Happy New Year - 2012

Wishing you and your family a very wonderful New Year 2012.

Carrot Kheer

Every week end for lunch I used to prepare some payasam to have it after meals. For this week I prepared carrot kheer, one of my hubby’s fav kheer.
I tried several methods to prepare this and finally this is my best method to make it very tasty and by adding condensed milk n badam we get very rich texture. The colour is so appealing, tempting and very tasty. I am sure u would love this!!

Ingredients:

Carrot -2no
Milk –3cup
Sugar – 2tbsp (adjust to taste)
Condensed milk – 1/2cup
Almonds – 10nos
Nuts to garnish (Almonds, Pista, Cashews)

Method:

• Wash, Peel and chop the carrots into chunks.
• Pressure cooks the carrots by adding little milk.
• Allow to cool and blend the carrot into smooth paste along with almonds.
• In a deep vessel boil the remaining milk in a low flame for 10 mins.
• Now add the sugar and condensed milk to the boiling milk and heat till the sugar dissolves.
• Remove from fire and mixed it with carrot paste and mix to blend well.
• Cool it in refrigerator and serve chill.

Garnish with fried nuts and enjoy hot or cold!!



Note:

• For more richness n sweetness, avoid adding sugar and substitute with condensed milk.
• For more flavour add cardamom powder or few drops of vanilla essence.
• You can add some grated carrot fried in ghee and mix with kheer while serving.

I am pleased to submit this recipe for a Christmas Delicacy!! event announcement initiated by Juile @ Erivum Puliyum

Bisibelabath

It is authentic and flavourful rice, famous in Karnataka region. Even though we prepare sambar rice it tastes different. Some of us may use the readymade bisi bela bath powder to prepare, but it can’t be beat the freshly ground powder which we prepared at home. Their Delicious taste is from various veggies, rice & dhal. Highly protein rich dish which suits for lunch box.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1cup
Toor dhal – 1/2cup
Vegetables (I used drumstick -1, Carrot -1, Beans - 4, fresh green peas ¼cup, Brinjal- 2no, potato -1)
Small Onions – 12 to 15 nos
Tamarind – small lemon size ball (extract paste)
Turmeric powder – 1/2tsp
Jaggery – 1/4tsp
Cashew nuts few
Coriander leaves few
Curry leaves – 1spring
Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Oil – 2tbsp
Ghee

Roast and Grind:

Coriander seeds – 2tsp
Channa dhal – 1tsp
Urad dhal – 1/2tsp
Red chillies – 3-4no
Fenugreek seed – 1/4tsp
Pepper corns few
Cumin seeds – 1/4tsp
Cloves – 2 no
Cinnamon – 1’’piece
Coconut – 2tbsp
Garlic – 2pods
Ginger – 1”piece

Method:

• Fry all the masala ingredients in to golden brown and make coarse powder.
• Wash and soak the rice and dhal together with 6 cups of water for 30 minutes.
• Clean, peel and chop the vegetables into desired shapes.
• In a pressure cooker heat a tbsp of ghee and sauté the vegetables for few seconds and add soaked rice and toor dhal along with water and turmeric powder, salt for taste and leave for four whistles.
• In a pan heat a tbsp of oil and fry the peeled small onions fry till it turns transparent.
• Now add a tamarind paste, asafoetida, jaggery and chopped coriander leaves.
• Once it starts boiling add the grinded masala powder to it and leave to boil for another couple of minutes, now it starts thicken. Switch off the flame.
• Now open the pressure cooker and add this masala mixture to the cooked rice mixture and mix well to blend well.
• Finally in a ghee tempering the mustard seeds when they start popping add curry leaves, asafoetida and cashew nuts and mix it to the bisi bele bath.

Hot and delicious Bisibelbath is ready to serve with chips or vadam.
Note:

• Adding masala and chopped onions towards the last, the flavour last long.
• For better taste the consistency of Bisibelabath shouls be little wattery.

Spicy/ Kara Dosa

This is so tasty and spicy dosa which is my family’s favorite. A variation for usual dosa with flavorful taste. The best thing is, the kitchen will be filled with a nice aroma while making the dosa which is really tastes yummy.

