Guacamole

 3 large ripe avocados - remove seed and scoop out pulp. Pulp should be easily scoopable.

Fat green chillies - 2 or 3 - use jalapeno peppers if available - very finely chopped

Garlic - very finely chopped - 7-8 pods

Coriander leaves - a handful

Crushed black pepper - 1/2 tsp.

Half a firm red tomato - chopped finely with no seeds.

Half an onion - chopped finely.

Lemon juice, salt, olive oil 

Procedure:

Can be mashed with a fork or spoon, but I prefer to blend. 

Put avocado pulp, coriander leaves ( garlic and green chillies also if you prefer to grind) in a mixie and blend.

Add in crushed black pepper, salt, lemon juice, olive oil.

Stir in the raw onion and raw tomato (can use red bell pepper also)

Pumpkin Soup

Deep yellow or Orange pumpkin - 2 cups peeled and cubed.

Carrots - 1/2 cup peeled and cubed.

Cinnamon, Cumin, Black Pepper.

Milk - 300ml

Onion - 1 large - chopped.

Garlic - 7-8 pods.

Olive oil - 2 tsp.

Turmeric, Thyme, Chilli flakes, Oregano.

Salt.

Pumpkin seeds

Heat oil, add garlic, onion, cinnamon, pepper,  cumin - saute.

Add pumpkin, carrot, turmeric - saute.

Add milk, close and cook.

Cool and puree.

Bring back to pan and add water as required, add turmeric, thyme, chilli flakes, oregano, salt ( experiment with the spices)

Bring to boil.

Garnish with roasted pumpkin seeds

Knolkhol Kurma

Dice knolkhol and cook in pressure cooker for minimum whistle.
Soak in water for 15 mins - 7-8 cashews, 2 tsp poppy seeds.
Grind with 1 tbsp coconut. Keep aside.
In little oil, fry chopped onion, chopped tomato, grind and keep.
In oil, add masala - jeera seeds, saunf seeds, bay leaf, 4 cloves, a piece of cinnamon stick, a pod of cardamon, ginger-garlic paste and fry.
Add tomato- onion paste and fry till rawness is gone.
Add cashew paste and continue to fry. Add the cooked knolkhol with some water.
Add salt, chilli powder, boil for 5-10 mins. Switch off.
Stand the kurma for some time. The longer it stands the better the knolkhol absorbs the masala.

Narthangai Pickle

Ingredients:

1. Citron/Narthangai/Herlekayi - 2 or 3
2. Red chillies - around 10 Guntur chillies + 4-5 Byadagi
3. Gingelly oil - 5-6 tsp.
4. Fenugreek/Methi seeds - 1-2  tsp
5. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
6. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
7. Rock salt - 2 tsp. (Adjust as per taste)
8. Hing/Asafoetida - 1 inch solid piece

Procedure:

1.  Wash and clean the Narthangai. Wipe with a towel and cut into 1 cm cubes. Remove the seeds while chopping.
2.  Add rock salt to the pieces and toss well. Keep covered for 24-48 hours, stirring once in 12 hours. If the Narthangai is not fleshy, you may to wait for 2 more days. The salt will get absorbed, the Narthangai will become tender and will leave out more juice.
3. Dry roast the methi seeds and keep aside.
4. In half tsp. of oil, roast the asafoetida and keep aside.
5. In the same pan fry the red chillies 
6. Powder the above in a dry mixer.
7. In a pan heat the oil. When he oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, switch off. Add the turmeric powder and the ground powder above.
8. Pour this into the soaked Narthangai and stir well.
9. Soak it for 3-4 more days at room temperature and start using it.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Chettinad Khara Chutney

This is a recipe taken from kannammacooks. Adding it here for easy bookmarking.

Keep the following ready - 2 onions chopped into big chunks. 2-3 tomatoes chopped into big chunks. 10 pods of garlic - peeled. You can microwave the garlic for around 20 seconds for easy peeling. 3-4 red chillies.
In a 2-3 litres cooker, add 4-5 spoons of gingelly oil, add all the above ingredients, a small piece of tamarind (one inch strip), a small piece of jaggery and pressure cook for 3 mins or until the first whistle.
Release pressure and grind with required amount of salt.
Chutney is ready.

