Payaru dosa…

I’ve tried this receipe for the first time in my life and I’m happy that it came out very well and my DH liked it very well.

I found the payaru koottan still not finished by my family. I don’t wanna to throw it away either. If I reheat it and serve it the next day, I know for sure my kids don’t touch it or my DH will return a frown look.

So to relish my creative juice, I grinded the payaru koottan and mixed it with plain rice dough.

I poured this payaru rice dough in a nonstick pan as a dosa. Pour little oil on top of the dosa to get nice and crispy.

Enjoy this with coconut chutney/tomato chutney.

Idili uppuma

What do you do with the leftover idili that you would have prepared for breakfast/dinner? Don’t throw it off. Refrigerate it and it can be used to prepare yummy uppuma.



Here we go with the ingredients

1. Idillies
2. Onions – 1
3. 1 tbsp – mustard seeds
4. 1 tbsp- cooking oil
5. green chilly/ dry red chilli – 1-2 slitted
6. 1 pinch of turmeric powder
7. 1 tbsp jeerakham seeds
8. 2 tbsp idili podi/paruppu podi
9. Salt to taste
10. groundnuts

Method of preparation:


Powder the idillies with the hand. Make sure no lumps are formed.

In a kadai, pour some cooking oil and splutter some mustard seeds, kadala paruppu, jeerakham, urud dhal seeds and groundnuts. When it becomes golden brown, add chopped onions, broken dry red chillies and lotsa of curry leaves and stir fry it till it becomes light brown. To this, add a pinch of turmeric powder, idili podi and salt to taste. To this add the powdered idilli and mix it well and allow it to warm.


You may also add chopped beans and carrot to this.

Egg Curry/Motta kuttan

Easy and requires less time for preparation....

Ingredients:
1. Boiled eggs – 4 (depending on the requirement)
2. Onions – 2
3. Tomato – 2
4. 1 tbsp – mustard seeds
5. 1 tbsp- cooking oil
6. green chilly – 1-2 slitted
7. 1 pinch of turmeric powder
8. ½ tbsp of garam masala powder
9. ginger garlic paste

Method of preparation:

Boil eggs separately.

In a kadai, pour some cooking oil and splutter some mustard seeds, kadala paruppu, jeerakham, urud dhal seeds. When it becomes golden brown, add ginger garlic paste and sauté it till its raw smell is gone. Add chopped onions, slitted green chillies and stir fry it till it becomes light brown. To this, add the finely chopped tomatoes and cook it till it becomes soggy. Add turmeric powder, salt, garam masala and pour little water if you want it in gravy form. Allow it to cook till it boils. To this add the boiled egg cut into halves. Pour the gravy on top of the eggs.

(Sorry for the poor picture, actually the gravy was red in color..it looks dull in here..there was no proper lighting i believe ..)

Enjoy this yummy sidedish with chappathi/plain

Masala peanuts…on a rainy day!!!!

First of all, sorry guys…had been off from the blogland for quiet sometime because of my tight schedule in my project…second…there is restrictions in accessing net from work as I’m fortunately/unfortunately in a project which has strict policy from accessing net…so you guys may not get a menu from me on a daily basis..i will try to post atleast on weekends….I do cook you know and take pictures of those….so…there will be some interesting posts infrequently from my end…so watchout…

And offlate, It has been raining in Chennai for past few days....as part of “karthika deepam” …...and I thought of enjoying my hot tea with something spicy….....so…here I go with a spicy and crispy masala peanut…


Ingredients:

1 cup of raw groundnut
2 tbsp of kadala maavu(gram flour)
½ tbsp of pepper powder
½ tbsp of chilli powder
A pinch of Asafoetida powder
Salt to taste
1 pinch of food color (optional…I’ve not added as it was not available at home..it gives a nice and red color coating)


Method of preparation:

1. Wash the raw groundnut with water and keep it aside
2. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients mentioned above and to it add the washed groundnut. Mix them well so that a uniform coat is formed on the wet peanuts
3. Microwave the above for 3-4 minutes. Stir it once after 2 mintues..



Enjoy with your evening tea…

Ven (No..Yellow) Pongal

Ven pongal is something special dish in Tamil nadu. One get this dish as a prasadam in many temple after the drashan. It tastes like ambrosia.

In my home, I prepare this for the breakfast mostly once in a week.

So let us go first with the ingredients:

1. Rice – 1 cup
2. Pongal paruppu/Seruparuppu/deskinned pasiparruppu – ¾ to 1 cup
3. salt to taste
4. ghee for seasoning
5. pepper seeds – 1 tbsp
6. jeerakam seeds – 1 tbsp
7. green chilli – 1-2 slitted
8. curry leaves

Method of preparation:

1. Mix the washed rice and pongal paruppu and add salt to taste and 1 pinch of turmeric powder (optional) to give a nice yellow colour and add 3 and ½ cup of water to it. Pressure cook it till 3 whistles.


For seasoning:
• In a pan, heat little ghee and splutter the pepper seeds, jeerakham seeds, dry broken red chilli/green chilli and curry leaves.

