Tender Coconut - Palm Candy Cooler

Summer is waving 'good bye' to us here. It is definitely a relief to have a good breeze through out the day and we even had a nice shower last night. But in other parts of the world, summer is still at its peak and here is a simple and cooling beverage to take of the heat waves...

I had prepared this long back and we loved the taste of palm candy in the tender coconut.Soon it became our favorite. Lil Angel would wait for the tender coconut vendor who brings us fresh tender coconut every day. Both of us would set about preparing this drink.Actually, nothing much to prepare but for her it was really fun helping me around....

All you need is Tender coconut water and Palm candy.

Just mix in  the palm candy into the tender coconut water till it dissolves.

 And sip away....

The quantity of palm candy is up to your taste.If you prefer the natural taste of tender coconut water, add very little palm candy.For a pronounced palm candy flavor add more and enjoy...

You can also cut open the tender coconut ans add the tender coconut into this drink.Cut them into bits and stir in before serving...

A small word of caution here.If you are suffering from or prone to wheezing or other lung related issues, this drink better be avoided .Both tender coconut and palm candy are body coolants.

Bon Appetit...

Palak Adai | Spinach - Multi Lentil Crepes

I was sitting bored,not knowing what to do.It was one of those rare days when the Lil Dude is happily sleeping and Lil Angel is off to school and I have some time for myself.If I was at mom's place she would definitely ask me to take rest for a while but I chose to sit down with my laptop.

While browsing through my blog,I started reading from my first post and found many clicks that were very plain and did not go very well with the post.I have been clicking new pics for old recipes and today made it a point to revamp some old posts.It is a great experience now that I know a little of how to make a dish look appealing.

So the post that got a touch up today is a healthy and tasty one pot meal - Sambar Sadham.This dish is so simple and very easy to make .It is a medley of rice, lentils and your choice of veggies. Serve it with your choice of raita and crispies and your lunch is ready in less than an hour which includes the prep time!So take a look at the new click and let me know if you liked it...

Coming to today's recipe,as the name suggests, I have prepared a green colored adai.Little Angel sometimes does not like to eat the same stuffs even if I serve them a week apart. So in order to make sure she gets the nutrients and also eats the dosh with interest, I come up with colorful recipes.

You may have noticed the pretty pink poori, green pooris,pink chapathis,green dosa etc in this blog and adding to that list is this green adai....

Palak Adai served with Tomato Onion Chutney

I used:

Mixed lentils - 3 cups [ I used toor dal, gram dal,moong dal]
Rice- 1 cup
Palak / spinach leaves - 1 bunch
Ginger - 2" piece,peeled
Red chillies - 2
Cumin seeds- 2 teaspoons
Asafoetida powder -a large pinch
Salt to taste

1. Soak the rice and lentils for atleast 5 hours along with red chillies
2. Clean the spinach and separate the leaves.Keep aside.
3. Drain water from the soaked lentils and grind to a paste with red chilli, ginger cumin seeds.
4. When the mixture is a coarse paste add the spinach leaves, salt,adafoetida powder,cumin seeds,ginger and grind to a semi smooth batter.
5. Remove the batter into a dish.
6. Heat a griddle and pour a ladle full of batter in the center and spread it to a circle.
7. Drizzle a little oil around the edges if needed.
8. Cook till both sides have a brown tinge.
9. Remove from heat and serve with chutney / sambar.

Note :

• You can use any type of lentil.Adjust the rice quantity accordingly.Some people prefer to use a little more rice than that mentioned here.
• This batter need not ferment.You can prepare adai as soon as the batter is ground
• Remove the stalks from the spinach and use only the leaves.
• You can serve this adai garnished with grated carrots,coconut, finely chopped onion etc.
• A handful of mint / coriander leaves can also be added while grinding the batter.
• A couple of boiled potatoes added when the batter is being ground gives an excellent taste and texture to the dish.

This Day That Year...

2011 - Oats Chutney
2010 - Vara Kothamalli Thuvaiyal - Coriander seeds Chutney.
2009 - Strawberry Banana Milkshake

Bon Appetit...

Iced Lemon Tea for T & C

This month's edition of  Taste and Createsaw me paired up with Carol of No Reasons Needed.We have been paired a few times earlier and this time I wanted to try one of the recipes I had bookmarked earlier and now the season seems apt enough to try it out.The weather here is quite hot and all we want to do is sip something cool. So her Iced tea was one of our ways to beat the heat.

I have already posted a lemon tea version in my space here but that is a warming tea that you will find irresistible when it is either raining or snowing outside :)

So, here is the cool and refreshing Iced lemon tea...

I used:
Recipe source :No Reasons Needed

Water - 2 cups
Tea dust - 2 teaspoons
Lemon juice- 1 teaspoon
Sugar - to taste

1. Boil water in a pot and put in tea dust and sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes / till it comes to a rolling boil.
2. Remove from heat , strain and let it cool
3. Add the lemon juice and mix well.
4. Chill well and serve...

