Recipes

Recipes Tested and Tried from my Kitchen.The recipes will include appetizers, sweets, main dish, side dish,vegan recipes all around the world.

Sweet Appam (Made with molasses and yeast )

May 1, 2013 By

SNC Challenge -7

Hi my dear SNC group !!!Am so happy to complete the 7th challenge …As you all know there is an event going on +Divya Pramil space You Too Can Cook .. The event is all about two teams north and south team ..A member from north team and a member south team respectively will challenge the opposite team members with a recipe from their respective zone and opposite teams have to post the same recipe on their Blog .. this takes place every month .. The idea of this event is that we learn so many different recipes from different zones .. Hats off to divya for this great idea .. click here to partcipate

An update on whats going on till now in SNC challenge:

Challenge 1– October month’s challenge

North team Host shruti dhingra from ” shruti’s rasoi”- Bhel puri
South team Host divya from “Divya’s culinary journey “- Mysore pak

WINNER
NORTH TEAM

Challenge 2– November month’s challenge

North team host Pallavi from “cook -eat- burrp” – Gulab jamun
South team host Yashodha from “yashodha’s kitchen” – Adhirasam

WINNER
SOUTH TEAM

Challenge 3– December month’s challenge

North team Host Meena from ” Random rambling ” – Misal pav
South team Host Sherin from ” Kuk’s kitchen” – Medu vada

WINNER
SOUTH TEAM

Challenge 4– Janurary month’s challenge
North team Host ” me ” (Manjula bharath) from “Desi fiesta” – Rajasthani mini ghevar topped with kesar rabdi
South team Host Ramya from ” Lemon Kurry” – Vada curry

WINNER
SOUTH TEAM

Challenge 5 – February month’s challenge

North team’s host Sanoli from Sanoli’s recipes- Green pea kachori with dum aloo
South teams’s host Tamil from Tamil’s kitchen- paal kozhukattai

Challenge 6 – March month’s challenge

North team’s host Kirti Choudhary Kardam from Flavour’s from my kitchen- Chana Dal Halwa/Barfi
click here
South team’s host Sawsthi from Indian healthy recipes – Vegetable Hyderbadi Biryani click here

Challenge 7 – April Month’s challenge

North team’s host Hetal from Gjurati zaika- Khandvi click here

South team’s host Shama from Easy2cookrecipes – Palm jaggery aapam click here

This time i was held up with lots of work so did n’t get time at all so am very late this time :(. This months challange is hosted by shama of Easy2cook recipes When i first saw the recipe i felt its going to very delicious but didn’t get proper time to try them. I was searching for the palm jaggery so that i can try the original recipe but didn’t get them. After asking shama she gave so many tips to make these Sweet appams. I was planning to make the original recipe and use molasses and make them for variation from the beginning but as i didn’t get palm jaggery i had to go with this recipe. This even tasted delicious and i loved them 🙂
Thanks to shama for this yummy recipe and i haven’t tried appam before so this was a new experiment in my kitchen . Now lets Move on to the recipe for “Sweet Appam”.

Ingredients

1 cup Parboiled rice / idli rice
1 cups raw rice (chawal)
1/2 cup cooked rice (chawal)
1/2 cup molasses (adjust to your taste buds)
2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1/2 tsp yeast
Ghee or any other refined for greasing and cooking

Method

Wash and soak both the rice for 2 to 3 hours. Drain.
Combine the soaked rice, cooked rice with little water and blend in a mixer till smooth.

Add the sugar and yeast to the little lukewarm and mix well. Keep it aside for 5- 10 mins or till becomes frothy .

Add it to the rice mixture and mix well (the batter should be of dropping consistency). Cover and keep aside for 5-6 hours.

Heat an appam kadhai or a deep non-stick tawa and grease it lightly with oil.
Pour a ladle full of the batter into it and slowly rotate the kadhai in a circular motion so that a thin layer forms on sides.

