Vegetable Rice!

A very simple method. First cook the rice.  For one cup rice you need following ingredients.

Beans 4 to 5 numbers

carrot one medium size

one big onion cut them into small pieces

Peas 1/2cup

cauliflower 1/2 cup

green chillies 4 numbers

ginger one inch

tomato big size  one

capsicum (optional)

coriander leaves  finely chopped two tablespoons

mint leaves finely chopped one table spoon

turmeric powder a pinch

salt to taste

oil for frying

chilly powder

dhania powder each one teaspoon

sugar one teaspoon

cinnaman and bay leaves  a bit

cardamom big one number

cloves one number

garam masala powder 1/4 teaspoon

Take one cup cooked rice and put it aside.  Cut all the vegetables and fry them in oil till it is half done.  Keep it in a bowl.  Now make a fine paste with green chillies, one tablespoon coriander leaves, one tablespoon cut onions, ginger and 1/2 tomato.

Heat the remaining oil in a kadai  and first add the sugar. When the sugar starts to melt add the masala ingredients cinnamaman, cardamom, cloves and bay leave.  Add onion and saute for 2 minutes.  When the onion fried add the half fried vegetables, turmeric powder, chillie powder, dhania powder one by one.  Saute for 2 or 3 minutes more. Add the grinded paste and the remaining 1/2 tomato, add salt  and mix them well with all the vegetables,   and cover with a lid.  Wait till the vegetables cooked.  When the vegetables are done and the water in the gravy also drained add the cooked rice and mix well. Garnish with  the remaining coriander leaves and mint leaves. If you have bread in your home fry the bread in a tawa and cut it into small pieces and add them in the mixed vegetable fired rice.

Any Raitha of your choice will go with this. Cucumber, onion, tomato or carrot. Anything will go with this dish. 

some easy snacks! Vellai Appam

Ingredients:

Rice Flour 1/2 cup, salt to taste

Urad dhal one cup,

Green chillies, 3 Nos. cut into small pieces

Ginger One inch cut into small pieces

Curry leaves, hing a pinch

oil for frying


soak the dhal for 2 hours and grind it fluffy.  Add the rice flour and salt.  Allow it to ferment. Then add green chillies, ginger, Curry leaves and hing. Heat the oil in a kadai and pour in a  small laddle full of vellai appam batter. Keep on medium flame. Turn over when it is still white in colour.  Fry till it   becomes golden brown.  Remove them and drain the excess oil by putting them in a colander. Repeat the process till all the batter is used.  This appam is delicious with or without chutneys. It will be more delicious with tomato chutney.

some easy snacks ( namkeens )for you!

Bajji or Bajiya:

Besan  one cup

Maida  1/4 cup

Rice flour 1/4 cup

Chillie powder two teaspoons

Hing a pinch

Salt to taste

oil for frying

Water required quantity to make a batter. You can make bajjis with egg plant, ridge gourd(pudalai), raw plantain, onion, bajji chillies, cauliflower, potato and sometimes from baby corns also.

In a bowl mix all the flours adding chillie powder, hing and salt.  Add the water slowly to make a thick batter.The batter should be neither thick or thin.  So add the required quantity. Mix it with a spatula to get puffy bajjies.  Now prepare the vegetable.  If it is brinjal  or onion cut them into round slices. For the raw plantain remove the skin and cut lengthy slices.  If it is potato slice it thinly without removing the skin.

Now heat the oil in a kadai.  Check the oil by dropping a little batter in to the heated oil.  If the batter raises to the surface immediately, then the oil is ready to prepare bajjies.  Take a slice of any vegetable and dip it into the batter in such a way that it is well coated on all the sides. Put it in the heated oil simultaneously reducing the flame.  You can fry 3 or 4 bajjies at a time depending on the quantity of the oil used for frying.  Fry till it is golden brown on both sides and remove it and  put it in a colander(vadikatti). Prepare all the bajjies like this and serve hot with green chutney or coconut chutney.

Green chutney:  One bunch coriander leaves and pudina leaves

10 numbers green chillies

tamarind pepper size

salt to taste

hing a pinch

seasoning:  Mustard seeds, urad dhal, oil for seasoning one teaspoon

Wash, clean and cut the leaves and grind them with green chillies, tamarind, salt and hing. Grind to a fine paste.  Remove it and put in a bowl and season with mustard and urad dhal.  This will be a good combination for the bajjies.

Coconut chutney

Grated coconut   two table spoon

Green chillies 10 to 12 numbers

salt to taste

hing

Pottukadalai(fried chana dhal)

Mix all the ingredients and grind them in to a fine paste. Remove and put in a bowl and season with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Serve with bajjies

Besan ki Ladoo

Basic process is the same for all laddos except Boondhi laddu. Now we will see Besan ki Ladoo, i.e. bengal gram atta ki laddo.

It will require more ghee.

Ingredients:

Besan  one cup

sugar  three cups

Ghee 11/2 cup

cashewnuts 20 numbers

Cardamom powder 1/2 tea spoon


Fry the besan till the aroma comes in an empty Kadai.  Keep it aside.  Grind the sugar and add with the besan.  Fry the cashewnuts in one tablespoon ghee and add it to the mixture.  Add cardamom powder.  Now boil the remaining ghee to a boiling point and pour in the mixture and mix well with a long spatula. Let it cool for 2 to 5 minutes and make lemon size balls out of it. You can keep it for 15 days. 