Note :

• Adjust the sugar and lemon juice to suit your taste
• I poured a batch of this lemon tea into the ice cube tray and served the tea along with these cubes.
• I garnished it with a few mint leaves and they added to the taste and it was all the more refreshing.
• You can also use tea bags / tea leaves for this recipe.

Each month,we create dishes from other blogs for  Taste and Create and it is really a great experience...Would you like to join ? Just e-mail 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....

Sending this to Divya's Fun In The Sun event....

Bon Appetit...

Vepampoo Pachadi | Neem Flower Raita

I was watching the re-telecast of the talk show Satyamev Jayate,hosted by the the popular Bollywood star - Aamir Khan. Most of you might be aware about this program,else here is a gist. The show which is aptly named Satyamev Jayathe [which means 'Truth Alone Triumphs'],talks about various issues prevalent in the society.Sensitive topics like female infanticide, child sexual abuse,honor killing, physical disability are not only discussed here but also creates a sort of learning process for the masses.It educates the people who may not know how to deal / cope up with with a certain problem .It also brings about social awareness.And I can say it is a hit with the people.

So, this week it was all about pesticide usage and organic farming. The side effects of pesticides on humans was clearly depicted by short interviews with cancer patients. The message was so shocking.

Aamir Khan spoke to one Dr.Ramanjaneyalu who works at the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Hyderabad,India. In his speech, he mentioned that a study was conducted on an area of 1000 acres of land and the amount spent on pesticides for this land area was INR 50 lakhs!!

Just think of the amount spent and how potent these pesticides must be to kill the pests.More shocking was to understand the harm it can do to us.

He went on to say that there are more than 100 ways to get rid of pests in a natural way without using chemicals like mixing neem / custard apple leaves in water and sprinkling it on the plants etc. Dr.Ramanjaneyalu has also come up with some simple devices that can be used to kill pests.These simple devices cost somewhere between INR 10-15 only!! Many of his methods have been used by farmers as he is conducting programs in villages bringing about awareness on organic farming.

On watching the program,I also learnt that Sikkim is on the road to 100% organic farming and it is the first of its kind in India!The people are committed to becoming the first in 100% organic farming by the year 2015.Great initiative, isn't it...

And when the views asked questions on how the effect of pesticides can be lowered before the nation goes into organic farming, here is what was said.

One way is to soak the fruit / vegetable in salted water for around 15 minutes and then scrub it well and use it as required.The next one is to peel the skin and use.

I felt that when we are all talking about the nutrients under the peel that are so good for us, the use of pesticides make it difficult for us to decide what we need. Pesticide laden vegetable with the nutrients under the peel or a vegetable that is almost free of pesticide because the peel is removed and hence gone are most of the nutrients. Yes, that is a difficult thing to chose from.Until we turn to organic farming , it will be a hard choice to make.

It was also discussed that people who don't mind spending thousands on branded goods hesitate to spend a few extra bucks on organic foods! True ,isn't it...

I have seen a few organic stores in my place and after seeing this program, it makes me want to go there often and get all that is available....

Coming to the last day of blogging marathon, the last recipe with Cooking with flowers -Neem Flowers is a simple Raita....

I used:

Fresh and thick curd / yogurt - 2 cups
Dried neem flowers - 1 tablespoon
Ghee- 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste

For seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Red chilli - 1
Asafoetida powder- a pinch
Curry leaves -a few
Oil - 1 teaspoon

1. Heat ghee in a small pan and saute the neem flowers till fragrant.Keep aside.
2. Whisk the curd / yogurt with salt.
3. Heat oil for seasoning and put in the ingredients needed to season.
4. When the mustard splutters, pour into the whisked curd.
5. Add the neem flowers and mix well.

Serve as a side dish with sambar rice or any oither flavored rice varieties.

Note :

As I have been saying in the past 2 posts, use ghee for frying the neem leave. Do not use oil.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Earlier in this months edition of Blogging Marathon...

Week - 1 Sun Dried Products

Day 1 - Sun dried Pressed Rice Crisps
Day 2 - Sundried Rice Crisps
Day 3 - Sundried Potato Chips

Week - 2 Kids delight - Evening snacks / Tiffins

Day 1 - Crisp Paneer Fingers
Day 2 -Onion Podi Idli
Day 3 - Eggless Mango Cake

Week -3 - Revisiting Old Posts with New Pics

Day 1 - Mango Milkshake
Day 2 - Mom's Rasam
Day 3 - Punjabi Rajma Masala

Week - 4 - Cooking with flowers

Day 1 - Neem flower rasam
Day 2 - Neem flower rice


Bon Appetit...