Cover and cook for a minute, remove the appam when the middle fluffy part is cooked.

Repeat for the remaining batter to make more appams.
Serve hot as is or with some banana slices .

Tips

If you don’t have a appa kadai then you either do it in a dosa tawa or a non-stick kadai( i used a non stick kadai)
You can add 2 tsp urad dhal for making it more fluffy skiping the yeast.
I added yeast so that it makes the batter ferment sooner.
If you ferment the batter over nite you will have a fully appam ready to make. so its better to frement the batter.
You can also use jaggery in this recipe by making a thick jaggery syrup and adding to the batter instead of molasses.
Use a skewer to lift the sides of appam and then lift it with your hand.

Sending to @Tangyminds.

Sending Mj delights

Sending to virundhu unna vaanga

Dal Palak

April 30, 2013 By

Am here with another healthy dal variety from Homely Food . This is a healthy version of dal which is had with steamed rice. Its is really easy to make and comforting food. As my H likes palak i make this dal often and its our favourite . Dal palak is an healthy combo of spinach and lentils which make this recipe a very healthy side for rice or roti. Lets move on to the recipe quickly 🙂

Ingredients

4 cups/ 1 bunch tightly packed Spinach
1 cup Pigeon Peas (Tuvar/Toor dal)
1 tsp Red chilli pd
1/4 tsp Turmeric pd
1/2 tsp Cumin pd
1 tsp Coriander pd
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1-2 tsp Sambar Powder,or as per taste- optional
1 no medium sized- onion
Tamarind – 1 small lemon size (soak it warm water and remove the extract)
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste

For Tempering

1 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 tsp Urad dal, split and skinned (black gram lentil)
1-2 Dried Red Chilli
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
A pinch of Asafoetida Powder
Salt to taste
Oil / ghee- 2 tbsp

Method

While you can cook your lentils on stove top, But pressure cooker makes things easier and faster so i use pressure cooker. Add 2-1/2 cups water to the pigeon peas along with turmeric and cook for 8-10 minutes (3-4 whistles).
While that’s cooking, chop off the ends/roots from the fresh spinach .
Fill your basin with water and drop the leaves until they are fully submerged in water and clean them.
Now chop the leaves, In a pan add 1 tsp of oil and saute onion till transparent, add ginger garlic paste saute for a while and then add the spinach and saute slightly. Add all the dry masala’s redchilli pd , turmeric pd, cumin pd, coriander pd and sambhar pd. Mix them well.
Remove the cooked pigeon peas from the pressure cooker.
Mash it lightly with the a spatula/spoon.
Add it to the spinach mixture and also add the tamarind extract .Mix until combined.
For the tempering, heat the ghee/oil in a pan. Add the red chillies, cumin seeds, urad dhal , mustard seeds and asafoetida.
When the seeds crackle, pour the tempering over the cooked dal. Add the chopped coriander, mix well and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
Serve hot with steamed rice.

Tips

You can use lemon juice instead of tamarind extract.
You can even make this dal palak with moong dal that even tastes more delicious.

Thank you for the delicious recipe meenu anuty 🙂

Sending to Homely Food

Sending to virundhu unna vaanga

Sending to Cook eat burrp and Swathi

Dill leaves Chutney

April 29, 2013 By

Made this delicious variety chutney for bread rolls and this was lovely combo :). My h and I loved this combo and this flavorful chutney was a great hit. You can serve this with any snack of your choice and this compliments the snack well. Dill leaves are so nutrition and healthy so i like to add them as much as possible .Lets quickly see how to make this quick and easy chutney .

Ingredients

1 Cup Dill leaves, chopped with stem
1/2 Cup Grated Coconut
1 Cup Coriander leaves, chopped with stem
2 Green Chillies
1″ piece Ginger
1/2 tsp Lemon
1/2 tsp salt

Method

Wash Dill and coriander leaves.
Grind all ingredients till well combined and form a paste .
Serve with Dosa, Idli, or any snack.