Pour out the seasoning to the cooked rice/pongal and mix it well.



Enjoy this with cocunut chutney and sambhar.

Egg burji/Egg podimas

Any recipe which can be prepared in a minute or two is one and only egg burji.

Mix 2-3 egg, finely chopped onions, salt to taste, curry leaves, 2 pinch of turmeric powder (optional), 1-2 chopped green chilli and 1 tbsp pepper powder in a big bowl very well.

In a heated tawa, pour the above mix and stir it with a spatula continuously till the egg is done.

Mixed vegetable fried rice - A fusion

It's a fusion between mixed vegetable rice and fried rice..It is my own receipe so beware...LOL..I think it is a confusion, rather...throwed in all the items that i got in my hand and there we go once again...

Ingredients:
1. 1 chopped carrot
2. 2 chopped onions
3. few beans
4. ginger and garlic - small pieces
5. somphu, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, badam – few of each
6. turmeric powder – ½ tbsp
7. chilli powder – ½ tbsp
8. garam masala powder – 1 tbsp
9. cooking oil - 1 tbsp
10. soaked 1 cup of rice for ½ hour

Method of preparation:

In a heavy bottom kadai, heat 1-2 tbsp of cooking oil and splutter some somphu seeds. After that add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, badam and fry it till fragrant.
Add chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces/ ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell leaves.
Add all the chopped onions and fry it till it becomes brown color.
Add all the chopped veggies to it and sauté it.
Add chilli powder/gram masala powder and lotsa of curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and mix it well and allow it to cook for sometime.
Now add the soaked rice with 2 glass of water and mix the whole contents well and pressure cook it till 3 whistles.



Garnish it with coriander leaves (if available)…

It came out very well. It looked colorful and tasted yum...

Uzhundu vadai

Here is another one snack to be prepared on a rainy day and enjoy with a hot simmering cuppa of Tea..Emh..The uzhundu vada...

How to make this yum vada..here is the method of preparation:

soak 1 cup of uzhundu dhal (black gram) for minimum of 1 hour. Grind it with no water/little water.

To this dough, add chopped onion, green chilli, pepper seeds, salt to taste, curry leaves, a small piece of ginger chopped into fine granules. Also one can add little rava to get that crispiness.

Apply water on your palm and take a small amount of the above mix and press it and put a hole in the center and throw it gently into a kadai with simmering hot.

Allow it to fry deeply and gently turn it over to the other side. Once it has become golden brown and crispy, remove it from the kadai...and

there you go...the hot and crispy uzhundu vada..

One can enjoy with cocunut chutney.

Molagha (Green pepper) bajji

During rainy season/ for that matter whenever there is a downpour, I would love to have a hot cuppa of Tea with Bajji/vada....and enjoy the rain with it...What an awesome idea !!!

So these few days Chennai has been experiencing some showers...and i prepared this for the family..Emh..they loved it and it disappeared the moment i filled the plates...


So ingredients:

1. Gram powder
2. chilli powder
3. food color (optional)
4. Salt to taste
5. aseofodia - a pinch
6. turmeric powder - 1/2 tbsp

Mix all the ingredients and add little water to bring it into a thick consistency

Slice open the green pepper into two halves.

Smear or dip the sliced green pepper into the dough and put it in a kadai filled with hot oil. Allow it to deep fry and turn over to cook the other side.

Nice crispy and crunchy molagha bajji..Enjoy with cocunut chutney...

Butter biscuit - Microwave cooking

This is the first biscuit i have tried in my life..and of course, with my new microwave oven.

Ingredients:

1 cup of maida
1 tbsp of ragi powder
1/2 cup of butter
3/4 cup of powdered sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla essence
Curshed cashewnut/walnut/badam (optional)



(before baking)
Method of preparation:

Melt the butter in microwave mode for 1 minute.

Mix maida with melted butter and mix it well. Then add powdered sugar and mix it well with hand. Add the vanilla essence (or any essence you have at home). I felt that my butter addition was little bit more so i added 1 tbsp of ragi powder (optional). mix it well for sometime and keep it in refrigerator for 1/2 hour.

(Yummy cashewnut biscuit)
After taking from refrigerator, mix it well for somemore time and make it into small balls and press it down.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180DC. Keep these biscuits into the oven after you hear the beep. Increase the timing to 20 mintues.

Voila..yommy crunchy crispy biscuits.


I just embedded couple of cashewnuts and badam on top of the plain dough for decoration.



My children loved it. This was a surprise for my children....they were very hungry when they came back from school..and they finished off the plate after 2-3 grabs...

Thaliccha idli

I grind for idli every weekend and it covers the breakfast and dinner for atleast 3 days. First day, it would be idli. Next day also idli..and the next few days the rest of the dough will be used for dosa...My son would say .."Enda ma, daily idli"...and DH would give me a sidelook with a sarcastic smile...So i thought let me try something different ..both in the looks and taste..and here we go with the ingredients:

1. Nicely chopped onions - 1
2. finely sieved carrot - 1
3. curry leaves
4. Dry chilli - 1-2
5. Idli dough

Method of preparation:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tbsp mustard seed, 1 tbsp uzhudu dhal seed, 1 tbsp of kadala paruppu and few groundnuts and few pottu (chutney) kadalai (optional..but it taste well and children would like the bite of groundnut here and there). Sim the burner so that these seeds do not get charred.