Vepampoo Sadham | Bevina Hoovu Anna | Neem Flower Rice

How did you like the Huaqing Hot spring tour yesterday?If you have not visited it yet, hop over to my travel blog and enjoy the hot springs at a romantic locale in Xi'an China.....

After yesterday's post on Neem flowers Rasam , today I am ready with Neem flower rice. This is a simple yet flavorful rice. I remember mom making htis onften during my childhood. She used to say it was good for teh tummy and if there were any wormies inside, this rice would surely flush them out . I used to eat this rce just for this reason and soon I looked forward to mom making this for us.

You need:

Cooked rice[,grains separate] - 3 cups
Dried Neem flowers- 3 teaspoons
Sun dried chilles / More milagai - 3
Roasted groundnut - 3 tablespoons
Mustard seeds-1 teaspoon
Urad dal,white, split - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - a few
Ghee- 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

1. Heat ghee on low flame in a pan. Add the neem flowers and roast it till it changes a shade darker and emits a nice arome. Drain and keep aside.
2. In the same ghee roast the more milagai till it turns brown.Keep aside.
3. To the same pan add the mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and roasted groundnuts. When the urad dal turns brown, put in rice, salt ,lightly crushed more milagai and neem flowers.[Add more ghee if needed.]
4. Simmer and let the flavor belnd for a few minutes.
5. Remove from heat and serve with some crispies / chips.

Note :

• This is usually served as the first course of the meal[lunch].So its served only in small quantities.
• Ghee should be used to roast the neem flowers.Do not use oil as it will not give the desired taste to the dish.
• Adjust the quantity of neem flowers to suit your taste.
• Adding more milagai / sun dried chilli to the rice imparts a nice flavor, but you can also use green / red chilli if more milagai / sun dried chilli is not available

I have already written about Neem flowers .Check this post to know more about its medicinal properties and other recipes that can be prepared using this flower....

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Vepampoo Rasam | Bevina Hoovu Saaru | Neem Flower Rasam

Today is the 1st day of the 4th week of Blogging Marathon. It is really fun to cook and present dishes through the various themes of Blogging Marathon and it is hard to believe we are into the 4th week already!

It is obvious that we all love cooking and with that in mind, I started this blog. Then my love for traveling led me to start another blog exclusively to showcase my travelogue -My Footprints On Earth. As much as I love this blog, it has been suffering a 'step-motherly' treatment from my side. I have been very regular with my cookery blog but it has been almost a year since I updated the travel blog.So taking advantage of this Blogging Marathon, I have decided to take you all on a tour every week to the beautiful places we have visited so far.

This week we shall visit the ancient city of Xi'an in China.I have already posted about a few places there and today you can catch a glimpse of the romantic Huaqing Hot Springs .This place was the setting place for the love story of Emperor Xuanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei in the Tang Dynasty. She was supposed to be extremely pretty!!! Hop over to tavel blog to read and see more about this lovely place....

Coming back to the blogging marathon,for this week I chose the theme - 'Cooking with flowers - Pick one cook all'.As you would have seen the title of this post, I have chosen - Neem Flowers.

Earlier I had written about this medicinal flower.There are many dishes that can be prepared with it and that's the reason I chose it as the theme for this week.

As always when I am in need of ideas for blogging marathon,this time too mom came up with 3 flavorful recipes for me to share with you all.

Today's recipe is a simple rasam / soup that is made using this flower. When we say neem flowers are used to make a particular dish, it does not necessarily mean that we are using a lot of it. Just a little may be enough for the dish and that holds true here.

As with any recipe, this too ha several variations and each household has a method. Here is what mom prepared for us a couple of weeks ago....

You need:

Toor dal - a little less than 1/4 cup
Tomato - 1, large
Tamarind extract - 1 teaspoon, thick. diluted with 1/4 cup warm water
Rasam powder - 1 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder- a pinch
Coriander leaves -to garnish
Curry leaves- a few
Neem flower, dried - 1 tablespoon
Ghee - tablespoon
Cumin seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seeds- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste

1. Blanch tomato, remove peel and mash roughly.
2. Pressure cook dal with enough water and mash well adding another cup of water.
3. Heat the tamarind extract in a heavy bottom pan.
4. Add rasam powder, curry leaves and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add the tomato ,the dal and salt .Mix well.
6. Add more water if needed.
7. When it comes to a rolling boil remove from heat and transfer into a serving dish.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Heat a small pan with ghee.
10. Put in the neem leaves and let it roast on low flame till you get a nice aroma and it turns a shade darker. 
11. Drain and add to the rasam.
12. Into the same pan with ghee add the asafortida powder,cumin and mustard seeds.
13. When it splutters pour into the rasam.
14. Mix gently and wait for some time for the flavors to blend.

Serve along with steamed rice.