Maida Halwa

Maida - 2 cups
Sugar - 3.5 - 4 cups
Ghee - 1.5 cups
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp.
Food color orange - 1/4 tsp.
Cashews - 20 chopped into half inch pieces

1. Dissolve 2 cups maida in 3-4 cups of water to form a lump free batter. Strain if required to remove any lumps.
2. Add the food color to a tsp. of water and dissolve well into the maida batter.
3. Roast cashews in 1 tsp. of ghee till they turn golden. Keep aside.
4. In a pan ( I used nonstick) add sugar and 1/2 cup water and start boiling while stirring continuously to form a syrup of 1 string consistency. This takes 7-10 mins on medium flame. Don't bother about exact one string consistency. A thick , lightly sticky syrup should do.
5. Pour in the maida mixture and keep stirring continuously to blend the sugar and maida without lumps. Use medium flame.
6. At one point it will form a single large orange blob and come out of the pan.At this point start adding ghee 1 tsp. at a time and continuing to stir.
7. The ghee will get absorbed readily by the blob as you add. Use the ladle (wooden spatula) to mash the blob and expose maximum surface area of the halwa to the added ghee.
8. At one point the ghee will stop getting absorbed and remain on the sides. Add in the roasted cashews, cardamom powder and stir once.
9. Remove from fire.

You can pour this onto a greased plate while it is hot and cut into slabs like barfi, or store it as is and ladle out with a spoon while serving.
Tastes better when allowed to set for longer time ( around 12 hours)

Variations to be tried:
Add a tbsp. of corn starch to the maida for a glossier texture. Maida can be reduced by 1 tbsp. in that case.
Use yellow food color instead of orange, pineapple essence instead of cardamom powder and tutti fruiti instead of cashews to get a Kerala halwa look.

Tomato Oats Upma

Ingredients:

1. Quaker Oats - 3 tbsp.
2. Tomato - 1 large or 2 small chopped finely
3. Onion - 1 medium chopped finely
4. Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
5. Chilli powder (optional) - 1/2 tsp.
6. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
7. Oil - 2 -3 tsp.
8. Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
9. Ginger-garlic paste (optional) - 1/2 tsp.
10. Curry leaves - 5-6
11. Salt - to taste.

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a kadhai and splutter the mustard seeds. Add ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, curry leaves and saute.
2. Add onions and lightly fry till golden brown.
3. Add tomatoes and stir fry till the tomato becomes pulpy.
4. Add chilli powder, dhania powder and salt.
5. Add oats and stir in. Add around 1 cup of water and boil as you keep stirring.
6. When it reaches the required consistency ( like saffola masala oats), switch off and enjoy it while it is hot.
7.  

Pudina Raita

I made this as a side for the tomato pulao I made today. Just plucked a few sprigs of pudina from the backyard and whipped this up. It is very simple to prepare and has a soothing taste.

Ingredients:

1. Pudina - around 10-15 sprigs
2. Curds - 200 ml
3. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
4. Chilli powder - 1/ tsp.
5. Salt/Black salt - to taste 

Procedure:

1. Separate out the leaves of the pudina, wash thoroughly.
2. Grind them to a paste with a tbsp. of curd,  jeera powder and chilli powder in a mixie.
3. Add this paste to the remaining curd and serve as a side with Biryani/Pulao.

If you do not have jeera powder, dry roast jeera and dry grind it in a mixie first. Add the remaining ingredients to this and continue as per step 2.

Tomato bhath using Red rice

Ingredients:

1. Red Rice - 1.5 cups
2. Tomatoes - 2 large (chopped)
3. Onion - 1 large (chopped long)
4. Oil - 3-4 tsp.
5. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
6. Bay leaf - 1
7. Cinnamon bark - 1 inch piece broken into 2
8. Cloves - 2
9. Ginger- garlic paste - 1 tsp.
10. Green chillies - 2
11. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a pressure pan. Add the cumin seeds, bay-leaf, cloves, cinnamon, ginger-garlic paste, and saute.
2. Add the chopped onions and green chillies and fry for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and saute further for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the red rice and stir well.
5. Add around 3 cups of water and salt as per taste.
6. Cover with lid, put the weight on and wait for 2 whistles and switch off.
7. Serve with raita.