Add chopped onions, 1-2 broken red chilly and fry it until they are done. Add curry leaves and stir fry.

Add the above mix into the Idli dough and mix it well.

Pour the above dough in the idli maker and steam it till it is done.

The idli will not only tastes divine but also gives a picturesque look.

So how is the new look????? LOL


Enjoy with some spicy tomato chutney/cocunut chutney...

The Kappa (Tapioca) story continues..Thoran/poriyal from Kappa

How to make Kappa thoran:

1. The plain boiled kappa is mashed.
2. In a kadai, pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil. when it gets heated, splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.
5. After this, add the smashed kappa to this and mix it throughly. Garnish it with corriander leaves.

Kappa puzhunghiyathu/ boiled tapioca

Simple and easy to make.

Chop off the skin of tapioca. Wash it thoroughly with water. Cut it into small pieces and boil it with little salt.


You may have it plain

Podi dosai

Nothing great about it..

Just pour rice dough on the tawa like the typical dosa you prepare and sprinkle some idli podi that you get from the market and pour some ghee/cooking oil on top of it. Turn over and cook for 1 minute.

Voila..podi dosai...enjoy with cocunut chutney, tomato chutney..or apadiye sapadalam..;-)

Aloo Parantha/Aloo paratta

I learned this from my cook. I tried it on Deepavali for morning breakfast. Something special from my side to the family.

For stuffing:
Ingredients:

1. Potato - 1 to 2 chopped
2. Salt to taste
3. Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
4. Onion - 1 to 2 chopped
5. turmeric powder - 1 pinch
6. Chilli powder (optional)..I have not put as children will reject it saying "Spicy"
7. Green chillies chopped ..(optional ...same reason as above)
8. curry leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing.
9. Ginger and garlic - chopped

Method of preparation:

1. Boil the potatoes with a pinch of salt
2. In a heavy bottom kadai, pour 1 tbsp of cooking oil and heat it. Splutter some mustard seeds, urudhu daal seeds, kadalai paruppu seeds till it turns slight brown.
3. Add the chopped onions, chopped ginger pieces and garlic pieces, curry leaves and turmeric powder and salt to taste and let it get fried till light golden brown.
4. Add chilli powder/green chillies at this stage and let it also get deep fried.

5. After this, add the smashed boiled potatoes to this and mix it throughly. Garnish it with corriander leaves.


To make paratta:

Mix 2 cup of wheat flour with required water to make it as a dough for making chapathi's.

Take a big ball of wheat dough and first flatten it into a small circle. Then take a small ball of the stuffing and keep it in the center of the flattened wheat dough and cover this stuffing by making a small pouch of the wheat dough. Then once again press it down and flatten it into a chappathi size circle.

In a preheated tawa, pour some ghee and then place the flattened paratta and allow it to cook for some time. Then turn over

and smear some more ghee on its surface and allow it to cook. If you see it will come out nice and glossy...


and ofcourse, the smell haunts the whole kitchen..

Varey waah!!! khiya masa khai




You can enjoy with curd and pickle.

Who says I don't want food?

(Courtesy : Ma friends album)

My children...Whenever i asks "Shall we have some food?.."..my daughter rushes with her answer "I'm not hungry. I don't want food..."..She comes into the kitchen and enquires "What is for dinner?.."...BIG madam....I would say "...Chapathi ...some rice, sambhar.."...She goes with a sarcastic face.."This one...I don't want"..and goes ahead with her menu .."I want noodles..and potato fry.."...I've to give her some reason to pacify her.."that the noodles packet is not available..We will have it tommorrow.."..She comes back .."Promise, God promise"..Oh, yeah...promise!!!

My Son, on the other hand, does not respond to anything..He gives a deep look into what is there in the plate?..and goes.."Acche (Daddy), what is this?..."..My DH explains the whole menu...He gives a glum look.."Aiyo, this one. who will eat this?..."..hahaha....

Aloo Bread Sandwitch

Kids would love to have a grab….Try it….

To make stuffing for Aloo Bread Sandwitch:

Boil couple of big potatoes in a pressure cooker. Once done, peal off the skin and chop it into small pieces or one can mash it with hands and add little salt to taste. Keep it aside.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a kadai, splutter 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of urudh dhal seed and 1 tsp of kadala paruppu (channa dhal seeds). Sim the burner so that these dhal seeds do not get charred. When the seeds change the color to light brown, add 2 onions chopped and 2 chopped tomatoes, 2 slitted green chilly, lotsa of curry leaves and saute it till it becomes soft. Sprinke some salt to taste.

To the above seasoning, add chopped or mashed potatoes and mix thoroughly.

To make Aloo Bread Sandwitch:

Place the stuffing in between two bread slices. It could be plain sandwitch bread. I used atta bread.

Keep it inside the bread toaster.

And remove once it’s surface becomes slight brown.