Note :

• This rasam is usually thinner in consistency when compared to the normal rasam prepared with dal.
• If you find 1 tablespoon of neem flowers to be bitter, add according to your preference.
• You can just roast the neem flowers in ghee and add to your regular rasam too.
• It is best to roast the neem flowers in ghee rather than in oil.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Click this link for more rasam varieties from my kitchen....

This Day That Year....

2011 - Shanyao Gouqi Zhou - A nutritious porridge prepared with Chinese yam and Goji Berries

2010 - Aloo Channa Chaat


Bon Appetit...

Punjabi Rajma Masala - Revisited Recipe

Side dishes for Chapathi / paratha is always an issue at home. When the side dishes are repeated , I can sense their feeling.So I try to keep a gap before I repeat the dishes that go with the tiffin By chance if I have to repeat any dish , I make sure its something the ones at home would love to have again. One such side dish is this Rajma masala. Sadly , the pic in the original post is not so appetizing.

So here is the brand new pic for the tasty and our favorite recipe.A few days back we had this with Punjabi Aloo Anardhana Kulcha

Here is the recipe that I adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe...

I used:

Rajma- One and a half cups
Tomato Puree- 1 cup
Onion-1,finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste-1 teaspoon
Bay leaf-1
Coriander powder-1 teaspoon
Cumin powder-1 teaspoon
Red chilli powder-1 teaspoon
Garam masala-1 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oil- 2 teaspoons

1. Soak the rajma overnight.Drain and pressure cook with enough water till soft but not mushy.Retain the cooking water.
2. Heat oil in a pan and put in onion and bay leaves
3. When the onion is translucent,add ginger garlic paste and cook for 2 minutes
4. Add Tomato puree and mix well.
5. Next put in garam masala,coriander powder,cumin powder,red chilli powder,salt and mix well.Cook till oil oozes out from the masala mixture.
6. Put in the cooked rajma and the water used to cook it.
7. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove from heat.
8. Serve garnished with coriander leaves.Goes well with Chapathi / steamed rice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Mom's Style Saaru | Rasam

Saaru / Rasam is one of mom's signature dishes. This is my favourite comfort food. Right from my childhood, saaru has been a dish that mom never fails to prepare everyday. Even when there are other dishes to go with steamed rice, Saaru would definitely be placed on the table. The meal is never considered complete until we have this tasty soup.

Sometimes I take this as a soup, something to brighten up my digestive system. On days when I am sick with a severe cold / fever, this soup would warm me up along with mom's care. Then on days when I am not in a mood to eat anything a little bit of this mixed with steamed rice and a pappad was all I could eat!

Now the thing about mom's rasam is that she has been preparing it from a very young age, like-when she was around 12 years old. Grandma fell sick and being the eldest daughter, she took up the cooking job before she left for school.Then when grandma became better ,she still helped her in the kitchen.So all those years of helping and cooking, her dishes are the tastiest.

She makes her own rasam powder and the ingredients are not 'measured'.She just puts in a handful of that, a little of this and roasts them to get a super aromatic mix!When it was time to get married and start cooking on a regular basis, I asked mom for the rasam mix recipe.She eye balled the interesting and I patiently measured them out and wrote them down.But when it came to the actual preparation when I prepared it by myself, it was not as tasty as mom's!!So now I make a habit of taking back a pack of rasam mix when ever I visit her.

Keeping in view the theme of BM this week, I thought the pic that I had posted for mom's rasam recipe way back in Nov. 2008 did not do justice to the dish.So here I am with a brand new pic for her recipe.

The vessel that is used to prepare rasam is called 'seetha kanchu' or eya chombu. It is made of lead!We are aware of the effects of lead when consumed but our fore fathers made vessels of lead and cooked food in it to get a super flavor without poisoning our system.Well, the vessel is not made entirely of lead but is an alloy of lead and tin.

A couple of days back we went to buy a new eya chombu in exchange for the old one. We were shocked to learn that the old vessel that was more heavier and larger that the one we wanted to buy was taken in for just INR 200!The new one ,the one you see in the click above, was just half the size of the old one and lighter too cost INR 900!!Since nothing beats the taste of rasam prepared in this vessel, mom got one .

We have to be very careful while cooking food in this vessel. It melts when kept on high flame.Yes, it will melt and all you can see is a blob of metal on the stove! It is advisable to put something to cook into the vessel and then light the stove and cook the whole dish on simmer mode.

Having said all this, it is time to go to the recipe....

