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What is the difference between arabica and robusta coffee

January 26, 2017 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Knowing the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee

You may think of coffee as just an everyday drink that you enjoy. If you are not a coffee expert then you may be surprised to learn that there are several different coffee beans in existence with most blends consisting of the main two, Arabica and Robusta. Now that you know about the existence of different coffee beans you may be wondering what is the difference between Arabica and Robusta coffee?
There are actually several differences between these two types of coffee. We are going to take a look at some of the most common of them. Hopefully, we can help you understand a little more about the coffee you drink.

The taste difference

One of the biggest differences between Arabica and Robusta coffee is the taste. If you drink coffee that is made with a blend of Arabica beans it tends to taste fairly sweet and it has overtones of fruit. This is why many people prefer the taste of Arabica coffee. Coffee produced using a blend of Robusta beans has a harsher taste. This type of coffee is the type that you will usually find in less expensive supermarket brands. It’s far stronger and bitterer to taste than Arabica coffee.

What about the caffeine?

If you drink coffee then you may find it important to know about the caffeine content. This content is far higher in Robusta coffee than it is in Arabica coffee. As you may know, a high level of caffeine intake is not healthy so you may want to consider this information when you are deciding what type of coffee to drink.

Where are they grown?

There are some coffee growing countries where both Robusta and Arabica beans are grown, such as Brazil and India. However, more generally you will find that Robusta beans are commonly grown in Africa and Indonesia whereas Arabica beans are predominantly grown in South America. Interestingly, Robusta beans are far easier to grow. They are less susceptible to problems caused by adverse weather conditions or pests. They also produce a higher yield at a faster pace.

A higher cost for Arabica

As you can possibly imagine, Arabica coffee is usually more expensive to purchase. The beans are harder to grow so it makes sense that the coffee itself is more difficult to produce. This contributes to the higher sales price.

As you can see, there are several differences between Robusta coffee and Arabica coffee. Overall, Arabica tends to be the preferred flavour with many but Robusta coffee tends to be more common and affordable. It’s also worth noting that some people find the taste of Arabica coffee a little too sweet, whereas the harshness of Robusta beans can sometimes make a positive addition to a blend.

When it comes to taste preference between the two types of coffee the choice is down to personal preference. There is something to be said for both flavour sensations but do not forget that Robusta coffee has much higher caffeine content.

Lengcha Recipe| Langcha (With Milk powder)

October 25, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Diwali means sweets for us , we make sweets more than savories. I am here with another sweet which was a great hit and everyone who had showered me with compliments. I thought of making something different and one of the most awaited in my to do list makes it to blog today. Yes these langchas recipe were in my to do list and here I am finally . Langchas recipe are generally paneer based sweet tastes and looks very similar to gulab jamun but shaped differently. These traditional bengali sweet are my recent fav as they taste heavenly , just melts in mouth . Though the the traditional recipe calls for paneer and mawa I have made these using milk pd and heavy cream as I did for my Makan Peda recipe. You can call this is Instant lengcha recipe . I will also share the traditional recipe someday.

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Kesar Malai Ladoo | Malai Ladoo Recipe( With Ricotta Cheese)

October 20, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Today am sharing a very easy to make ladoo which was a experiment , with very simple ingredient this ladoo recipe may sound very simple but needs a tiny amount of patience too. I love ladoos a lot , I have made Til ka ladoo, Boondi ladoo, Pori urundai and many dal ladoos which is not in blog yet. I made this delicious and melt in mouth like of ladoo yesterday and shared some with my friends, they all were nice and gave me a very gud feed back. Malai Ladoo traditionally are made with paneer but here I have tried making them with Ricotta cheese and with other very simple ingredients.The mild kesar flavor in these ladoos are perfect to indulge. I clicked them in 1/2 hour that I got in between running to pick my daughter from the school bus stop, Now a days I get very less time to click pictures hope I have done justice to these yummy ladoos and yeah presenting you . Now moving on to the recipe, hope you will enjoy it like we did.

