Kichidi

Kichidi.. All may run away by hearing the word.. There may be many types of kichidis. One is using rava n semiya with vegetables. Here comes a recipe with Rice.

Ingredients 

Rice 3/4th or 1 cup
Moong dhal 3/4th cup.
Beans 4 to 5
Carrot 2 to 3
Potatoes 1 to 2
Peas handful
Onion 1
Tomatoes 1
Mustard 1teaspoon
Urad dhal 1teaspoon
Channa dhal 1teaspoon
Asafoetida 1teaspoon
Salt acc to taste
Sambar powder 3/4th spoon or acc to ur taste
Turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon
Water acc to need
Oil 2 to 3 spoons.

Method

Dry fry moong dhal for few minutes. Keep it aside. Wash rice and keep it aside. Cut vegetables finely. Heat cooker or a pan. Heat oil. Allow it to boil. Saute mustard, urad dhal n channa dhal. After mustard splutters, Add asafoetida or perungayam. Fry. Add vegetables. Fry and allow it to boil. Add turmeric, sambar powder. Fry it till raw smell goes. Add moong dhal and rice. Fry it till all gets mixed. Add enough water and add salt. Mix it well. Allow few boils to come. Close the cooker. Wait for few whistles. Rice kichidi is ready. Relish and enjoy.

Veg Kurma

Kurmas are one of my favourite side dishes for pulka rotis... It can be done for any main dishes like chappathis and veg fried rices.. Variety of twists can be done in a single dish... Here comes a dish with a small twist which tastes even yummy than the original ones.

Ingredients:

Beans 10 to 12 finely chopped
Carrots 1-2 finely chopped
Capsicum 1/2 - 1 finely chopped
Paneer according to your level (if available)
Coconut Grated 1/2 cup or less
Odacha kadalai or pottu kadalai few
Green Chillies 1 - 2
Onion 1
Tomato 1
Salt acc to your taste
Turmeric Powder 1 teaspoon
Garam Masala (if needed) 1 teaspoon
Cloves 1
Cinnamon or pattai 1 small piece.
Bay leaf 1 small piece.
Ginger Garlic Paste 1 teaspoon
Kasa Kasa 1 teaspoon


Method :

Chop onion and tomato and grind them into a fine paste. Keep it aside. Grate coconut and and add pottu kadalai and green chillies (Pottu Kadalai is the twist here. In restaurants they add cashews and poppy seeds (kasa kasa). ) Add kasa kasa if u wish too. Grind them into a paste like grinding for coconut chutney by adding little water. Keep it aside. Chop vegetables finely. Add vegetables of your choice. Add green peas, beetroot etc.. By adding beetroot, kurma color will change into red. Add chopped paneer if its available. Heat cooker or a pressure pan. Add oil and add cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf if u wish. By adding them, u can feel its like restaurant style. Fry them for few seconds. Add the grinded onion tomato paste. Boil them till its cooked and oil gets separated. Add ginger garlic paste if u feel to. Mix them till raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes. Add turmeric powder. Add chopped vegetables and mix them for few minutes. Add the grounded coconut paste. Mix them well. Add water and salt and close the cooker and  let it boil and let all vegetables cook. Allow it to get two to three whistles.

Garnish it with coriander leaves.

You will enjoy the taste of this kurma with a small twist...

Pressure Cooker Eggless Chocolate Cake with Nuts

Heat pressure cooker by adding one and a half cup of salt and a stand or a ring (which u used to put it while cooking rice). Dont put weight. Pre heat it for 15 minutes. Next seive dry ingredients using a strainer. Add 2 cups of maida, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 spoon of corn flour. Seive together. In a seprate bowl, add 1 table spoon to 3/4th tablespoon of melted unsalted butter. Add 1/4th cup of powdered sugar and 1/2 cup of condensed sugar or milkmaid. Whisk together so that it becomes soft with no lumps are formed. Heat half a cup of water and add two spoons of coco powder. Mix it well. No lumps should be formed. Add the dry ingredients to the wet butter mixture and mix well.. Add the chocolate mixture and mix well. No lumps should be formed. Mix very well using a whisker till it becomes very soft. Add your favourite nuts to the mixture and mix well. Grease the cake tin either aluminum or stainless steel with unsalted butter or vegetable oil. Pour the cake mixture to the greased tin. Tap the tin so that the mixture is even. Keep it in the preheated cooker and allow it to cook fr 35 minutes. Dont put weight. After 35 to 40 minutes, remove the cooker lid , insert a tooth pick and check whether the cake is cooked. If the tooth pick comes out clean, your cake is cooked. If not, keep the tin inside the cooker and cook it for another ten to fifteen minutes. Enjoy the flavour...