You need:

Toor dhal-1/2 cup

Tomato - 1 large

Rasam powder-1 1/2 teaspoons

Tamarind-small lemon size

Asafoetida-a pinch

Curry leaves-a few

Coriander leaves-1 tablespoon ,finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Seasoning:

Ghee-1 teaspoon

Mustard-1/2 teaspoon

Jeera / cumin seeds-1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida powder- a pinch

1. Pressure cook dhal  with enough water.Half the tomato and put it into the vessel in which the dal is being cooked.Once the dal is cooked, remove the tomato and mash well and keep aside
2. Remove the skin form the cooked tomato and mash roughly. 
3. Make a thick extract of tamarind and take 5 tablespoons of it in a heavy bottom vessel.
4. Put in rasam powder,curry leaves and asafoetida and blanched and mashed tomato,salt.Let it boil for 5 minutes.
5. Pour the dal into the tamarind mixture.
6. Add a little water if it is too thick.
7. Let it boil ,stir once or twice and simmer till foam arises.Make sure that the foam does not boil over as the foam is full of flavor.
8. Remove from heat.Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
9. Heat ghee in a small kadai / pan and when hot put in jeera and mustard and a pinch of asafoetida powder.
10. When the mustard crackles remove from heat and pour over the rasam.Enjoy the aroma of the sizzling rasam!

Serve hot with steamed rice drizzled with ghee and some fried crisps...

Note :

• You can prepare the rasam in a pan and then let it rest in the Eya chombu until serving time.
• If preparing it in the Eya chombu, the stove should be on simmer mode right from the start.
• Be sure to season the rasam which adds to the flavor of the dish.
• Also don't forget the add a little ghee while savouring the rasam rice.
• Eya chombu rasam tastes best when savored the next day!

Tomorrow I will be back with another click and post from the past..

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Mango Milkshake - Revisited Recipe

I started this blog on January 1st 2008 though the blog was conceived almost 6 months before the first post was published. I was deciding on a name and what to post during that time. When I started posting, I just wrote and clicked the dished and published it. I was not worried if the pic was great .I was kinda satisfied with what I posted. A few dishes did not even have a pic!

Then things started picking up and I slowly improved on the post and the pic. Now when I go back and revisit my old post, I find some pics too dull , not up to the mark and sometime pathetically bad.I have always wanted to repost the dishes with a better photo and did a makeover for a few posts now and then but then again had to drop the idea for various reasons.

So when Srivalli announced the theme, Revisiting old post with new pictures, I immediately signed up for it. So from today, I will take you down the memory lane but with good pics or rather those that are better than the ones posted earlier.

The first one today is Mango Milkshake. I remember the day when I clicked for this post. I made this in the evening.The day was cloudy and by evening the light seemed to fade out almost completely.Yet I clicked and posted. Now the time has come to redo the click and the post.....

Lil Angel loves this milkshake . Once I got a little creative and topped up the shake with a few mango pieces and some choco chips. She loved to spoon out the chunks and choco chips and then sip the milkshake. I have been preparing it in the same way since then......

I use:

Mango pulp -1 cup
Chilled Milk - 2 cups
Mango chunks and choco chips for garnishing

1. Blend together the mango pulp and milk till smooth.
2. Pour into a cup and garnish it with mango chunks and choco chips.
3. Serve immediately.

Note:

• You can adjust the quantity of mango pulp and milk to suit your taste
• I usually don't add sugar.
• When we have mango / vanilla ice cram at home, I add a scoop while blending the milkshake.

Sending this to Anu who is hosting Only Mango Event ,a series started by Pari
.

Tomorrow I will be back with another click and post from the past..

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Punjabi Aloo Anardhana Kulcha For ICC

This month Srivalli challenged us with one of the three varieties of Kulchas for Indian Cooking Challenge. There was Aloo Anardhana Kulcha , Onion Kulcha and paneer kulcha. I chose the Aloo Anardhana Kulcha though I wanted to try out the other 2 varieties too. But that was put on hold.

Now back to the kulcha I made, Aloo anardhana kulchas is a flat bread from Punjab with a potato and dried pomegranate seed stuffing.Kulchas are made in a tandoori oven but we can also prepare it on a griddle. The base is All purpose flour/ maida but these days people choose to add equal quantity of whole wheat flour or prepare it only with whole wheat flour for health purposes.Since ICC is to learn the authentic way to prepare an Indian dish, I have used All purpose flour alone as the recipe suggested.

It turned out to be a very flavorful challenge!

I used:


For the outer covering:

All purpose flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Baking soda - a large pinch
Sugar - 1/4 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Yogurt- 2 tablespoons
Salt to taste

For the filling:

Potato - 2, boiled, peeled and mashed
Onion-1, finely chopped
Anardana / Dry pomegranate seeds - 1 tablespoon, dry roasted and coarsely powdered
Red chilli powder- 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Coriander leaves- 1 tablespoon,finely chopped
Mint leaves-a few, finley chopped
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tablespoon

Ghee for brushing the kulchas

1. Heat oil to prepare the filling.Add the onion and cook till soft. Put in all the other ingredients and cook on low flame for a few minutes for the flavors to blend. Keep aside.
2. Make a dough with the ingredients listed under 'for outer covering'. Add a little water.Knead well for sometime. If it is sticky add some flour. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 2 hours.
3. Knead the dough again after the resting time and pinch out golf balled sized balls and flatten slightly.
4. Place a ball of the filling in the center and bring in the edges to cover the filling.
5. Flatten slightly and roll out taking care not to let the filling ooze out.
6. Cook on a heated griddle .Drizzle oil around the edges .
7. Remove from heat when brown spots appear on both the side.
8. Immediately brush with a little ghee.
9. Serve hot with a little butter and a side dish.

