Saturday, 24 December 2011

Ordinary Idli






Ingredients
  • Good quality boiled rice, raw rice, or idli rice - 2 cups
  • Good quality of whole white urad dal - 1 cup
  • Salt - as per taste

Method:
Wash and soak rice and urad dal each in 2 separate vessels. Grind urad dal and rice each separately. Urad dal should be ground to a very fine  paste adding just enough water, the rice should be ground almost finely [separately]. Then mix both the batter of urad dal and rice in a large vessel for fermentation adding enough salt. Mix well and keep. Allow to ferment overnight or atleast 8 to 10 hours. If you keep the batter for more than 12 hours the colour of the idli will slightly change to creamish colour. The batter should not be too watery or too thick. Greese each idli mould with till oil, pour one ladle of the batter in each mould and steam for 10 mints. Then remove the idlis after 10 mints and keep in a cassarole.

P. S.
1. You can make stuffed or sandwich idlis by keeping boiled vegetable subji in between the batter.
2. You can mix fried and crushed moru milagai with the idli batter and make idlis to give it a different taste.
3.The same idli batter can be poured into small moulds to make mini idlis.



Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Veg - Manchurian










Ingredients:

  • Cabbage grated - 1/2 cup
  • Cauliflower grated - 1/2 cup
  • Carrot grated - 1/2 cup
  • Capsicum - 1/4 cup [ finely chopped ]
  • French beans - 50 gms [ finely chopped ]
  • spring onions - 1 bunch [ finely chopped ]
  • Green chilies - 2 [ finely chopped ]
  • Garlic flakes - 4 [ finely chopped ]
  • Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ cut into small pieces ]
  • Pepper powder -  1/2 sp
  • Aji-no-moto - 1/4 sp
  • Conflour - 4 tbl. sp
  • Maida - 2 tabl . sp
  • Soya sauce - 1 tabl . sp
  • Tomato ketchup - 2 tabl . sp
  • Garlic chili sauce - 1 tabl . sp
  • White vinegar - 1 tabl . sp
  • Oil - for deep frying


Method:
Take one deep bowl and put all grated vegetables, adding salt, pepper powder, aji-no-moto, maida, cornflour to that, mix well with hand. Don't add water, make balls from that and deep fry in oil till it turns brown and. keep aside. In the meantime, take 2 tabl . sp  of  cornflour and dilute in the water. Then take one kadai, keep on the gas, pour 2 tabl . sp of oil to that, add finely chopped  garlic, green chili, ginger to that and fry for 2 mins, then add soya sauce, garlic ginger sauce, tomato ketchup. Add cornflour water to that and mix well. If it becomes thick then add  the fried balls to it. Before removing from the gas, garnish with chopped  spring onions. Serve hot with fried rice.

Chinese Fried Rice








Ingredients:

  • Basmati rice - 1 cup
  • Black or white pepper powder - 1/2 a pinch
  • Aji-no-moto - 1/4 sp
  • Salt - as required
  • Soya sauce - 1 tabl . sp
  • Cabbage grated - 1/2 cup
  • Carrot grated - 1/2 cup
  • Capsicum - 1/2 cup [ cut into finely ]
  • Spring onions - 1 bunch [ chopped nicely ]
  • Oil - 2 tabl . sp



Method:
Wash and soak the rice for 15 mints and pressure cook and keep aside. Allow the rice to cool. Then take one big kadai, keep on the gas and pour the 2 tabl .sp of oil, heat it and add the cut onions, then grated vegetables one by one and fry for a minute, add salt, pepper powder, aji-no-moto, then soya sauce and mix well. Then add cooked rice and mix well. Keep gas in high flame. Before removing from the gas, garnish with chopped spring onions. Serve hot with Manchurian.                                                                                                                        




Vegetable Stew








Ingredients:

  • Cauliflower - 1/2 cup [ cut into dices ]
  • Potatoes - 1/2 cup [ cut into dices ]
  • Carrot - 1 [ cut into pieces ]
  • Green peas - 1/4 cup
  • Onion - 2 [ cut into 1/2 inch lenth wise ]
  • Green chili - 2 [ slit and keep ]
  • Coconut milk - 2 cups[ 1st, 2nd, 3rd extract of milk ]
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Salt - as required
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
  • Coconut oil - 2 tbl . sp
  • Ginger - 1/2 inch piece [ cut into piece]
  • Cut coriander leaves - little


Method:
First boiled the cut vegetables in the 3rd extract coconut milk till it becomes soft and keep aside. Then
take one deep bottom kadai, keep on the gas pour 2 tabl sp of coconut oil, heat it and add onions, slit green chilies, curry leaves, cut ginger and fry for 2 mins in low flame. When the onions turn brown in color, put turmeric powder and add the boiled vegetables along with the milk and fry for 5 mins. Then add the 2nd extract of coconut milk along with required salt. Allow to boil for 10 mins. When its ready, before removing from the gas, add the first exract coconut milk. When it starts boiling, switch off the gas and garnish with cut coriander leaves and curry leaves. Serve with roti, rice and aapam.