It is raining diwali already in blog world , and I am also thinking for making some diwali special recipes for blog. I barely get time to write a blog though I have a lot to post on draft. Yesterday I had this urge in my mind, it said go to your kitchen and cook something not for you or anyone but just for your blog though what so ever I make will be shared without any excuse, I most often share the sweets I make so that am not over loaded with the sweets gaining those extra fats settling on the obvious part of the body which is my tummy .

Kesar Malai Ladoo

Category	Preparation time Cook Time
Ladoo	10 mins 20- 30 mins

Ingredients

Ricotta cheese – 15 Oz (425 gms)

Condensed Milk – 1 tin

Heavy Cream – 1/2 cup

Milk – 2 tbsp

Saffron Strands – few

Pistachios – for Garnish

Yellow color – A pinch ( optional)

Method

In a small bowl add the saffron strands and warm milk. Keep it aside till needed.
In a pan put ricotta cheese and cook it till it loosens up.
Then add condensed milk and heavy cream.
Keep on stiring in the mixture in a low heat for 10-15 mins.
After the mixture thickens up a bit and you can see the butter from the cream oozing out.
Add the saffron Milk mixture ( also yellow color if needed) and stir constantly. Be careful and make sure you stir it continuously as the mixture can stick on the bottom and cause burning.
At a point the ladoo mixture will no longer stick to the pan and comes together while stiring, then switch off the flame.
Transfer the ladoo mixture to a plate and cool them completely.
Cover it with a cling wrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour so that it is easy to make the ladoos.
Take out the mixture and make equal sized ladoos and stick some saffron strands and pistachios for garnish on each ladoo.
Keeps well in fridge for 3-4 days . It is just perfect melt in mouth kinda of ladoo.

Kondakadalai Masala Sundal | Chickpea Sundal Recipe

October 7, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Its that time of the year when your friends invite you to watch the golu in their home and make delicious different varieties of sundal each day. As a kid I used to enjoy going to see golu in our neighbors place and after singing and dancing the treats or prashadams were distributed . As you know in my last post I had shared a aromatic masala mix to be used in the sundal . I have used the Sundal podi o make this delicious Kondakadalai masala sundal. If you are spicy food lover like me then this masla sundal adds up a deliciousness to the simple sundal..If the podi is ready and the chickpea is cooked it just takes less than 5 mins to make this sundal.

Last year we had a 80 year old mami invited us to watch her golu she was geetha sridhars mother

If you know geetha sridhar the master chef fame .. Her mom was in our neighborhood and she called us for golu last year in India :).. This year am missing my friends who have moved from the place. Navratri is a wonderful celebration each one celebrates in their own way.. So here is the recipe of the day . I just placed a miniature golu set for photography can you see.. My hubby appreciated my presence of mind to do it for the picture which is perfect for the season . Moving on to the recipe which is perfect for the season..

Kondakadalai Masala Sundal

Category	Preparation time Cook Time
Sundal	Over night 10 mins

Ingredients

Chickpea/ Kondakadalai – 1/2 cup

Urad dhal – 1 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
Whole red chillies/ Green chillies – 2 nos ( adjust them as required)

Curry Leaves – 2-3 nos

Grated Coconut – 2 tbsp

Sundal Podi -1- 2 tbsp ( click here for recipe)
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt as needed Method

Soak chickpea or garbanzo beans over night.
Drain the water and then add fresh water to the beans and pressure cook them with little salt.
Pressure cook them for 2 whistle , My pressure cooker is wide so 2 whistle are perfect for perfectly cooking the chickpea. They should be mashable only when you press them.
Note :For making sundal it important that the beans you have cooked should not be over cooked.
In the pan heat oil and add mustard seeds.
Let them splutter and then add urad dhal and whole red chilli or green chilli , saute them till light brown.
Add the curry leaves, then add the cooked chickpea and them mix well.
Add salt as needed and also the sundal masala pd .
Saute them for few minutes till all the masala get coated on the chickpea.
Add grated coconut in the end and mix them well.
Serve it hot. Tastes best when served hot.