We enjoyed the Aloo anardhana Kulcha with Punjabi Rajma Masala

While preparing this one, I remembered making the Turkish Gozleme which is quite similar to this stuffed kulcha. The world is definitely united through the similarities in cuisine!!!

Check out link for the other dishes we made earlier in the Indian Cooking Challenge....

Bon Appetit....

Palm Candy | Panam Kalkandu | Panang Kalkandu

Palm Candy / Palm sugar is made from the sap of the Palmyra palm. It is got by making several slits in the palm tree and collecting the sap.

The sap is later boiled till it thickens.This palm candy or palm sugar is a natural alternative [/ natural sweetener] to processed sugar. While we are at this topic of natural alternative to processed sugar, let us see what the term 'natural sweeteners' really means.Natural sweeteners are those sweetening substances that have the same nutrients / minerals that are found in the original raw product.Also chemicals are not added while processing these products to get the sweeteners.

In India, Tamil nadu is one of the places where you can find this kind of sweetener .Sri lanka too is famous for this kind of sugar.

Palm Candy / Palm sugar is rich in Iron and is a body coolant. It is more nutritious than refined sugar.This sugar also has loads of other health benefits like used to treat coughs , heals lung and throat infections and strengthens the bones.

Palm candy can be used as a substitute for refined sugar.It is used in the Thai cuisine not only as a sweetener in sweets and desserts but is also a part of some Thai sauces and curries.

Recipes that use Panang kalkandu / Panam kalkandu / Palm candy / Palm sugar

Sukku malli Kapi - A concoction to relive the symptoms of indigestion / anorexia[lack / loss of appetite], headache/ light giddiness etc.

Tender coconut Palm candy Cooler - A refreshing drink apt for summer time...

More recipes with this natural sweetener coming up.....


Until the next post.....

Eggless Mango Cake

I love watching Master chef series. A few days back I was watching Junior Master Chef on Star world and loved the way the kids dished out terrific looking stuff..They looked so mature in handling stress, pressure and failure!! The kids were so confidant when it came to preparing dishes with ingredients that they had never even tasted before.

That made me think.Do I even allow my 4 year old to use a scissor,let alone a knife!?It is not being over protective or something in those line. I still see her as a baby and allowing her to use the scissors is like- 'ouch' for me!

Anyways,back to the star kids on the Junior chef, super singer / dancer, I read an article that was quite interesting. The author was trying to find out if the super star status for the kids was a cool idea or was it too much pressure for the kids.

When kids are subjected to so much fame and money, how do they handle it.Okay, the parents might put the money to use in a good way but the child carries the fame. Is the child really ready to shoulder fame at such a tender age? Being viewed by millions and then comes the school friends, neighbours, relatives look at this kid as a hero.

On the other hand, the child / children who lose in such competitions are on the other side of the scale. How do they handle the defeat? Same as above, they are on a live show and being defeated and made public and that makes it a very sad and stressful experience. Does the child feel he is a 'failure'. Well, some children might if they are not groomed to take defeat in the same way as success.It all boils down to how kids cope up with fame or failure.

I am not sure if I would let my kids  be a part of such shows even if they have great cooking/ singing or dancing skills. But then maybe I will when they are old enough to handle the stresses....

 Well friends, what is your say on this topic?

******

Coming to today's recipe, a simple and tasty cake. I don't prefer to eat mangoes as such. My preferential form would be as Mango- milkshakes, ice creams, lassi or cake. Frankly I have never baked with Mangoes. You can see cakes with Dates / Banana and apples but no mango. One reason is that when I was in the orient, we did not have a OTG at home and stared baking in the microwave. Secondly, we did not get delicious mangoes there. We did see a lot of mangoes but on our first and subsequent purchases we knew for sure that we were wasting money in these fruits. They were either extremely sour or totally tasteless.  Thirdly, even if I had found tasty mangoes, I did not get a Eggless version that could be done in the Microwave.Thus no mango bakes in Seduce Your Tastebuds till now.

So when Grandpa came down to visit us this summer, he got us loads of Mangoes. While Lil Angel enjoyed eating them as such and in milkshakes, I knew I had to bake a cake with this awesome fruit.

Frequent power cuts and laziness kept putting off my idea until Lil Angel was literally begging me to bake a cake for her. Giving in to her wishes, here is the cake that spread a delicious aroma around the house and filled up eager and hungry tummies....