Tips

You can even temper them with mustard seeds , urad dal and curry leaves for much more flavor and taste.

Sending to virundhu unna vaanga

Sending to Cook’s joy

Ginger Melon Punch

April 29, 2013 By

Today am going to share the recipe of our guest in Jagruti’s potluck party . I was paired with nayana of Nayana’s kitchen and she brought for us an refreshing drink “Ginger Melon Punch” which was very appealing and colorful treat as soon as i saw the recipe want to try them ASAP. Thank you to nayana for helping me out to with the alternative can be done in the same recipe 🙂 . I haven’t tried Ginger and melon combo before so i was very curious in tasting those colorful drink and so made it at last. 🙂

Ingredients

4 cups seedless watermelon cubes, divided
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger
9 (1-inch) seedless watermelon balls
1 cup sparkling lemon water, chilled
ice cubes, optional

Method

Put 4 cups watermelon in a blender; process until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a pitcher; discard solids.
Just press the grated ginger on a strainer and take out as much juice as you can.
Combine Ginger juice , sugar in a bowl; stir with a whisk until sugar dissolves and mix this into the water melon juice.
Pour 3/4 th glass with the melon juice and top them with watermelon balls then stir in lemon sparkling water just before serving.

Note : As I don’t have any special scope too make the melon balls i used Measuring spoon to make melon balls .

Serve over cracked or crushed ice, if desired.

Thank you Nayana for this refreshing drink !! Cheers to all the guests who are present for ” Jagruti’s potluck party “

Sending to Jagruti’s potluck party

Sending to virundhu unna vaanga

Sending to My Home mantra and Gayathir’s cook spot

Sending to @Tangyminds.

Toor Dal Ladoo (Come On – Lets Cook Buddies) Entry 23

April 28, 2013 By

Hey friends !! Here am with another entry for my event “Come On – Lets Cook Buddies” . She has been constantly sharing innovative and delicious recipes, working really hard for this event . Thank you for the wonderful response dear . Now every one will be knowing this Participant … Yes its +Aishwarya Srinivasan 🙂 . Lets see what +Aishwarya Srinivasan has got for us today 🙂 She will start by sharing a cooking tip.

Over to +Aishwarya Srinivasan

Cooking Tip

When making puris or vadas add little salt to the oil so that they would not absorb too much of oil.

Introduction

Toor dal ladoo is a very simple and healthy recipe. It is rich in protein and good for kids.

Ingredients

Toordal – 1 cup

Powdered Jaggery – 1 cup

Melted Ghee – 1/2 cup

Method of Preparation

Dry roast toor dal on a medium flame until golden brown color. Switch off the heat and allow it to cool.
Grind the roasted toor dal into a coarse or fine powder.
Add the powdered jiggery and grind them again.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl and add the warm melted ghee and mix them very well.
Shape the mixture into small round balls. Store in a airtight container.

Variation

You can also add some nuts to this.

Stay tuned for more such yummy recipes 🙂 From our non- blogger friends in “Come On-Let Cook Buddies”

Papaya Banana Smoothie

April 28, 2013 By

Hi friends !!! Am back with yummy recipes and healthy drink 🙂 .Am so happy today to share this recipe from my friends space . This blogosphere is so huge and i never dreamt that i will come across so many wonderful persons who are great friends of mine now. Thanks to all my bloggers and virtual friends who so kind in encouraging me and give me ideas now and then . Today am going to share a recipe from my very sweet buddy +Sangeetha M author of Spicy treats :).

Her blog is filled with so many innovative and yummy recipes i have already tried her ” Orange blueberry muffins “ which my H i loved it :). Today am sharing another healthy drink recipe from her blog which i loved and enjoyed a lot .