Foxtail millet Khichdi

Ingredients:

1. Foxtail millet - 1 cup
2. Moong dal - 3/4 cup
3. Ghee - 2 tsp.
4. Jeera - 1/2 tsp.
5. Kalonji - 1/4 tsp.
6. Bay leaf - 1 leaf
7. Green chilli - 1
8. Turmeric - 1/4 tsp.
9. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. In a pressure pan, heat ghee, add jeera, kalonji and bayleaf. Add the chopped green chilli.
2. Add moong dal and roast for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add foxtail millet and roast for another minute.
4. Add around 4-5 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder.
5. Close the lid and wait for 3-4 whistles.
6. Stir well and serve.

Kootu

Kootu is a basic TamBrahm dish made with lentils and vegetables.
It contains almost no oil (except for the seasoning), the lentils provide protein and the vegetables provide vitamins, minerals and fiber. All in all, it is one of the healthiest side-dishes to vote for.
It can be eaten as a side dish for chapatti, or eaten with rasam rice. You can even mix it directly with rice and eat it. With the versatility it offers, and the variety of vegetables that can be used in it, we can consider making this almost every alternate day.

The most common vegetables used for kootu are ridge-gourd, chow-chow, cabbage, bottle-gourd, ash-gourd, green leaves ( palak or dhante or any other keerai).

Ingredients:

1. Vegetable of your choice (chopped into 1/2 inch pieces) - 3 cups
2. Moong dal - 1 cup
3. Green chillies - 3 or 4
4. Jeera - 1 tsp.
5. Coconut - 1/4th cup.
6. Oil - 1-2 tsp.
7. Mustard - 1 tsp.
8. Red chilly - 1
9. Urad dal - 1 tsp.
10. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Wash the chopped vegetables and moong dal and cook them together in a pressure cooker, with enough water to cover them. Cook for 2-3 whistles until the dal is soft enough to be mashed.
2. In a mixie, grind together the green chillies, jeera and coconut, with a little water to make a paste.
3. Add this to the cooked vegetable and dal and stir well. Turn on the flame and bring to boil.
4. Add salt as needed.
5. In a skillet, add oil, temper with mustard seeds, red chilly and urad dal, till the urad dal turns slightly brown.
6. Add this to the kootu and turn off the flame.

Fruitcake

Fruitcakes are my favourite among cakes and my whole purpose of learning to bake is to make fruitcakes and savour them.
I modified my previous cake recipe for banana cake a little and ended up with this delicacy that can be a great tea-time snack.


Ingredients:

1. Maida - 1 cup (125 ml)
2. Oil - 3/4 cup (around 90 ml)
3. Sugar - 1 cup (125 ml or 125 grams)
4. Eggs - 3
5. Pineapple essence - 1 tsp.
6. Baking powder - 1/2 to 3/4 tsp.
7. Tutti Fruiti (Red and green)- 50-75 grams
8. Extra flour and oil for greasing and dusting.

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Grease and dust a cake mould (I used olive oil and maida)
3. Sieve the flour and sift it together with baking powder.
4. Take the tutti fruiti in a small bowl, add a little extra flour and toss it to dust the tutti fruiti completely. This is to make sure that the tutti fruiti pieces don't sink to the bottom of the cake while baking.
5. In a mixie, powder the sugar, then add oil to this powdered sugar in the mixie and cream them together to form a runny paste.
6. Add the eggs, one at a time and quickly whisk each time for a few seconds to make sure he eggs are beaten well.
7. Add the pineapple essence and blend it again.
8. Now add the flour to this mixture little by little and fold in using a ladle. You can blend it in the mixie too, but the air trapped into the batter that way will be less.
9. Add the tutti fruiti to this mixture and fold in gently.
10. Pour this batter into the cake mould and bake for around 35-45 minutes, till a knife inserted comes out clean and the crust is slightly browned. (I baked for 45 minutes)
11. Cool it for around half an hour, cut it into slices and store in a container.