The recipe is from here and I have made some changes,actually added a few ingredients to get a beautiful crust for the cake. I made this in a loaf pan, but you can also make this into muffins / use a regular pan ...

I used:

Mango puree – ½ cup

Warm water- ¼ cup

Sugar- ¾ cup

Milk powder- ¼ cup

Yogurt – ¼ cup

Vegetable oil – ¼ cup

Almonds, chopped- ¼ cup

Choco chips – ¼ cup

Whole wheat flour – 1 cup

Baking powder – ½ teaspoon

Baking soda – ½ teaspoon

Finely chopped almonds and chocochips for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 175 degree C
2. Sift together wheat flour , baking soda and baking powder.
3. Add choco chips and chopped nuts to the flour.
4. In a blender jar , blend together mango puree, oil, yogurt, sugar, milk powder till smooth.
5. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and mix.
6. Pour this into the prepared cake pan.
7. Top it up with finely chopped nuts and choco chips.
8. Bake at  350 degrees F / 175 degree C for half an hour or till a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool on a wire rack
10. Slice and serve....

Note :

• Oven timings may vary so bake accordingly.
• The topping is totally up to you. You can also bake this cake without the topping.
• Using choco chips is also optional.
• Adjust the quantity of sugar based on the sweetness of the mango.

Sending this to Radhika's Let's cook - Kid's special and I love Baking #5, Smitha who is hosting Kids delight - What kids love ,a series started by Srivalli

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Earlier in this months edition of Blogging Marathon...

Week - 1 Sun Dried Products

Day 1 - Sun dried Pressed Rice Crisps
Day 2 - Sundried Rice Crisps
Day 3 - Sundried Potato Chips

Week - 2 Kids delight - Evening snacks / Tiffins

Day 1 - Crisp Paneer Fingers
Day 2 -Onion Podi Idli
Day 3 - Eggless Mango Cake - Recipe above.

Bon Appetit...

Onion Podi Idli

When we lived in the orient, there was no dreaming about having Idli for breakfast for the simple reason that the batter does not ferment well due to the climatic conditions. But when we came down for the vacation, we were sure to have loads of these soft and fluffy beauties almost everyday!At least hubby would do that while Lil Angel and me would love to treat ourselves with crispy dosa. Sometimes when Lil Angel is in a mood for Idlis mini idlis was her favorite.

Though there is nothing special in mini idlis and they taste exactly like the regular idli,[after all it is made with the same batter except that it is poured into mini moulds instead of the big ones] some how the Lil one liked it better. Each mini idli would have to be smeared with ghee and she loved to dunk each bite into a bowl of piping hot sambar. I love to watch her eat this way and am happy that she loves this dish.

As she grew, she graduated from ghee smeared mini idli to flavoured mini idli like this one - Onion Podi Idli. We once had this in a restaurant and she took just a bite thinking it would be spicy but she was so impressed by the taste and texture that she almost finished my share!

This was pretty easy to recreate at home and I make this once in a while for her and she loves the crunch of the onion and the flavor from the spice mix....

For this simple tiffin treat you need

Mini idli -15 numbers

Onion- 1 large,peeled and thinly sliced

Milagai podi – 2 tablespoons

Salt – to taste

Curry leaves – a few

Mustard – 1 teaspoon

Cumin seeds – ½ teaspoon

1. Heat oil in a pan and put in mustard and cumin seeds.
2. When they splutter add curry leaves and onion.
3. Sauté onion till soft. [I leave them crunchy].
4. Add the podi and mini idli. Gently mix everything together till the podi coats the mini idlis. Add a pinch of salt.The idli and podi both have salt so check before adding.
5. Sprinkle a little water if the mixture is too dry.
6. Cover and let it cook on low flame for a few minutes for the flavors to blend.Mix gently.
7. Remove from heat and serve hot.  

Note:

• This dish does not require a side dish, but you can serve it with plain yogurt / sambar.
• Sometimes I also use the sweet and spicy milagai podi for a change.
• You can also use Flax seed chutney powder to make this dish more healthy.
• Increase or decrease the quantity of onion and podi to suit your taste.

Sending this to Radhika's Let's cook - Kid's special,Smitha who is hosting Kids delight - What kids love ,a series started by Srivalli


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Crisp Paneer Fingers

For the second week of Blogging Marathon, I have selected Kids Delight - Evening snacks / Tiffin. Being a blogger and having a kid at home makes you innovative enough to try out and test a new recipe on your Lil one!

When the summer vacations began for Lil Angel,some 2 months back, I was looking out for some form of entertainment to keep her engaged.She readily agreed to join a summer camp for Handwriting, Dance and Hindi. I bet was eager to  make new friends. Anyways, she enjoyed her time in the mornings making new friends at the camp and after lunch she would doze off happily. Then came the difficult part for us - Evening snacks.