Recipe Source : Spicy treats

Ingredients

Papaya – 1 cup (chopped)
Banana-1 no medium
Milk – 1 cup
Sugar or Honey – 2 tsp (adjust to your taste buds)

Method

Wash,Peel the skin and roughly chop the riped papaya and keep aside and also chop the bananas.
In a blender,add chopped papaya and banana ,Pulse the blender till they are well blended.
Then add milk and sugar/honey and blend them again.
Transfer the smoothie to a serving glass,add ice cubes if needed.
For garnish you can chop some papaya and sprinkle on top

Tips

You can even top some vanilla ice cream on top .

Sangee even shared a beauty tip with this post which i wanted to spread 🙂 If you are using honey for this smoothie just apply in your face for few minutes and your face will glow and becomes soft . Loved this yummy combo so much 🙂

Hot And Sweet Cauliflower Curry (Come on – Lets Cook buddies ) Entry 22

April 25, 2013 By

Today am back with another lovely entry for my event ” Come On – Lets Cook Buddies” 🙂 She is a lovely blogger and cute mom of cute kids . Her photography always stunned me … Yes Nalini from “Nalini’s kitchen” is here behalf of her sister “Punithavathy Saravanan” . I was getting all the approvals when Nalini said Nalini’s sister too wanted to join this event, But she had a problem of not been able to send the pics. As Nalini said my sis lives in a place where there is lot of internet problem i accepted the request and she made her sister’s recipe and clicked some pics. As you all know i wanted to give a chance to all non blogger’s who are passionate for cooking and its not the pic but the recipe will be winning at the end of the contest 🙂 So Lets move on and know more about punitha sis 🙂

Hi Punitha sis !! tell us something interesting about you ?

Hi I am Punithavathy Saravanan lives in Ooty in a joined family. Cooking is my passion and like to to try new recipes.My passion towards my cooking has increased after my marriage as my husband is foodie who loves to try different cuisines.

Thank you Punitha sis 🙂 So nice knowing about you 🙂

Picture courtesy – +Nalini suresh author of “Nalini’s kitchen”

Introduction

Today’s recipe is a simple cauliflower curry with a slight sweet,tangy and spicy taste which goes very well with pulao and rotis. This recipe is one of my family’s favorite which I make it often..

Ingredients

Cauliflower florets-2 cups
Onion(finely chopped)-1 medium size
Tomato(finely chopped) – 1 no medium size
Chilly powder-1 tsp
Coriander powder-11/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
Garam masala powder-1/4 tsp
Corn flour-2 tsp
Hot and sweet sauce-2 tbsp
Curry leaves-1 sprig
Coriander leaves-2 tbsp
Oil-1tbsp
Salt-to taste

To grind

Garlic-5 cloves
Ginger-1 inch piece
Tomato-1 no.

Method

Put the cauliflower florets in a boiling water and keep it covered 2-3 minute and drain the water,grind the given ingredients to a fine paste.
Heat a pan with oil and saute the chopped onion and curry leaves till transparent then add the tomato and cook it till mushy.Now add the ground paste and saute it till the raw smell disappears.

At this stage add all the powders,corn flour,sauce and salt,give it a mix.Add 1/4 cup of water and allow it to boil.

Add the cauliflower florets and mix it well and keep it in a medium flame,in between stir it gently.Once the cauliflower gets completed cooked add the coriander leaves and put off the fire.

Serve it pulao or roti.

Stay tuned for more such yummy recipe’s from our non-blogger friends 🙂

So till then “COME ON – LETS COOK BUDDIES”

Cantaloupe Soymilk shake (Come On – Lets Cook Buddies) Entry 21

April 22, 2013 By

Hi friends !! hope you all are enjoying all the recipes being shared by our non – blogger friends 🙂 I have rush now as my drafts are over flowing and i have so much to do :). Feeling so happy when i try all the recipes been submitted for this contest “Come On – Lets Cook Buddies” . Glad that all participants have given been lots of feed backs about the event and they are so looking for their recipes to be published at my space . Thanks to all those participants for the wonderful support you have been giving and have been patiently spending time to share their recipes here. My dear readers thank you a ton for all the encouraging words ..Lets Move on to today’s recipe . Today’s recipe is shared by +Aishwarya Srinivasan . She has got an delicious and yummy drink to share with us today. Lets move on to this interesting recipe which our well known participant have got to share with us today.

