is very tasty n healthy.Any type of spinach can be used,i have tried with methi leaves(fenugreek leaves)also.Plantains, also known as “potatoes of the air” or “cooking bananas here.Its of great nutritional value, has a rare combination of energy value, tissue-building elements, protein, vitamins and minerals and spinach is rich in vitamin C and A.This is my entry to JFI:Banana hosted by Mandira ofAhaar.

Ingredients

Arattikaya / Raw plantain 1 no
palak 1 bunch
Tamarind pulp 5 table sp

For masala

Coconut 1/2 cup
Garlic pods 2
Shallots 3 nos /red onion 1/4
Red chilly powder 4tsp
Jeera powder 1/2tsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Gingely oil/Refined oil 1tsp
Musturd seeds 1tsp
Curry leaves 5 nos
Red chillies 2 nos

Method

Cook plantain and palak with enough salt .Grind masala items finely.In a saucepan,add cooked plantain,palak,masala,tamarind pulp and water (depends on how much gravy needed),salt and mix well.cook for 5 mins..I usually use gingely oil for seasoning,which enchanes flavour to the curry.U can use any refined oil.In a pan,add oil,musturd seeds.when it pops ,add red chillies and curry leaves.Add seasoning to the gravy.Serve hot with rice.

Vinayaka Chaturthi

Vinayaka chaturthi or Ganesh chaturthi is an occasion of the birthday of Lord Ganesh,who has elephant head and human body."Vinayakan ",as the name indicates,is the Lord of beginning and Lord of obstacles,he's the "destroyer of sorrows and remover of obstacles" ,honoured with affection at the start of any ritual or ceremony and invoked as the "Patron of Letters" at the beginning of any writing.Ganesha has two Siddhis ,Siddhi (success) and Riddhi (prosperity). Wherever there is Vinayakan, there is Success and Prosperity.On the day of chaturthi,we decorate our house by drawing "kolams" with riceflour,flowers,mavela thoram at door step, make a clay idol of lord and decorate it with sandal , kumkum and a very special aurgampul malai( a type of grass,which is very special to lord) and a beautiful umbrella is placed behind the idol.Then idol is placed in plantain leaf or mandap.Then at the evening puja is performed by chanting "Ganesha Sahasranamam". Ganesha is very fond of sweets,therefore payasam,modhakam or kozhukattai ,sundal ,fruits and other sweets are offered.After 2 days,the idol is immersed in sea.we usually immersed the idol in river near our house.

Kozhukattai and sundal was my "naivedhyam".Grandma is my greatest inspiration in cooking.Most of my recipes are her contribution.Same in the case of "kozhukattai" also.Those who had no steam cooker or iddli set like me,can try this... forgot to bring from india...I'm searching for one, for last few months..hmmm couldt find....... search is still goin on ... when i was wondering 'how to cook modhakam',grandma gave me this simple version of kozhukattai,cooking in boiling water......i'd like to share with u...

Kozhukattai

Ingredients...

Rice 1cup

Jaggery or sugar 1/2cup (change to ur need)

coconut 1/4cup

cardamom 3

water less than 1/4cup

method...

Mix riceflour,grated jaggery,cococnut together.sprinkle some water if nesscery to mix the ingredients.Make small balls or rice dumplings and keep aside.In a saucepan,boil 2 cups of water.when water started boiling,put rice balls in it.cook for 10-15min.

Chickpeas Sundal

Ingredients.

Chickpeas 1 1/2cup

Grated coconut 3tsp

Salt 1tsp

Musturdseeds 1/4tsp

Urad dal 1/4 tsp

Red chillies 4 -5

curry leaves 5 -6

Asafoetida 1 pinch

Method..

Soak chickpeas overnight or atleast 8 hours before making sundal.Wash n pressure cook peas with salt for one whistle.Decant the water and let it stand for few mintutes.In a kadai,heat up the oil,musturd seeds,urad dal.redchillies,curryleaves and asafoetida.Remove from heat,now add cooked peas and coconut .stir to mix well.

Tips..

Instead of grated coconut,dry coconut or copra chopped can also be used.

This is my entry toEvent for Ganeshchaturthi hosted by LathaThe'yum'blog

RCI: Karnataka's Chitranna and Tomato Saaru

This is my first entry to a food event. Happy to begin with" Karnataka Cuisine".A few months back,i was in "Garden City" Bangalore, where i got an opportunity to explore the taste of typical cuisine which is characterised by the distinct textures, flavours and tastes. Karnataka is a unique blend of tradition and modernity.
"Nimbehannu Chitranna" is one of my favourite dish ,commonly known as Lemon Rice a tasty ,healthy n easy dish which can be made even with leftover rice.i usually prefer to make this for my hubby for lunch packets.As we are more concerned about health ,just try this .Lemon is rich in Vitamin C is vital to the function of strong immune system . Rice is easy to digest, naturally sodium and cholesterol-free, with only a trace of fat. It's an important source of vitamin B1 and encourages stable blood sugar levels.
Ingredients...
Rice 2cups
Lime juice 2tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
cumin seeds 1tsp
Urad dal 1tsp
Channa dal 1tsp
Moorng dal 1tsp
Curry leaves 4-5
Red chillies 3-4
A small piece of ginger crushed
Turmeric powder 1/4tsp
Peanuts 8-10
oil 1tsp
Salt as required
Coconut grated(optional for garnishing)
Method....
Cook rice in pressure cooker in ratio 1 : 1.25 ( ie 1cup of rice : 1.25cups of water)
Heat oil and add dals,mustard seeds,curry leaves,cumin seeds,redchillies,peanuts and ginger.
When the dals turn brown,add the turmeric and ginger.Fry for another minute till the mustard crackles.
Now add the lime juice and reduce heat.Heat through and remove.Mix this with rice as required and add salt to taste.
Tomato Saaru

"Sarru" is a Karnataka dish ,Usually known as "Rasam " in southindia,which is prepared almost daily in indianhouseholds.Its also known as "Indian Spicy Soup".Spices added in rasam is benefical to health,it helps to cure stomatitis, indigestion, gastric irritability.
Ingredients...
Toor dal 3/4cup
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
oil 1/2stp
Tomatoes 2 ,cut into small pieces
Tamarind juice 1-2 tsp
Jaggery 1tsp
Rasam powder 1-2 tsp
Coriander leaves
salt to taste
For seasoning....