Kids hate it when any food stuff is repeatedly offered and Lil Angel is no exception.I did not want to give cream biscuits to her everyday, which by the way,  is her favorite. She loves to lick the cream and will happily pass on the 'cream-less' biscuit to the first person she sees and that, most of the times, will be me.

I often ask her what she wants and depending on the availablity of ingredients prepare something for her. One evening she said she would like to have - apples, murukku, puffed rice and something with paneer.I was going to make bajjis that evening,so I thought I should make her some with paneer. I used a different kind of batter that gave rise to a super crunchy paneer snack.

I used:

All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Corn flour - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Ajwain seeds / omum - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Panner cubes - 10 numbers
Oil to deep fry

1. Prepare a batter using All purpose lour,cornflour,bakin powder,salt and ajwain. The batter should be of coating consistency
2. Heat oil for deep frying.
3. Dip the paneer cubes in the batter and carefully drop them into the oil.
4. Deep fry till golden brown.
5. Drain and serve with tomato sauce.

Note :

• You can add chilli powder while preparing the batter.

Sending this to Radhika's Let's cook - Kid's special,Smitha who is hosting Kids delight - What kids love ,a series started by Srivalli


Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...

Panaka | Panakam | Jaggery Based Indian Cooler

 When we made the Chaitra maasa paaknak puja thali a few months back, Panaka was one of the beverages that was featured in the thali.

Though this is one of my favorite drinks, it has been a long time I made this. So when it was time to make thali's for Blogging Marathon, Mom and me chose Chaitra maasa paaknak puja thali  and this was one of the beverages to be featured and mom said this was one of the important part of the thali.

The sweetness from the jaggery and the sharp taste from the dry ginger powder makes this a very yummy beverage.It is nutritious - jaggery is rich in Iron and this drink is a great cooler in summer not to mention that is very simple and easy to prepare.

You  need:

Water - 200ml
Grated jagery - 2-3 tablespoons
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Dry Ginger powder / Sonti Pudi- 1/2 teaspoon

1. Dissolve the jaggery in water and filter.
2. Add cardamom powder, dry ginger powder,mix well and serve.

Note:

• You can use brown sugar instead of jaggery.
• Increase or decrease the quantity of ingredients to suit your taste but you must be able to feel the heat from ginger powder.

Bon Appetit...

Homemade Ginger Powder | Sonti Pudi

This is not a recipe actually. Just a small account of my tryst with one the ingredients that I use rarely.A couple of months back, I wanted some ginger powder for a recipe. So I went to the nearby store and looked for it. A well known brand sold this powder for INR 80 / 100 grams! I wanted just a teaspoon at that time and I was sure the remaining would be sitting in the shelf for years to come.

Mom reminded me that she had some dry ginger and we could make a powder out of it. Simple and easy!! Later I found out that the shop that sells traditional medicine sold good quality dry ginger for INR 28 / 100grams.

Here is a close up of the dry ginger.....

All I did was grind the dry ginger using a motar and pestle. The dry ginger got powdered without much effort! Just sift the ground powder and use as required.

In this way, I grind just the quantity of dry ginger that I need for the powder and each and every time I will be getting the powder -fresh...

Isn't it better to make ginger powder this way?

Bon Appetit....

Sun Dried Potato Chips

Potato chips are a favorite with almost every one of us.Instead of buying the commercial chips that are loaded with preservatives and other stuffs that are not so good for health, here is a recipe to enjoy potato chips all through the year, is home made, has no preservatives and of course as crunchy as the store brought chips. Did I tell you that this is my childhood favourite?

You need:

Potatoes
Salt to taste

1. Slice the potatoes

2.Immerse them in water till the next step.

2.Meanwhile heat a large pot of water and add salt.When it comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and drain the potato from the water and add to the pot.Cover and keep aside for 15 minutes.

4. Drain completely.

5.Dry the slices in the sun. The slices should not stick with each other.

This usually dries in a day or two depending on the intensity of sun light. If it is not completely dry on the first day, bring it indoors in the evening, cover the tray / plate with a paper towel and keep it out to dry the next day.

Store in an air tight container . Deep fry and enjoy with lunch / as a snack...

Note :

• Do not use a chips cutter / mandolines for slicing the potato. The slices should not be too thin. When thin slices are put into boiling water, it turns mushy and is of no use.Use a knife to slice the potatoes.
• Large potatoes are better as the slices shrink while drying.
• Even though they are fully dry, it might splutter during frying.Be cautious...
• If you are not sure about the quantity of salt to be added in step 2, add some and proceed. After frying, check for salt and add more if required and toss well before serving.
• You can also add garam masala, chaat masala, chilli powder after frying the chips to get chips in different flavor.
• This chips will not be pearly white, but will taste great even if they are a little yellowish / light brown.

Here is another version of Potato crisps that can be made using boiled and mashed potatoes.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#17

Bon Appetit...