Min's Carrot Salad For T & C

In this month's edition of Taste and Create , I was paired with Min of Bad Girl's Kitchen. I have been paired with her before and this time, I liked her Carrot Salad .This is her Grandma's recipe and I was intrigued by the addition of sugar and lemon juice in this recipe. Just as Min mentioned the chilled version was very yummy.

I used:

Carrots - 2 large,peeled and grated
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 4 tablespoons
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. Mix well and serve.

Each month,it is fun creating dishes for  Taste and Create ...Would you like to join ? Just email Min @ cowgirlmin07@gmail.com with your name, blog name and a link to your blog to sign up.Hope to see you in the next edition of Taste and Create....


Bon Appetit...

Ginger Chutney

Ginger chutney is one of our favorite chutney to go with steamed rice. Ginger is full of medicinal value...

• Ginger is said to protect us against stroke and heart attack since it has the ability to avoid blood clotting.
• Relives headache and body pain
• Good for upset stomach and digestion
• Clears sore throat and is good for flus and cough

With such medicinal properties, it is good to include it in our diet once in a while..

I love to mix this chutney with steamed rice drizzled with a little sesame oil and dunk a morsel into a bowl of piping hot rasam.....

I used :

Ginger - 3" piece , peeled and chopped
Urad dal - 2 tablespoons
Channa dal - 3 tablespoons
Pepper corns - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil -1 teaspoon

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the ginger pieces.Saute for a few minutes till they shrink and give out a wonderful aroma.Drain from the oil and keep aside.
2. Into the same pan, put in the urad dal,,channa dal and peppercorns. Roast till the dal turns brown.
3. When the dal cools, grind to a fine paste along with ginger and salt. Add a little water for grinding.
4. Remove into a serving dish.

Serve with piping hot steamed rice.....

Check out the Blogging Marathon page   for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#16

Bon Appetit...

Oats Poondu Paruppu podi | Garlic flavored Oats - Lentil Spice Mix

I love oats and spice mixes.Many a times I have combined these two. Today I have added another healthy ingredient - Garlic.So here is a flavorful spice mix with garlic, letils and oats that is awesome with steamed rice.

I used:

Quick cooking oats - 1/4 cup

Toor dhal-1 cup
Moong dhal-1/4 cup
Pepper corns-1 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder - a pinch
Red chillies-4 [adjust to taste]
Garlic powder - 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

1. Dry roast oats for a few minutes on low flame till light brown.Keep aside. 
2. Dry roast the other  ingredients except salt and garlic powder till golden brown in color. Take care as the pepper corns might splutter.
3. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
4. Spread it out on a plate for sometime if it gets heated during grinding process.
5. Add salt,garlic powder, mix well and store in an airtight container.

To serve:

Drizzle a little  sesame oil over piping hot rice,add a few teaspoons of this spice mix. Mix well and enjoy....

Note:

You can increase / decrease the amount of garlic powder to suit your taste.


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#16

Bon Appetit...

Chowchow Peel Chutney

Lil Angel is enjoying her vacation . After her summer camp classes and a siesta , she watches her favorite shows on TV. Even if the same cartoons are repeated, she does not mind watching them all over again and the way she watches it makes it look like she is viewing them for the first time!!

On those rare occasions when Lil champ does not seek my attention and Lil Angel ‘allows’ me to watch TV, I like to tune into some channel that has either comedy shows or cookery show.

So, one day when Lil champ was sleeping an LIl Angel was busy with her coloring book, I saw enjoying a cookery show on TV. It was about using herbs in cooking to enjoy its benefits. In that show, the chef was taking about the nutritional significance of vegetables and how we throw away the peel of vegetables when they can be put to better use. One such peel that he used was Chow chow.

This chutney can be prepared in a jiffy if you have readymade tomato onion paste and roasted urad dal powder. Here is the recipe…..

You need:

Chow chow peel ,chopped- 1 cup

Urad dal – 1 tablespoon

Tomato -1 ,chopped

Onion- 1,chopped

Red chilli – 2

Tamarind paste – ½ teaspoon

Salt to taste

Oil- 1 teaspoon

Seasoning

Oil -1 teaspoon

Mustard -1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

Channa dal – ½ teaspoon

Curry leaves – a few

1. Dry roast the urad dal till light brown and keep aside
2. Heat oil in a pan and put in onion and red chilli. Cook till onion is translucent.
3. Put in the chow chow peel and cook till the peel is tender.
4. Add the tomato and cook till mushy. Allow to cool.
5. Grind the urad dal to a fine powder and then add the tomato-onion-peel mixture,salt.
6. Grind to a smooth paste. Add a little water if required.
7. Remove into a dish.
8. Heat oil for seasoning and put in the ingredients under ‘ seasoning’.
9. When the mustard splutters and the dal turns brown, pour into the chutney.
10. Mix well and serve

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#16

Bon Appetit...

Udal Theatrum Annapodi| Spice mix to Improve Health

I have the habit of collecting recipes from the school days and it still continues. This collection is safe inside a large cardboard box, which is opened when ever I am looking for a particular recipe or feel the need to try something new.

So,when I wanted to prepare some spice mix for this edition of blogging marathon, I was sure that my recipe treasure would help me out and I did find this interesting spice mix.

I saw a recipe that I had written in 2005! I had copied a spice mix recipe from a Tamil magazine called Mangayar Malar . This is my mom’s favorite magazine and I used to read the recipes and crafts section in this magazine.

The recipe I had written down was under the section – ‘Virundhum Marundhum’ [ Food and/ as medicine] .

The recipe is probably for improving the health and I have noted the benefits of the ingredients used. Here it is the recipe for you…

Fried gram dal | Pottukadalai – 1 cup
Ginger powder – 1 teaspoon
Peppercorns – 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds -1 teaspoon
Curry leaves- a handful
Asafoetida powder – a pinch
Salt to taste

1. Dry roast all the fried gram dal[till light brown], peppercorns[till it pops], cumin seeds[ till it crackles] and curry leaves[till they turn crisp] individually.
2. Cool and powder along with asafetida, ginger powder and salt.
3. Store in an air tight container.

Note :

The curry leaves that I used was very less and tender so the color of this spice mix did not change. If the mature leaves are uses, the podi gets a light green tinge

To serve :

Drizzle ghee over piping hot steamed rice and add a few teaspoons of this powder. Mix well . This is to be taken as the first dish in the meal [lunch].

Now, coming to the health benefits of the ingredients used to prepare this spice mix…

Fried gram dal | Pottukadalai – Rich in protein
Ginger powder –Improves appetite
Peppercorns – Anti toxin
Cumin seeds - Digestive
Curry leaves- Rich in Iron
Asafoetida powder - Relieves flatulence

Since this spice mix has a lot of health benefits, it can be taken every day to improve health.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#16

Bon Appetit...