Thursday, December 25, 2008

StuffedBrinjal


Ingredients:

Brinjal - 5 nos (medium size)
Onion - 1 - chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp(optional)
Oil - 3 tsp

For grinding....

Urad dal - 1 tsp
Channa dal - 2 tsp
Corriander seeds - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 5 nos
Grated coconut - 3 tsp




Method:

1. Fry all ingredients for grinding and grind them.
2. Add onion, gingergarlic paste and salt to the ground paste and mix well.(see pic below)
3. Slice the brinjal and stuff the mixture into it.(see pic)
4. Heat oil in a pan, add the stuffed brinjal and the remaining stuffing and close the lid. Cook it in a low flame, so that it wont stick...
5. Turn often until cooked.

Stuffing...













Sliced Brinjal...






After Stuffing...

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Araichu vitta Sambar


Ingredients:

Toor Dal - 1 cup
Radish - 1 - cut into pieces
Small onion - few(10 nos)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Hing(Asafoetida) - A pinch
Tamarind - Small lemon size - soak in water and extract juice
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - a hand full

For grinding:

Channa dal - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 5 nos
Grated Coconut - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Boil toor dal in a pressure cooker. (Can also cook vegetables along with this.)
2. Dry roast, channa dal, coriander seeds, red chillies and grind it along with coconut and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard and cumin seeds and fry small onions and curry leaves.
4. Now add radish and fry for 2 mins. Then add the ground coconut paste and add 1 cup of water
5. Add turmeric powder, hing, salt and let it boil for 5 to 10 mins. Add more water if needed.
6. Add boiled dal now and mix well. Taste for salt and add more if needed what ever is needed.
7. Finally once the vegetable is cooked add tamarind juice and let it boil for 5 mins and turn off and garnish with coriander leaves.

VegetableBiriyani


Ingredients:

Basmathi rice - 1 cup - soak in water for 45 mins.
Vegetables - 1 cup - carrot, beans, peas, potato, some more if needed.
Onion - 1 - cut it length wise
Tomato - 1(if big) or 2(if small)
Green chillies - 4 nos
Mint leaves - A hand full
Coriander leaves - A hand full
Ginger & Garlic paste - 2 tsp - take equal amount of ginger and garlic for grinding
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp or as per need(optional)
Cloves, cinnamon and cardamom - 2 nos
Bay leaves - few
Lemon - 1/2 - extract juice and keep it aside(optional)
Oil - 5 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp or as per need

Method:

1. After 45 mins drain water from rice and keep it aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves. Wait until it splutters.
3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry well.(approximately 2 mins)
4. Add onion, green chillies, mint leaves, coriander leaves and fry until onion turns golden brown.
5. Add tomato, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and fry until oil gets separated.
6. Add vegetables now and wait until it is half cooked.
7. Add 2 cups of water now and mix well. Taste for salt and more if needed.
8. When water starts boiling, add rice and lemon juice and close the lid and cook in high flame.
9. When there is no water, simmer the gas and let it for 5 to 10 mins.(Rice will be half cooked at this stage). Stir in between.
10. Garnish with few more coriander leaves...You veg - biriyani is ready.

Notes and Secrets:

-> If you are not using non stick pan for preparing, follow this method so that it won't burn at the bottom.

* Take a news paper and cover the vessel and then close tightly with the lid.
* Heat a dosai/roti pan, and place this vessel on that and simmer the gas until
rice is cooked. So that it wont burn at the base.
-> You can also use cashews while seasoning

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Sweet Pongal/Sakkarai Pongal



Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Elaichi/Cardamom - 2 nos
Coconut milk or whole milk - 1 cup(optional)
Salt - A pinch
Grated coconut or dry coconut - 2 tsp(avoid if you add milk)
Ghee/Oil - 1 tsp
Dry grapes & Cashews - few

Method:

1. Heat a pan, roast moong dal for few mins.(until it starts to turn brown.
2. Add this along with rice and cook this adding 3 cups of water and salt in a pressure pan.
3. Once the rice is cooked well, no matter if it is smashed, add jaggery, coconut milk(or hot water)or grated coconut and elaichi.
4. Stir well so that it wont stick to the bottom and burnt. Let it boil until raw smell of jaggery goes of. Say 10 mins.
5. Heat ghee in a pan, fry dry fruits and add to pongal.

Note:

-> you can also use channa dal to this pongal. See to that rice and dal should be in 1:1/2 ratio.

Carrot Halwa




Ingredints:

Grated Carrot - 1 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Elaichi/Cardamom - 2 nos
Dry grapes - few
Cashews - few
Almonds - few
Ghee - 1 tsp(optional)

Method:

1. Heat ghee in a pan, fry all dry fruits, add carrot and fry for 30 secs.
2. Add milk and let it boil, until carrot is cooked and the mixture becomes thick.
3. Add sugar, elaichi now and let it boil for few more mins(consistency is, no milk should be there.)

Notes:

-> Serve it hot or cold. If you are going to serve after one day or 5 hrs means, let it be little gravy(see pic), so that when you serve, it'll be thick.
-> Serve along with ice cream....yummy! yummy!