Top view

Bottom view

Cross section

Banana Cake

This is the quickest and simplest cake recipe ever. Just blend and bake.

Ingredients:

1. Sugar - 1 cup ( 125 ml )
2. Maida - 1 cup (125 ml)
3. Cooking Oil - 1 cup (125 ml)
4. Baking powder - 3/4 - 1 tsp.
5. Eggs - 2
6. Vanilla essence - 1/2 - 3/4 tsp.
7. Banana - 1 large ripe

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. In a mixie, grind the sugar to a powder.
4. Add oil to the powdered sugar in the mixie and blend it till a creamy paste is formed.
5. To the mixie, add the eggs one at a time and whisk. Run the mixie in pulse mode for a few seconds at a time.
6. Add the vanilla essence and banana chunks and blend till a smooth paste is formed.
7. Now, either add the flour little by little to the mixie and quickly blend it by running the mixie or by folding the flour with a ladle.
8. Only if the batter is too thick and does not flow when you ladle it, add very minimal warm milk and whisk again. I didn't have to do this step.
9. Grease and dust a cake tin and pour out the batter into the tin to form a layer of one inch or slightly more. Leave space for the cake to double in size.
10. Bake at 180 degrees C for 25 mins. Check if the cake is done using a knife or fork. Bake for an additional 10 minutes if not done. I baked for 35 minutes.

The cake would be dense, yet soft, not very spongy. The colour would be light brown, like whole wheat bread. This was a Valentine's Day special cake. Hence the heart shape.
Recipe courtesy: Yogita Pimpalkar. The original recipe had 3 eggs, but I didn't want an eggy flavour, so cut down an egg.

I felt that the cake had a little more oil than required. I am going to try this with slightly less oil next time. Also this had a milder flavor of banana. I would like to add another banana to this and try it out.
Please try this out and let me know any variations that worked better for you.

Kitchen garden delights - Radish

If you are looking for a vegetable to grow in your kitchen garden and you, like me, are the sort of person who is impatient to see the results, what do you start with? We were on our regular visit to Madiwala market for vegetable shopping when we saw the well-known face of the lady selling seeds and seedlings. I asked her which was the fastest growing vegetable she had, and she immediately fished out a packet of radish seeds.


We bought the seeds packet for Rs.10 and planted 6 of them in a pot. I made sure the soil was loose without any hard rocks which might hamper the roots from growing or disfigure the roots. 4 out of the 6 seeds germinated within 3-4 days of planting.


Every day in the next one month brought with it a noticeable growth in the foliage of the radish plants. And soon we could see the white root below the leaves at surface of the soil. After around 5-6 weeks of planting, we could see the root emerging up from the soil and pushing itself outwards to see the sunlight. Judging by the circumference of the root, we decided to wait for a few more days, By the 8th week, we decided it was time to harvest the radish.


Harvesting radish doesn't necessarily require a shovel or a knife. We just loosened the soil around the root and pulled it by hand.


The leaves became Radish Leaves Chutney and the radishes were used for Arachchu Vitta Sambhar by amma.

Not a recipe this time - Its about my garden

To have a garden in our balcony was a very old decision by me and G. We have had plants in pots right from the day we moved into our apartment and over the years, we have seen plants grow, flourish and die, some due to neglect and some because their season ended. Though none of our original plants are with us any more, we have continuously replenished our garden with new plants every season.
Each plant brings a lot of memories to mind and reminds us of how we have grown too. I have gone through seasons when I have struggled with a particular plant, only to sow it again the next season to see it grow effortlessly. Sometimes the plants that flourished the first time, failed to do so in subsequent trials.
In the next few blog entries, I intend to write about my plants and the story behind them. Although it seems like a misfit in a blog page dedicated for recipes, I was lazy to start a new blog page for gardening and hence clubbing it here.
For ease of filtering I will tag all these entries with the label "gardening".
So here starts my green saga.....