Udupi Sambar

Sambar prepared at Udupi Temple. Wen one feels bored of keeping dhals while keeping rice, here goes an easy one

Ingredients :

White pumpkin / raw banana / baby jackfruit
Vellam
Tamarind extract
Coconut thuruval
Dhaniya
Red chillies
Jeera
Salt
Curry leaves
Mustard
Vendhayam
Oil

Method :

Grind coconut thuruval, dhaniya, jeera n red chillies with water coarsely. Heat oil in a pan. Saute mustard, vendhayam. After they crackle, add chopped white pumpkin or any vegetable mentioned above. Saute them. Add enough water and cover it with a lid. I tried with white pumpkin. Let the pumpkin cook 3/4th. Open them and add tamarind extract and vellam according to ur choice (vellam). Let it cook. Add salt. Add curry leaves while sauting the vegetable. Add the grounded coconut paste. Mix well. Let it boil fr two to three minutes. Ur sambar s ready.

Spicy Tomato Dhal

Here goes a recipe for giving a thought to prepare. Dhals can be time saving and a healthier option too..!!  Tried this yummy one with phulka roti.

There goes the recipe

Ingredients :

3/4 cup tuvar dhal, 1/4 cup moong dhal, 3 ripe tomatoes (medium sized, finely chopped), a pinch of turmeric, few red chilli (broken), 4-5 curry leaves, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tbsp tamarind juice, 1-2 tsp red chilli powder, 2-3 tsp jeera, oil, salt and coriander leaves for garnishing.

Method :

Pressure cook tuvar dhal, moong dhal, 1/4 cup tomatoes, a pinch of turmeric, 2-3 halves of broken red chilli and few of jeera with enough water.

Mash them after it is cooked and keep it aside.

Now take a deep vessel or a non stick kadai and heat few teaspoons of oil. Crackle few mustard and jeera. Add few of red chilli and saute. Reduce the heat a bit.

Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook them till water from tomatoes gets absorbed.

Add red chilli according to your taste or the level specified and if required let it stream in a bit of oil.

Add the tamarind juice and cook well.

Now add the boiled and mashed dhal and let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Finally garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Note :

I added few teaspoons of garam masala, coriander powder and roasted jeera powder for extra taste and flavor.

Beetroot Parathas

Beetroot Parathas

Ingredients :

2 cups wheat flour

Water for kneading the dough

Salt to taste

2 tbsp. ghee

Add two tbsp. ghee to wheat flour. Mix well, add enough water to knead to a soft dough.

For the stuffing:

2 cups beetroot, grated fine

4 medium sized onions

4 green chillies

2.5 cm. ginger

4 flakes garlic

1 tsp. garam masala powder

Salt to taste

3 tbsp. ghee

Method

Grind all the ingredients, except garam masala powder, to a paste. Heat ghee in a vessel and fry the beetroot paste on a low

flame. Cook covered, till the mixture is almost dry. Remove from heat.

Divide the paratha dough into small balls. Roll out each ball into a small puri, put a little beetroot filling in the centre and

seal the edges. Roll out into parathas. Heat tawa, add some ghee and fry the parathas till light brown.

Badshahi Baigan

Badshahi Baigan

Ingredients :

300 g. brinjals

1 cup curd

2 large onions, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 tsp. chilli powder

2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste

1 tsp. coriander powder

1 tsp. garam masala powder

1 tsp.coriander leaves, chopped

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

1/4 tsp. cummin powder

Salt to taste

1/4 cup ghee

For the garnish:

1 onion - sliced

1 tbsp. cashewnuts

1 tbsp. raisins

Method

1. Cut brinjals into 2.5 cm. thick slices.

2. Smear with salt and keep aside for 10 minutes.

3. Wash and squeeze dry.

4. Heat ghee, fry cashewnuts, raisins and sliced onion till golden brown. 

5. Remove from ghee and keep aside. 

6. Fry the brinjals in the same ghee till tender. Remove.

7.In the remaining ghee fry the chopped onions till transparent. 8. Add all the dry spices, ginger-garlic paste and chopped

tomatoes and saute till the ghee floats on top.

9. Add curd, coriander leaves and salt. 10. Stir well. 11. Cook till the gravy thickens. 12. Add fried brinjals to the gravy and

simmer for two minutes. 13. Sprinkle the garnish on top. 14. Serve hot with rice or parathas.