Carrot Peas and Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients:

  • Onions - 2
  • Carrot - 3 or 4
  • Cauliflower - 1
  • Peas - 1/2 cup shelled
  • Oil - 1 1/2 tbl . sp
  • Capsicum - 2 [cut into cubes]



Grind together:

  • Onion - 1
  • Ginger - 1/4 inch piece
  • Red chilies - 8
  • Coconut - 1/2 scraped
  • Jaggery - 1 sp
  • Tamarind - small lime sized
  • Garam masala - 1/2 sp
  • Salt - as required


Method:
Cut onions finely. Dice all other vegetables into 1 inch pieces. Grind the masala and keep aside. Heat oil in a shallow pan, add cumin seeds, when it splutters, mix onions and fry till transparent. Add the raw vegetables, fry for 2 or 3 minutes, put the ground masala without water, and fry for 5 mins. pour enough water, salt and jaggery. Cover and cook till the vegetables are soft. Serve with coriander leaves decorated on top.

Note: The vegetables can be steamed beforehand in the above recipe.

Palak Paneer Biriyani

Ingredients:

  • Basmati rice - 1 cup
  • Cauliflower - 1/2 cup [ cut into small pieces ]
  • Cashewnuts - 10
  • Panner - 1/4 cup [ cut into tiny pieces ]
  • Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
  • Cardamoms - 2
  • Cloves - 2
  • Bay leaf - 2
  • Palak leaves - 5 to 6[ blanch in hot water for a minute and cut into tiny pieces ]
  • Ghee - 2 tbl sp
  • Oil - 2 tbl . sp
  • Onions - 2 [ cut into small pieces ]
  • Salt - as required
  • Red chili powder - 1 sp
  • Red tomatoes - 2 [ chopped ]
  • Tomato puree - 1 tabl . sp
  • Ginger - 1 sp [ cut into thin pieces ]
  • Saffron - little [ mix in the warm milk ]
  • Tomatoes - 2 [ cut into thin rings ]
  • Fresh cream - 1 / 2 cup
  • Butter - little
  • Green chili paste - 1 / 2 sp
  • Garlic flakes - 2 to 3 [ chopped into very small pieces ]


Method:
Wash and soak the rice for 20 mins. Then take one pressure pan pour ghee and oil together add cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, cashews.  When the cashews turns into golden colour, add flower along with salt and fresh cream. Pour water and mix well. Close the lid and wait for 3 whistles to come. After the pressure goes, open the cooker and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, take one kadai and place it on the gas, pour 1 sp ghee heat it, add finely cut onions, fry for a minute and add cut palak leaves, salt, green chili paste and mix well. Add little fresh cream, mix well and keep aside. Again keep the kadai on the gas, add little butter to it, heat it add chopped garlic pieces, fry for a minute and add cut tomatoes, paneer, along with tomato puree, salt, red chili powder, little cream and mix well. Fry for 2 mints and keep aside. Meanwhile, preheat oven at 200 degrees, take one oven glass vessel and apply little butter to that. Keep the tomato rings in the bottom of the vessel, on top put the boiled rice one layer, sprinkle garam masala powder, then apply [ kasar, curd, cream and mix together] on top put ginger pieces, after that pour palak gravy, again cooked rice one layer, sprinkle garam masala powder, again add kasar, curd, cream mixture and then paneer gravy on top and finally add the remaining cooked rice. Cover with aluminium foil paper and keep it for 10 mins. Your yummy palak paneer biriyani is ready to eat. Serve hot.

Wednesday, 7 December 2011

Rasam Varieties [ New Rasam ]

Sundal Rasam


Ingredients:
  • Fresh green peas - 1 cup or Mochai beans
  • Garlic flakes - 4 to 5
  • Big onion - 1 [ dice into 1 inch cubes ]
  • Salt - as required
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Oil - for seasoning & frying
  • Tamarind - small lemon sized

Grind together:
  • Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1 / 2 tsp
  • Pepper - 1 / 4 sp
  • Red chillies - 4
  • Asafoetida - little
  • Blackgram & bengal gram - each 1/2 sp
Fry the above spices in little oil and grind with 2 tabl . sp of fresh grated coconut.