Sundal Podi |Curry Powder Recipe

October 7, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Sundal Podi is made with dhals and daily use spices, they can be used for poriyals or stir fries too. Sundal podi can e added while making any kind of sundal made with pulses. This simple curry powder can elate the taste of a bland sundal to a masaledar sundal and tastes more yummy.For the people who are looking for a spicy type of sundal this powder is perfect to add in. Now lets move on to the recipe.

Sundal is a south Indian healthy snack made on auspicious days like Navratri or any festival as a neivedhiyam or prashad or offerings for god. There are many variety of sundal made with almost all the pulses, it is one healthy way to celebrate the occasion. Protein rich sundal are perfect for all ages and if you are looking some protein rich healthy snack then sundal must be perfect snack you are looking for. I remember the days when we visit to kovil or temple and exit with a handful of delicious sundal it was more than auspicious.. Some people may not like the bland taste of the sundal but here is the masala podi for those who love to add some extra spice to the sundal.

Sundal podi

Category : Spice Powder

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp Toor dhal – 1 tbsp Urad dhal – 1 tbsp Channa Dhal – 1 tbsp Whole red chilli – 9 – 10 nos ( adjust as needed) Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp Salt a pinch Method In a pan dry roast all the ingredients till it gets roasted. The raw smell of the ingredients must go off. Cool the roasted ingredients and then grind them in a mixture to fine powder. Store the powder in a air tight container and use it when making sundal. Note : Adjust the spice level according to your taste .

Kovil Pulioyodharai | Puli sadam | Tamarind Rice Recipe

September 30, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Kovil Pulioyodharai who doesn’t love to have a dhonai full of temple style puli sadam. I have some nostalgic memories of style childhood. Born in a south indian state so I have experienced all the south indian rituals , we so visit the south indian temples and the offerings are passed to us in the form of prashadam .. There are so many rice varieties offer to got in south indian temples and they are made in very large quantity so that no one goes empty hand. Even though the quantity is more taste is equally delicious and after a prayer you will walk out of the temple with happy tummy too. Puli sadam, curd rice, lemon rice, all varieties sundals, kozhukattais all are offered to god in some festive occasions. Kovil puliyodharai is completely different to taste and it is the best way to make delicious puli sadam.

In my college day a friend of my used to bring this puliyodharai in a paper parcel when ever we had culturals , her mom used to make it and it was the best puliyodharai I ever had. So recently I was talking to the same friend I happen ask her the recipe and she happily got the recipe from her mom just to share with me. I tried this Puliyodharai 2-3 times , I have made it with normal rice and then recently I made it with basmati rice. I love it both the ways. Puli kachal is something which can be made and stored in refrigerator for one month it keeps well for long period. That is one reason this rice is perfect to pack for long travels. In the early years when we used to go to rajasthan by train puli sadam was a must to pack with lemon rice appalam , poori.. This is the perfect lunch box recipe too , if you are planning to make the pulikachal ahead it is so easy to mix up with rice and pack them with potato fry or appalam. The aromatic Puliyodharai mix is the key to make this puliyodharai the kovil style.Now moving on to the delicious recipe of making Puliyodharai.

Kovil Puliyodharai

Category	Preparation time Cook Time
Rice Varities	15 mins 20 mins

Ingredients

Rice – 2 cups ( I used basmati . You can also us normal rice)

Tamarind – A small sweet lime or large lemon size or mosambi size

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dhal – 1 tsp

Groundnuts – 3 tbsp ( Roasted and remove the skin)

Cashews – 2-3 nos

Asafoetida pd – a pinch

Red chilli pd – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp

Oil – 3 tbsp

Salt to taste

Puliyodharai Mix Powder

Coriander seeds / Kothamalli veedai – 1/4 cup

Whole Red chilli/ Vara Milagai- 20 no’s

Toor dal / Tuvaram Paruppu- 2 tsp

Channa dal/ Kadalai paruppu -2 tsp

White Sesame seeds/ Ellu – 2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds/ Vendayam – 1/4 tsp