Diwali Recipe-- Rava Laddoo!

Hi All,

Now we are going to see some easy make sweet recipes for this Diwali. Of Course it is late.  But I have some other work also. So bear with me.  Now we will prepare Rava laddu for this Diwali in two easy ways.

For 20 laddus (lemon size) We require

Rava   one cup

Sugar one cup

grated coconut one cup

Cashewnuts 15 to 20 numbers

Raisins or Kishmish 15 to 20 numbers

Ghee  2 tablespoons

Cardamom powder one full teaspoon

Milk minimum 1/2 cup

Now pour one tablespoon ghee in a heated kadai and fry the rava till it changes colour and you will get a delicious smell also.  Keep it aside.

Grind the sugar in a mixie jar and keep it aside.

Now heat the remained ghee and roast the cashewnuts and raisins till the raisins puff up. Mix them with the rava.  Now fry the grated coconut in the same kadai for two minutes.  Add the fried rava and mix them well.  Slowly add the sugar also and fry for some more minutes.  Add the cardamom powder and switch off the fire and slowly add the milk little by little simultaneously mixing the ingredients well. If you are able to make laddoes then stop the milk. Let it cool for a minute.  After the heat becomes bearable make laddoes out of it.  Store them in a airtight container but you cannot keep it for a week or so because we add milk, so it can be stored for only 3 days and keep it in the refrigerator.

Another method:

Rava one cup (peni rava is suitable one)

Sugar one cup

cardamom powder one full teaspoon

cashewnuts and raisins 20 numbers each

Ghee one full cup.

Fry the rava in a kadai and grind it in a mixie jar to a coarse powder.  Grind the sugar in to a nice powder.  Mix the grinded rava and the sugar powder and add cardamom powder and mix well  with your hands.  Pour one tablespoon ghee in a kadai and roast the cashewnuts and raisins till the raisins puff up.  Now heat the remaining ghee well till the smoke comes from the ghee.  Switch off the fire and pour the hot ghee in the mixture and stir well with a long spatula.  Mix it well for two minutes.  Let it cool for another 5 minutes and make balls out of it. Your rava laddo is ready to it and you can keep it atleast for 15 to 20 days.

All of you Happy Diwali.

Totally different one!

We can see a different type of kuzambu now.  For this preparation the following ingredients are needed.  For four people

Ingredients:

Tamrind  lemon size (extract juice from the tamarind)

Salt to taste

Turmeric powder

Kuambu podi or Sambar powder 4 teaspoons

Onion small 50 grams (if it is small onion well and good. if the small is not available cut one big onion into pieces)

Eggplant  2

Murungai kai  one or two

Tomato  mediyum size 2  cut them into pieces


For tempering:

Mustard seeds,

Thur dhal,

Bengal gram

Urad dhal

Methi seeds

each 1/2 teaspoon

Green chillies 4  cut them into halves

curry leaves

Red chilly  one or two  cut in to halves

Hing or Asafoetida (optional)

Oil for tempering one small cup (gingely oil is good; if not available any cooking oil)

Heat the pan and add oil.  Now add mustrad seeds, the three dhals and methi seeds.  Add green chillies and red chillies, add curry leaves and hing.  Now first add the small onion or the already cut big onion and fry for some time.  Then add the murungkai kai, after frying for a minute add the eggplant. Fry for one or two minutes and now add the tomatoes.  While frying add the kuzambu podi/sambar powder. Fry for a minute and add turmeric powder and tamarind juice.  Now add the required salt.  Let it cook for some time.  When the kuzambu becomes thick add a small piece of jaggery, if necessary. It is optional. Remove it from fire and eat it with Ven pongal, Hot Rice, Arisi Uppuma and Rava Uppuma. It will so delicious.

Fenugreeks/methi kuzambu

Ingredients:

Tamarind  lemon size

salt to taste

Haldi powder 1/4 tea spoon

Tempering:

Eggplant or Murungkai kai

Curry leaves,

Mustard seeds,

urad dhal 1/2teaspoon

Bengal gram 1/2 teaspoon,

Arhar dhal  1/2 teaspoon

Red chillies 2 numbers for tempering,

Hing or Asafoetida

Oil for tempering one small cup

For frying and grinding:

6 Red chillies

one table spoon Thur dhal

one tea spoon Methi seeds

Fry the Thur dhal, methi seeds and red chillies in the kadai. Grind it  coarsely in the mix jar.  Mix the Haldi powder and grind it for a second.  Put it aside.

Heat the kadai or a non stick tawa.  Pour the oil.  Add Mustard seeds, all the three dhals one by one and add hing and curry leaves.  Add red chillies and the vegetables.  Fry for 2 minutes.  Extract juice from tamarind. It should be 4 cups.  Add the tamarind juice  and add salt.  Let it cook for some time or till it become thick.  When the oil begins to come out add the grinded powder according to your taste. Let it boil for a minute and remove from the fire. It will be very tasty with hot rice, and Curd bath.

You can add grated coconut also in the kuzambu while eating. Or add a small quantity of jaggery while boiling.