Method:
Heat a pressure pan with little oil, and add little mustard seeds, broken red chillies, garlic, and then onion. Fry for 2 to 3 mints, add grind masala and fry for 5 mints, till the aroma begins to come out. Then add fresh peas, fry for a minute and add enough water and pressure cook till 2 whistles. Allow to cool, open the lid, add tamarind extract, salt, little jaggery and boil for 5 mints. Garnish with curry leaves.

Variation :
Kollu Rasam: Dry roast 1/2 cup of horse gram. Pressure cook till soft. Follow the above procedure. While grinding masala add 1 / 2 tbl . sp of  cooked horse gram and grind coarsely. Proceed as previous recipe.



                                   
Onion Rasam

Ingredients:
  • Thin tamarind extract - 2 cups
  • Green chillies - 4 to 5
  • Finely cut onions - 1/2 cup
  • Finely cut coriander leaves - 2 tbl . sps
  • Salt - as required
  • Jaggery - 1 / 2 sp
  • Mustard seeds - 1 sp
  • Oil or ghee - for frying

Method:
Mix salt, jaggery, onions and coriander leaves with tamarind extract. Heat oil, add mustard, slit green chillies and pour over rasam. [ this is raw rasam. do not heat or boil. ] you will enjoy this rasam.




Goodu Rasam

Ingredients:
  • Tamarind - lemon sized [soaked and then squeeze]
  • Water - 4 cups
  • Salt - as required

Fry and powder coarsely:
  • Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
  • Red chillies - 2
  • Pepper - 1 / 2 sp
  • Thur dal - 1 tbl . sp.

For Seasoning:
  • Ghee - 1 tsp
  • Asafoetida - little
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

For garnishing:
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Coriander leaves - little

Method:
Dilute tamarind extract with water. Add salt, jaggery and boil for 5 mints. Then add powdered ingredients, allow it to come to boiling stage. Add fried seasoning, garnish and remove from the gas. Serve with hot steamed rice.



Paneer Rasam [Rose Water Rasam]

Ingredients:
  • Tamarind - smalll lemon sized
  • Water - 3 cups
  • Rose water - 2 tabl . sp
  • Green chillies - 3
  • Cumin & pepper powder - 1 tsp
  • Coriander leaves - little
  • Rose petals - to garnish [ fresh pink colour ]
  • Salt - as required
  • Sugar - 1/2 sp
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  • Oil or ghee - to season

Method:
Soak tamarind in water, squeeze and take the extract and dilute with water. Add little dal water from cooked tur dal. Add salt, and sugar. Then heat oil or ghee add mustard seeds, slit green chili, cumin, pepper powder. Fry for a minute and add to tamarind exract. Boil for 5 mints. Remove from the gas and add rose water. Garnish with rose petals and coriander leaves.



Marriage Rasam

Ingredients:
  • Toor dal - 1 cup
  • Tamarind - 1 lemon size
  • Tomatoes - 4 big
  • Asafoetida - 1 / 4 sp
  • Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
  • Jaggery - 1 tsp
  • salt - as required
Fry and powder:
  • Bengal gram dal - 2 tsp
  • Coriander seeds - 3 tsp
  • Red chillies - 3 to 4
  • Grated coconut - 1 tsp
  • Oil - 1 tsp

Roast and powder:
  • Pepper - 2 tspn
  • Cumin seeds - 2 tspn
  • Curry leaves - little

Garnishing : Coriander leaves - a handful

Seasoning:
  • Ghee - 2 tspn
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tspn
  • Cumin seeds - 1 tspn
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Red chili - 1

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal till soft. Then mash well, add more water and allow to settle. After that remove and keep the top water seperately to make rasam. Grind 2 tomatoes and mix with the extracted tamarind pulp. Add turmeric, salt, asafoetida, finely chopped tomatoes and boil till the raw smell goes. Add the fried, powdered ingredients first and boil for 5mints and then add  roasted powdered ingredients and boil for 5 mints more. Add dal water and jaggery when it comes to boil, garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves. Remove from the heat, season with mustard seeds and cumin seeds in ghee. Served as an appetiser or with hot rice with porial, usli, etc.




Nutritious Rasam

Ingredients:
  • Tamarind - 1 small lemon size
  • Turmeric powder - 1 / 2 sp
  • Salt - as required
  • Asafoetida - 1/4 sp

Roast and powder:
  • Toor dal - 1 cup
  • Channa dal - 1/2 cup
  • Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
  • Cumin seeds - 1 tabl . sp
  • Pepper - 1 tabl . sp
  • Methi seeds - 1 tsp
  • Red chillies - 7 to 8

For wet grinding:
  • Tomatoes - 2
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Coriander leaves - little
  • Ginger - 1 / 2 inch piece


For seasoning:
  • Ghee - 2 tsp
  • Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
  • Cumin seeds - 1/2 sp


Roasting & Powdering Steps:
Roast toor dal, channa dal, and methi seeds [each separately] till it changes its colour and the aroma begins to arise. Roast coriander, cumin, pepper and red chillies also till a nice smell comes. Powder everything together finely, store in an air tight container. When you make rasam add 2 table spoon of this powder.