Pepper corn/ Milagu -1 tsp

Cumin seeds/ Jeera – 1 tsp

Method

In dry pan roast all the ingredients under puliyodharai mix powder together in a low flame till it gets roasted.
Cool down the roasted ingredients and grind them to powder. You can store this powder in airtight container and use it as needed.
In a bowl soak tamarind with 1 cup water for 15 mins. Mash the tamarind nicely in the water and them extract the tamarind juice.
In a pan heat oil add mustard seeds, let them splutter and then add Asafoetida, urad dal , ground nuts.
Saute them till light brown. Add the tamarind extract , red chilly pd , turmeric pd,salt to taste and then let it boil till the water evaporates and the mixture get thickens ( not too thick) .
The oil will float on top of the puli kachal. Now it is time to add 2-3 tbsp or as needed of the prepared puliyodharai mix pd.
Now mix the pulikachal in the cooked rice and mic it will till all the rice gets coated with the pulikachal.
You can enjoy it hot or cold with some appalam or potato fry .
If you allow the pulikachal mixed with the rice to rest for some time before you serve it will taste more better the more the time you give the more tastier it will be.
For garnish fry the cashew in oil/ ghee till light brown and then use them for garnish.

Note:

You can make the puli kachal ahead and store it in refrigerator for a month too.
You can either serve the rice warm or cold, they taste good either way.
You can make the puliyodharai mix pd ahead and store it in airtight container for 2-3 weeks.

Vangi Bhath Recipe | Brinjal Rice |Kathirikai Sadam

September 21, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

I love to have rice any time than phulkas , I know rice is not a healthy option but atleast once in a day we love to have rice. As I love rice i love to make variety rice and not the usual dal chawal , rasam chawal or kadhi chawal. I and my mom our big fans of brinjal, my mom makes delicious brinjal peanut curry and also how can i forget the kathirikai karakuzhambu . Today’s recipe is delicious and aromatic rice from south India, It is almost made in all parts of south India and each state has its own variations. I have made Vangi bhath couple of time and this recipe is my fav. Vangi bhath is made in different methods the karnataka method is to make the curry and mix with the cooked rice and the maharastrian version is make the curry with goda masala and cook the rice with the brinjals. After so many days am happy to blog , I have some array fo rice recipes in my draft. Wish me luck to be regular in blogging so that you see the array coming :).. Lets move on to the recipe now..

Vangi Bhath

Category	Preparation time Cook Time
Rice Varities	15 mins 20 mins

Ingredients

Rice – 1 cup

Purple Brinjal/ Green Brinjal -4 no’s ( Medium )

Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp

Hing / Asafoetida – a pinch

Onion – 1 no ( Medium)

Tomato – 1 no (Medium)

Bay leaf – 1 no

Cardamom – 2 no’s
Mustard Seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Vangi Bhath Powder

Channa dal – 1 tbsp

Urad dal – 2 tsp

Coriander seeds – 1 tbsp

Whole red chilli – 4-5 no’s

Pepper corn – 8-9 no

Coconut – 2 tbsp (grated)

White sesame seeds -1/2 tbsp

Cumin seeds / Jeera – 2 tsp

Groundnuts -1 tbsp

Cinnamon – 1 small stick

Cloves -2 no’s

Method

In a pan dry roast all the ingredients required for making Vangi bhath pd.
Cool the dry roasted spices in a plate , after it cools down put it in a mixer and grind to a not so fine no so coarse powder.
Cook the rice in 2 cups water and salt.
Cut the brinjal to 4 slices each and put them in water or butter milk to avoid oxidation
In sauce pan heat oil add bay leaves, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom. Let them splutter.
Add chopped Onions and saute them till translucent.
Add chopped tomatoes and saute them till mushy.
Drain the water and add the cut brinjals and saute till they cook well.