Paneer Corn Capsicum

Ingredients:

1. Paneer - 100g cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2. Capsicum - 1 medium sized, cut into 1/2 inch squares
3. Sweet corn - boiled and separated from cob, 1/2 cup
4. Onion - 1 chopped finely
5. Tomato - 1 chopped finely
6. Panch Poron - 1 tsp. or 1/4 tsp Saunf, 1/4 tsp. Jeera, 1/4 tsp. Kalonji, 1/4 tsp. Methi.
7. Oil - 1 tbsp.
8. Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
9. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
10. Dhania powder - 3/4 tsp.
11. Jeera powder - 1/4 tsp.
12. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat oil in a kadai. When oil is hot, temper with Panch Poron or the mixed spices.
2. Add onions and fry till they turn light golden.
3. Add capsicum and sauté till they are half cooked.
4. Now add the tomatoes. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. cover the lid and let cook on a low flame for 5 - 10 mins. Open the lid and check once or twice in between. Tomato leaves water for its cooking. In case the water evaporates and the curry gets stuck to the pan or burns, add 1/4 cup of water, stir well and continue cooking on low flame with lid covered.
5. When the tomatoes are completely cooked ( when you cannot make out the individual pieces) and the capsicum is tender, add in the corn and paneer cubes.
6. Add the powdered spices - turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhania powder and jeera powder. Add salt.
7. Paneer and corn take some time to absorb the spices and salt. So keep covered and continue to cook on low flame for 5 more minutes, stirring in between, adding very little water if required.
8. When all the water is evaporated and the curry looks somewhat homogeneous and dry, switch off the flame.
9. Serve with chapatis.

Togari Kaalu Saaru

Togari Kaalu is the fresh whole form of Tuvar Dal, also known as Pigeon Peas. It is quite common to find it in the markets during the winter months. They can be shelled and stored in the fridge for a week.
The grams are greenish with red spots on them.
This saaru is made from the pigeon peas and the recipe source is my m-i-l.
The saaru can be mixed with rice and eaten and it  also serves as a side-dish for chapati and dosas.

Ingredients:

1. Togari Kaalu - 2 cups
2. Onions - 3
3. Garlic - 8-10 pods
4. Peppercorns - 1 tsp.
5. Tomato - 1 large or 2 small
6. Grated coconut - 3-4 tsp.
7. Coriander leaves - 4-5 sprigs
8. Curry leaves - 1 sprig
9. Sambhar powder - 1 tsp.
10. Oil - 6 tsp.
11. Mustard - 1/2 tsp.
12. Rock salt - 1 tsp.

Procedure:

1. Boil the pigeon peas with a little more than enough water to submerge them, in a pressure cooker with salt added, for 3-4 whistles.
2. Chop the onions length-wise.
3. In a mixie, puree together tomatoes, pepper, garlic, coconut, coriander and curry leaves till it forms a smooth paste.
4. In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds.
5. When the mustard seeds splutter, add the chopped onions and fry well for around 5 mins.
6. Add the boiled peas with the water, the ground masala  paste and sambhar powder.
7. Stir well and boil for around ten mins till the gravy thickens and the raw smell of tomato is gone.
8. Switch off the flame when the desired consistency is reached.
9. Serve with chapatis or rice.

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.

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.

Bhindi Do Pyaaza

Ingredients:

1. Bhindi/Okra - 400 grams
2. Onions - 3 medium sized
3. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
4. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp.
5. Dhania powder - 1 tsp.
6. Aamchur powder - 1/2 tsp.
7. Jeera powder - 1/2 tsp.
8. Jeera -  1/2 tsp.
9. Kalonji - 1/2 tsp.
10. Oil - 1 1/2 tbsp.
11. Salt - to taste

Procedure:

1. Cut the bhindi into 1 inch long pieces. You may also cut them into 2 inch long pieces and slit them vertically into 2 pieces each. Cut the onions length-wise.
2. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with jeera and kalonji seeds.
3. Add the onions and fry them till they turn light brown.
4. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder and amchur powder. Mix well.
5. Add bhindi and fry on medium-high flame for 10-15 minutes till the bhindi is cooked well. Keep stirring at regular intervals. The bhindi will not turn slimy due to the amchur powder.
6. Serve with rotis or rice.