Aishwaraya will start with an interesting cooking tip .. Over to her

To preserve lemons for a longer duration, coat them with coconut oil and refrigerate them in an open container.

Introduction

Shake Summer Heat With Cantaloupe Soymilk shake. Cantaloupe is an excellent source of Vitamin A.

Ingredients

Chopped Cantaloupe (melon) – 1/2 cup

Soymilk – 1 cup

Honey – 1 tbsp.

Flax Seed – 1 tsp (optional)

Method of Preparation

Add chopped melon, soymilk, honey and flax seed in a blender.
Blend it without any lumps.
Serve cold with whipping cream topping.

Variation

If u wish, you can add a scoop of vanilla Ice-cream on top.

So am going to rush in to my draft and will come with another interesting entry been shared for my event “Come on – Lets Cook Buddies” ..

Raw mango rasam

April 22, 2013 By

Am back with a tangy tasty rasam / south Indian soup variety . Rasam is my favorite when its cold out and love to serve this warm soup for my family so that they are attacked by any cold and flu. Rasam is a south India favorite which is present in every south Indian meal. This is another variation of rasam which i experimented and turned out yumm 🙂 lets move on to the delicious variety of Rasam ..

Ingredients

Raw ripe mango – 1
Tamarind – small lemon size ( soaked in warm water for 10 min and strain the tamarind juice)
Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Cumin Pd- 1 tsp
Rasam Powder -1 tsp (or adjust to your taste)
Pepper pd- 1/4 tsp
Red chilli -3
Grated jaggery – 1 tsp (optional)
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Oil – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
A pinch of hing
Chopped fresh coriander leaves

Method

Wash, peel and cut the mango into medium size pieces. Put the mango pieces, turmeric and half cup of water in a pressure cooker or you can use a microwave too to cook the mango pieces .
Cook till 3 whistles. Turn off the flame and wait until the pressure go off. Then remove the mango pieces from the cooker. When it cools down, mash the mango pieces with fingers (don’t mash them all leave little bits ).
Put the mango pulp, salt, rasam powder, grated jaggery (optional), tamarind water, chopped coriander leaves and 2-3 cups water in a bowl .
Now heat half teaspoon of oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, when they start to splutter add hing and red chilli and stir for few seconds and add the liquid mixture.
Let it cook for 10 to 15 minutes a medium flame or till it boils and remove from the heat and don’t over boil it . Turn off the flame . Mix well and serve hot with steamed rice .

Tips

I used raw ripe mango for a little sweet taste so didn’t add jaggery.
If you are using raw mango then for balancing the tanginess of tamarind and mango you can add jaggery or sugar.
You can also make dal mango rasam / paruppu raw mango rasam by adding toor dal to this recipe.

Sending to virundhu unna vaanga

Green Monster Smoothie (Come On – Lets cook Buddies) Entry 20

April 20, 2013 By

Am here with another entry for my event ” Come on – Lets Cook Buddies” . So happy with response am getting for this event still new participants are joining and i am awestruck with the entries they are sending me .. Some recipes are very unique and i haven’t tried at all.. Am in the mission to try all the recipes am getting for this contest and re-post it giving credits to my participants once this event entries gets over and i announce the winner 🙂 .. Thanks to all participants for the great support and my dear readers for the encouraging words 🙂 🙂 This entry is sent by +Aishwarya Srinivasan . Lets quickly look for the recipe of this healthy drink without further ado :).

Introduction

This is not scary green monster , its yummy green monster…It is an Easy and Healthy Smoothie, especially for kids. A wonderful way to give Spinach to kids. If your kid is ready to learn cooking, u can start with this simple recipe. Yes, My kid helped me to make this recipe 🙂