Add the 2-3 tbsp ( or as needed ) of the vangi bhath masala, turmeric pd, hing to the cooked brinjal and saute them well.
Saute the curry till the masala gets cooked and raw smell goes off.
Add the cooked rice to the cooked curry and mix them till it is well combined.

Serve them hot with any raita or some papadams.

Indori Garadu Ki Chaat Recipe | Yucca Chaat

September 9, 2016 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

How was your long weekend and hope you had a wonderful ganapathi pooja . We celebrated a simple ganesh pooja followed by a visit to the near by ganesh ji temple. If you are following me in Fb you would know I made some musical ganesha this year for ganesh pooja. They are miniature ganesha all my friends just loved after seeing them.Sharing some of my creations here.

Ganesh Chathurthi is my fav festival to celebrate. I love making some treats for ganesh and also make some hand made ganesha at home.So what was special bhog/ prasad you make for ganesh pooja??..I made 3 varieties of modak and besan ladoo. Sorry for loading this post with lot of pictures , this is wat happen when you are regular in blogging .. I have so many updates that one post is not enough. Ok let me tell you about today’s recipe.

Garadu is a variety of yam available in Indian , Indori style garadu ki chaat is the famous street food which people love to have in winter season. I didn’t find Garadu so used yucca for making them,you can also use ratalu for making this yummy chaat but traditionally garadu is only used which looks similar to yucca but taste may vary .When I did thali’s for Madhya pradesh I wanted to try this too but didn’t get a chance. I am so happy I made it and my hubby loved it. This chaat is very easy to make and chaat jiralu masala is main ingredient for making the chaat taste delicious.

Garadu Ki Chaat

Category	Preparation time Cook Time
Street Food	10 mins 10-15 mins

Ingredients

Yucca – 1 medium size ( Garadu or Ratalu can also be used)

Oil for Frying

Jiralu masala

Cumin pd- 2 tsp

Red chilli pd- 1/2 tsp

Amchur pd- 1/2 tsp

Chaat masala- 1tsp

Dry ginger pd- 1 1/2 tsp

Himalayan Pink salt / Kala namak – 1/4 tsp

Garam Masala- a pinch

Salt to taste

Method

To Jiralu

Mix all the dry powder’s well in a bowl.
Store this pd in airtight container for several days.
Use it in any chaat.

To make Garadu/ Yucca chaat

Peel the skin from the yucca, slice them into circles.
Heat oil in a kadai, slide in the yucca slices and fry them both side till light brown in low flame.
Remove the fried yucca and transfer it to a kitchen towel.
Let the fried yucca cool for some time.
Make dice sized pieces of the fried yucca slices.
Now again fry them in hot oil till nice and golden brown.
To the hot fried yucca add the jiralu masala and mix it.
Serve them hot or warm.

DIY lamb Cookie | Lamb shaped Cookie Recipe

April 7, 2015 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Easter wishes to everyone .. Some how I though these cookies will be posted on easter but am one day late. My daughter loves easter egg hunt and back there we always had so much fun on easter she really missed it this year. Baked my heart and soul for last 2 weeks last month and am badly missing baking now .. I love baking cookies and cakes , thought cookies are welcoming in my home but cakes take rest after 2-3 slices , am so grateful to those friends around us who constantly support me to finish all my baking there. Now when I was thinking make a cookie I came across this fluffy lamb cookie and I baked them immediately without second thought and they came out so gud. They are so easy to make without any fancy cookie cutter , I just loved how they look .. After baking a array of cookies My daughter still appreciates me when I show her the pics , she wants those cookies so am very happy about my cookies as the QC is done by this special person and of course H is always a specimen if am sharing with my friends even if scores little less than 10 /10 then the dish stay at home and finished by h and the lil one.. so I am glad that I have super keen QC done for my food

. Ok coming to the lamb cookie they are so easy to make as I said earlier and they make a perfect party snack and to go with easter theme they are perfect. I original recipe they used wheat flour but I used ALP , I know wheat flour would have made it more healthier but I made it with ALP for this time and they turned out so yumm. Moving on to the recipe..