Ghee 1tsp
Mustard seeds 1tsp
Cumin seeds 1tsp
Asafoetida 1pinch
Curry leaves
Method...
Cook toor dal in a pressure cooker with salt ,turmeric and oil.Mash well and keep aside.
Grind tomatoes into a paste or put rasam powder,tomato pieces,jaggery in a pan ,add water and boil to 10-12 min.Remove from heat.
Heat ghee in a pan,add seasonings,when it starts to spilt,stir into the rasam.Garnish with coriander leaves.

KRISHNA JAYANTHI

HAPPY KRISHNA JAYANTHI!!!!

Krishna jayanthi is the celebration of the birth of lord krishna,in south india it's also known as Gokulashtami. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star) on Ashtami day,so it also known as Asthami Rohini In kerala.
Sri Krishna is Lord Vishnu's eighth avatar (incarnation) on earth. He is considered to be the Lord's most glorious incarnations.This festival occurs on the eight day of the dark half of the month Shravan. We decorate our house with flowers ,rangoli , mavela thoranam at doorstep and small feets are drawn with rice flour from entrance to puja room .It 's believed that baby krishna visits his devotee's house to bless them ,leaving behind his foot prints.i remember once my grandma dipped my infant brother 's legs in the flour n drew the foot steps.she takes ''vratham'' (fasting) till midnight chanting slokams n reciting prayers from bagavet gita.
Special dishes like appam,murukku,payasam,aval,seedai ,ladduu and butter are offered to lord.In the evening a special puja is done and people ask one another" kannan onga veetukku vandacha?" (Has Kannan come to your house?).At night we go to krishnan temple near our house ,kolattam is performed by kids dressed up as Krishna and Radha . It is a replete with love for lord krishna.
Yesterday we celebrated with Pal payasam and Aravanai as ''naivedhiyam''.I really wished to draw footprints ,but houses here in usa are laid with carpet.hmmm.....so I couldn't.At that moment I thought east or west india is the best.
Just tried mom's recipe and I like to share here.here it goes......

PAL PAYASAM
Ingredients...
Basmati rice /unakkallari(red rice) 1/4 cup
Milk 6cups
water 1 cup
sugar 1/2 cup
ghee for frying

Garnishing...

cashewnuts 10 nos
cardamom 5 nos
raisins 5nos (optional)

Method

Mix together all the ingredients in a pressure cooker.Cook on a high flame till the first whistle.Soon after the first whistle is heard, lower the fire and cook for half an hour.Fry cashews and raisins in ghee.Garnish the paayasam with the fried cashews and raisins.Serve hot or chilled

ARAVANAI PAYASAM /SWEET PONGAL

Ingredients

Raw rice - ½ cup
Green gram(Cheruparippu) - ½ cup
Ghee - ½ cup
Jaggery(Sharkkara) - 3 cups
Copra(dried coconut) pieces - ¼ cup
Cashews(chopped) - ¼ cup
Raisins(Onakka munthiri) - ¼ cup
Sugar candy(Kalkandam) - ¼ cup (optional)
Grated coconut - ½ cup(optional)

Method....
Lightly roast green gram, till a nice aroma comes and the colour changes.Wash rice and dal together.Heat up a pressure pan.Add rice and dal along with 2 cups of water.Close the cooker, keep the weight and cook upto 2 whistlesAllow it to cool.Add ½ cup of water to jaggery and heat on a low flame, stirring continuously, till the jaggery dissolves compeletely. Strain and add to the rice-dal mixture.Cook, adding ghee little by little.Add the copra fried in ghee.When the whole mixture becomes a mass, add cashew and raisins fried in littleghee.Remove from the flame.Add sugarcandy and freshly grated coconut.

Tips... It can be made only with rice without adding dal.You can cook the mixture for just one whistle and if thus made, rice will be slightly grainy.You can add 1 cup of ghee and 4 cups of jaggery.

A brief about tomatoes

Tomatos are considered as both fruit n vegteable.they are available in different shapes ,sizes n colors....mostly its eaten as raw n used in salads,soups which is rich in vitamins..

A Quick n Tasty Tomato Rice

There are many reason why people like food.......i've got only one purpose in life ...eat anythg and everything....anywhere n anytime.All want to b happy n food makes most of us happy.i started thinking about blog to strave off boredom n im a passionate food lover...who likes to experiment ,mix n match dishes.

A week before while i found some beautiful tomatoes at stores.They were fresh and organic ones.i picked up a bag of it.while thinking about what to cook , just went through some blogs .

i got a nice tomato rice recipe from radhi's kitchen. .it was a kinda of quick n easy dish n it really came out very well.....

A warm welcome to all food lovers!!!!!!!

Namaste
I here by welcome u all to my place of anything about food.There's no setup rules or time for cooking,all matters is patience ,experiments n presentation.As i'm in a learning mode,i posted a dish which i tried days before.Trying to learn about templates and of course food photography.I'm so trilled to be here.Hope to post new recipes soon.....