Peserato




Ingredients:

GreenGram dal/ whole moong dal - 1 cup - soak it whole night in water
Rice(any) - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1"
Cumin seeds - i tsp
Onion - 1 - chopped

Method:

1. Grind all ingredients finely(like dosai batter) except onion.
2. Add salt to the ground batter and mix well
3. Heat dosa pan/any flat pan, add a ladle of batter and spread using ladder(same like dosai). Add onion on top and add 1/2 tsp of oil around dosai.
4. Flip dosai, so that the other side of dosai gets cooked.

Note:

-> The Best combo for this peserato is coconut chutney.
-> Simply we can tell this as pachai payir dosai.
-> Post your comments on this dish

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Ridge Guard(Peerkangai)Skin Chutney


Ingredients:

Peerkangai skin - 1 cup - Out of 2 long peerkanga, you'll get 1 cup of skin
Garlic - 4 nos
Ginger - 1"
Tamarind - 1/2 lemon size - soak in water for few mins.
Grated coconut - 2 tsp
Green chilli - 6 nos
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need
Oil - 2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, and fry all ingredients except tamarind and urad dal.
2. Let it cool and in the same pan fry urad dal.
3. Grind everything to a fine paste.

Ingredients Picture...


Note:

-> I wondered when i heard about this chutney. But i agree that taste was yummy!!
-> You can also add red chilli instead of green chilli.
-> Serve with idly, dosai, uthappam, rice....etc.,

Maida Cracker....




Ingredients:

Maida/All purpose flour - 1 cup
Poppy Seeds - A hand full
Sugar - 1/2 cup - dissolve this in 1/4 cup of water
Oil - for frying

Method:

1. To one cup of maida, add poppy seeds and mix well.
2. Add the sugar solution little by little and prepare dough. It'll be like chappathi/roti dough.
3. Take a small ball shape of the dough and roll it as you do for roti/chappathi.
4. Using knife, cut into diamond shapes, and fry it in oil in medium flame.



Notes:

-> Same way you can prepare spicy cracker adding salt and chilli powder.
-> Do not prepare sugar solution by heating as we prepare for jamun.

Bindi Rice


Ingredients:

Boiled rice - 1 cup
Lady's Finger - 1 cup - cut into 1 inch long pieces
Onion - 1 - chopped
Garlic - 2 nos - finely chopped
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind - 1/2 lemon size - extract juice adding 1/4 cup of water
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need
Oil - 5 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Coriander leaves - few
Roasted peanuts - few(optional)

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan, add chopped garlic, then lady's finger.
2. When it is half cooked, add salt and fry again. when cooked well, add 1/4 tsp of pepper, stir well, turn off gas and keep it aside.
3. Heat 3 tsp of oil in a pan, splutter cumin seeds, add onion, curry leaves and fry until golden brown in onion.
4. Add tamarind juice now, turmeric powder, cumin powder and salt(very little) and let it boil until oil gets separated.
5. Finally add the remaining pepper powder, roasted peanuts, coriander leaves and mix well.
6. Add cooked rice now, mix well and serve with any raitha you prefer.

Ingredients picture...

Notes:
-> Bindi rice is my hubby's most favorite dish. Thanks to Reshmi, who taught this to me. She only introduced this to my hubby and from that day onwards, he is a great fan of this Bindi rice.
-> You can also try this in biriyani style. Means, cut the onions length wise, instead of pepper add chilli powder, include garam masala, thats it.
-> This is the actual recipe, but i modified a little for my taste. Try this method too and post me your comments.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Prawn Fry


Ingredients:

Prawn - 1 pound or 1/2 kg (without shell/after cleaning)
Onion - 2 nos - chopped
Tomato - 1 nos
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need
Oil - 4 tsp
Coriander leaves - A handful

Method:

1. Heat oil in a pan, add onions and fry until golden brown.
2. Add tomato and fry until oil get separated.
3. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and mix well.
4. Cook in medium flame until prawn is cooked well.
5. Finally garnish with coriander leaves.

ParuppuUrundai Kuzhambu




Ingredients:

Onion - 2(big) - chopped
Tomato - 1(small) - chopped
Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup - use 1/2 lemon sized tamarind to prepare juice
Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp
Grated coconut - 3 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tps
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need
Oil - 4 tsp
Coriander leaves - A handfull





For grinding:

Channa dal / Kadalai paruppu - 1 cup - Soak in water exactly for 1 hour
Garlic - 4 nos
Fennel seeds(Sombu) - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli - 4 nos
Salt - 1/2 tsp or as per need

Method:

1. Grind channa dal adding, garlic, fennel seeds, red chilli and salt. Try to grind this without adding water or at the max you can add 7-10 tsp of water for grinding.
2. Add 1/2 of the chopped onion and coriander leaves to the ground paste and mix well.
3. Make the paste into small small balls(see pic below)
4. Boil them in a idly pan for 7-10 mins.(see pic below)
5. Grind the coconut and cumin seeds together and keep it aside.
6. Heat oil in a pan/kadai, splutter fennel seeds, add the remaining onion and fry until golden brown in onion.
7. Add tomato and fry until oil gets separated.
8. Now add the ground coconut paste,tamarind juice, 1/4 cup of water, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala and salt.
9. Let it boil, and add the boiled channa dal balls, one by one to the gravy and let it boil until the raw smell of ingredients goes off.
10. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot....

Ground channa dal paste is made into small ball shapes......















Boiled channa balls...