Recipe Inspiration : Here

DIY Lamb Cookie

Category	Preparation time	Cook Time
Cookies	15 mins	10 mins

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour – 1 cup

Almond pd – 2 tbsp (Roast them and powder the almonds with skin)

Butter – 1/2 cup (1 stick) – Room temperature

Confectioners sugar – 1/2 cup

Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp

Milk – 1 tbsp ( if needed)

Cocoa Pd – 1- 2 tsp

Method

In a bowl take the soften butter and cream it well with the sugar till combined.
Add the all purpose flour , almond pd , vanilla extract and mix them well to form a dough , if the mixture is dry add milk and make it to dough.
Divide the dough to 2/3 rd and 1/3 rd part . Add cocoa pd to the 1/3 rd part of the dough and mix them well till combined.
Pre heat the oven at 350 F for 10 -15 mins
Pinch the white dough to form small size dough balls and arrange them side by side on the parchment paper for the body. Use the chocolate dough for making head , ears and legs..
Use a tooth pick to make eyes and and press a line on the legs and ears.
Bake the cookies at 350 F for 10 – mins till you see slight brown in the corners.
The white part in the cookie will spread so no need to worry about any gaps while arranging and the lamb will become more fluffy after baking.
Let the cookies cook on the cookie tray for a while and then transfer them to a wire rack.
Dust some sugar to make it look white and fluffy. Store them in a sir tight container and enjoy.

Before Baking

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51

An InLinkz Link-up

Channa Masala Pulao Recipe | Channa Pulao ~Lunch Recipes

March 17, 2015 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Channa masala Pulao is one my family fav as we love white kabuli channa / Chickpea , Instead of making channa masala always I love to include them in rice and do a masala rice which is masala pulao. This pulao with all masala and chickpeas taste so delicious , a perfect treat if you love spicy food but yes it can be prepared with mild spice level too. I prefer basmati for making pulaos they look and taste yumm. This pulao can had with any kind of raita , I always enjoy them with vegetable raita. Now lets move to the recipe. click here for more info

Channa Masala Pulao

Category	Preparation time	Cook Time
Rice Varities	Over night	20 mins

Ingredients

Cooked rice – 1 cup (basmati preferably)

Cooked chick peas – 1/2 cup ( cook chickpeas in pressure cooker with little amount of salt and water till the immerse for 3 whistles)

Cardamom – 2

Cloves – 4

Cinnamon stick – 1 inch pieces

Bay leaf – 1 no

Onions 1 medium ( chopped)

Tomato 1 medium (chopped)

Curry leaves- 2 sprigs

Green chilli – 1 slit

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Cumin pd – 1/4 tsp

Red Chill pd – 1/4 tsp

Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder 1 1/2 tsp

Pav bhaji Masala – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Chopped coriander/cilantro leaves – For garnish

Method

Heat oil in a pan, add the curry leaves, bay leaf, cinnamon , cloves .
Now add the green chilli and onions , Saute them till onion turn transparent,.Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute well
Add the tomato and cook them till they are mushy . Add some water if needed to make a smooth paste.
Add all the dry pd spices – Red chilli pd, turmeric pd, cumin pd, pav bhaji pd to the well cooked tomatoes and saute well till combined .
Add the cooked chick peas and mix well till the masala’s coat on the chick pea / chole
Add salt to taste ( remember that you have added and saute them for a minute .
Add the cooked rice and mix well till all the rice grains combine and coated with the prepared masala.
Sprinkle some chopped coriander leaves just before serving.
Serve hot with any raita and papads.

Note

You can use sambhar pd instead of pav bhaji masala and they taste yummy even .
The amount of spice are given as per our family tastes you can change the quantity as per your families taste buds .

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