Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Sathu maavu

Sathu means nutrition and maavu means flour.
This is a nutritious powder used to make porridge. This porridge is usually given to infants (6+ months), although it can be equally enjoyed by adults too.

Ingredients:
  1. Parboiled rice/Parboiled Red rice 200g
  2. Broken Samba wheat 200g
  3. Fried gram/Pottu kadalai/Kadle pappu 100g
  4. Green gram 100g
  5. Ragi/Kezhvaragu/Finger millet 200g
  6. Bajra/Sajje/Kambu/Pearl millet 100g
  7. Harka/Varagu/Kodo millet 100g
  8. Saame/Saamai/Little millet 100g
  9. Jowar/Jola/Cholam/Sorghum 100g
  10. Makka cholam/maize/corn 100g
  11. Barley 50g
  12. Sago 50g
  13. Groundnuts - 2 tsp.
  14. Almonds - 2 tsp.
  15. Cashews - 2 tsp.
Roast all above ingredients separately and grind together in mill.

Note:
All millets other than ragi (6-10) and barley and sago are optional. The more, the better. In case you do not find a variety of millets, you can compensate for them by using ragi in a higher quantity, say 500g.
You might also want to germinate and dry the ragi before grinding it.
Also groundnuts, almonds and cashews are optional and not to be added if you want a longer shelf life. You can grind only the nuts separately at home and add them as and when you prepare the porridge.
You may add around 50-100 grams of sprouted soya bean also, but I don't prefer it personally, since it is not a native bean.

To prepare the porridge add 2 heaped spoons of the powder to half a cup of cold water and dissolve such that no lumps are formed. Add milk and any sweetener (sugar or jaggery or fruit pulp) and stir again till no lumps are seen. Heat it slowly on stove and keep stirring continuously so as not to form any lumps. When it boils ( when you can see it bubbling lightly), switch off.

Monday, October 27, 2014

Radish leaves chutney


As part of our amatuer gardening efforts, G and I grew radish in our balcony. After 2 months of nurturing, we decided to harvest them. The radishes are stowed away for Sambhar, while I turned the leaves into chutney.
This is a recipe given by my m-i-l. Radish leaves are supposed to be beneficial for recovery from jaundice. If you are finicky about taste, a bit of warning: Do not expect this to be yummy. It tastes a little coarse and leafy, but makes for a good change from the regular chutneys.



Ingredients:
  1. Radish leaves - 20-25
  2. Chana Dal - 5-6 tsp.
  3. Urad Dal - 5-6 tsp.
  4. Red chillies - 3
  5. Garlic - 8 pods
  6. Jeera - 1 tsp.
  7. Tamarind - a small 1/2 inch piece
  8. Grated coconut - 5-6 tsp.
  9. Oil - 3-4 tsp.
  10. Salt - to taste
Procedure:
  1. Wash the radish leaves and chop them coarsely.
  2. In a kadai, heat oil and roast the chana dal and urad dal on low-medium flame till they turn lightly golden.
  3. Throw in the red chillies, garlic pods and jeera and sauté for ten more seconds on low-medium flame.
  4. Transfer the contents in the kadai to a mixie and grind to a powder.
  5. Meanwhile in the kadai which is smeared with the oil used for roasting, sauté the radish leaves. If required, add one or two more spoonsful of oil to the kadai before that. After sautéing the leaves will shrink and give out water.
  6. Add the sautéed leaves, tamarind, salt and grated coconut to the powder in the mixie and grind again to make a slightly coarse, but homogeneous paste. Add very little water if required to achieve the required consistency.