Method of making rasam:
Soak tamarind in hot water and exract the pulp, add salt, turmeric, asafoetida, and 2 table spoon of this powder. Grind tomatoes, coriander leaves, curry leaves and ginger to a fine paste. Add the ground masala paste to the above mixture. Boil and simmer till the raw smell of the tamarind goes. Then add more water to bring the rasam to a leval and to make it light [add dal water if preferred] Boil and simmer for 2 mints. Remove from the gas. Season with mustard seeds and cummin seeds in ghee. Garnish with coriander leaves and finely chopped pieces of tomatoes, when the rasam is still hot.



Pepper Rasam

Ingredients:
  • Toor dal - 1 cup
  • Tamarind - 1 lemon size
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
  • Salt - as per taste
  • Jaggery - 1/2 sp
  • Garlic - 2 flakes


Fry and powder:
  • Ghee - 2 tspn
  • Toor dal - 2 tspn
  • Red chillies - 3 to 4
  • Kandanthippili - 3 tspn
  • Dried ginger - 1/2 inch piece
  • Asafoetida - 1/4 spn
Heat ghee in kadai, fry these ingredients and powder.

Roast and powder:
  • Cummin seeds - 2 tspn
  • Black pepper - 3 tspn
  • Curry leaves - little

For seasoning:
  • Ghee - 1 tbspn
  • Mustard seeds - 1 sp
  • cummin seeds - 1 sp
  • Red chillie - 1
  • Curry leaves - little

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal till tender. When cooked, mash well and add more water, keep the dal water seperately, when settled. In the extracted tamarind plup add turmeric powder, salt, and boil well. Add the fried and powdered ingredients to that and boil for 5 mints. Remove the skin from garlic, crush and add. Add jaggery, dal water, roasted and powdered ingredients. When it comes to boil add curry leaves and remove from the gas. For seasoning, add ghee with given ingredients. Serve hot with roasted papads.




Poondu Rasam [Garlic Rasam]

Ingredients:
  • Toor dal - 1 cup
  • Tamarind - lemon size
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
  • Salt - as per taste
  • Asafoetida - 1/4 sp
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Jaggery - 1/2 sp
  • Garlic - 3 flakes
  • Pepper powder - 3 tspn

For seasoning:
  • Cummin seeds - 1 tspn
  • Mustard seeds - 1 sp
  • Ghee - 2 tspn

Method:
Wash and cook toor dal well, adding enough water. When cooked, mash well add 3 cups water and keep aside. Remove the top distilled water [ approx -  4 cups ] separately. Extract the pulp of tamarind, add salt, turmeric, asafoetida, jaggery. Season with mustard seeds, cummin seeds, and curry leaves. Stir in the tamarind pulp and boil well. Peel the skin from the garlic flakes crush and add. Add pepper powder and boil for 5 mints more, add dal water and curry leaves. When it comes to boil, lightly roasted and powdered cumin seeds can be added. Serve hot as an appetiser in catories or  with hot rice, roasted papads.



Veppam Poo Rasam [Neem Flower Rasam]

Ingredients:
  • Tamarind - lemon size [ extract plup ]
  • Diluted dal water - 5 cups
  • Tomatoes - 2 [ blend in a mixie ]
  • Turmeric powder - 1/2 sp
  • Red chili powder - 1 sp
  • Rasam powder - 1 sp
  • Jaggery - 1 / 2 sp
  • Salt - as required
  • Asafoetida powder - 1 / 4 sp
  • Curry leaves - little
Seasoning:
  • Ghee - 1 tbspn
  • Mustard seeds - 1 sp
  • Toor seeds - 1 tspn
  • Red chillies - 2
  • Curry leaves - little
  • Neem flower - 1 tbspn [ fresh or dried ]
  • Pepper and jeera powder - 2 tspn [ roasted and powdered ]

Method:
In the extracted tamarind pulp, add the tomato juice. Add turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt, jaggery, rasam powder, chili powder and boil well. When the quantity slightly reduces, add dal water and curry leaves. Add roasted and powdered pepper, jeera, and boil for another 5 mints. Remove from the gas and season with the given ingredients and neem flower fried in ghee. Serve hot with rice, roasted papads and roasted raw banana curry.