Ingredients :

Raw rice – 1cup
Parboiled rice – 3/4cup
Toor dhal – 3/4cup
Onion - 1
Red chili – 6
Tamarind small piece
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Coriander leaves – few
Garlic – 2no
Ginger – 1”piece
Cumin seeds – 1/4tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
Salt to taste

For seasoning:

Mustard seeds – 1/4tsp
Curry leaves few

For Garnishing:

Onion – 2cup (finely chopped)
Coriander leaves few (finely chopped)

Method:

• Wash and soak the raw rice, parboiled rice and toor dhal together for two hours.
• Grind it along with other ingredients into fine batter.
• Let this batter ferment for four hours.
• Dilute with water into dosa batter consistency.
• Then season with the mustard seeds and curry leaves.



• Now heat a skillet and pour a ladle of batter in a circular way and sprinkle chopped onions (optional) (I personally like adding more onions on dosa) and coriander leaves and add a tsp of oil.
• When it turns slight brown in the edges flip it over and make a crisp on other side too.

Serve it hot with Onion chutney, pickle or curd.
Note:

• The batter can make dosa without ferment too but gives different taste.
• Even can sauté onions and mix in batter itself and make dosa.
• You can enjoy it plain spicy dosa without adding onion and coriander leaves.

Raw Banana/ Plantain / Vazhakkai Podimas

This is my MIL recipe.I am not a big fan of Vazhakkai but when I tasted this podimas I started liking and enjoyed it. It tastes delicious with sambar sadam or you could try simply with hot rice & ghee which tastes excellent.

Ingredients :

Raw Banana / Vazhakkai/ Plantain – 2
Onion – 2no (finely chopped)
Red chili – 6
Turmeric powder -1/4tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal – 1tsp
Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
Curry leaves few
Coriander leaves few garnishing (Optional)
Salt to taste
Oil – 1tbsp

Method:

• Wash and cut the two edges of raw banana and cut into two pieces.
• Boil water and add the raw banana with skin and cook for 10 to 12 minutes till the skin turns to dull color.
• Drain out the water and peel the skin and grate the raw banana.





• Heat oil in a pan and season it with mustard seeds, urad dhal, red chili, Curry leaves and asafetida.
• Now add the onions sauté until it turns transparent.





• Add the turmeric powder and the grated raw banana and cook covered on low flame for couple of minutes.
• Finally add salt for taste and mix well and remove from flame.
• Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy with rice.

Yummy Vazhakkai podimas is ready to serve.

Note:

• Do not over boil the raw banana.
• If u feel the grated Plantain is too dry then you can sprinkle some water while cooking.
• Finally, even can add few drops of lemon juice for tangy taste.

Ven Pongal & Dhal Chutney

One of the most popular dish for breakfast in India especially in south. Its special because it has right mix of protein and carbos. Pongal given in temple as prasadam is very tasty, so here I tried to reach that taste. Normally Ven Pongal is served with coconut chutney or sambhar. But for a change I present here with dhal chutney. This is also equally good in taste, actually both complement each other.

Ven Pongal

Ingredients :

Raw rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - ½ cup
Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped
Green chili – 1no
Water – 4cups
Milk – ½ cup
Pepper corns - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Cashew nuts – few
Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Oil – 2 tsp
Salt to taste



Method:

• Heat a pan, add the moong dal and dry roast on a medium flame till the raw smell disappears and take care don’t let burn and keep aside.
• Wash the rice and soak along with moong dhal together in four cups of water for 15 minute.
• Heat oil in a pressure pan and fry the chopped ginger till golden brown and add silted green chilly.
• Now add the soaked rice and dhal with water and milk ½ cup add salt for taste.



• Pressure cooks for 4 to 5 whistles.
• In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of ghee and add the peppercorns, cumin seeds, cashew nuts and asafoetida and sauté on a medium flame for a few seconds.
• Add this to the Pongal and mix well.

Yummy Ven Pongal is ready to serve hot with Dhal Chutney.

Note:

• Even can crushed the pepper corns and add it to pongal.
• Adding milk to pongal gives rich and creamy taste.
• Don’t avoid adding ginger it give nice flavor for pongal.
• pongal has to be a little watery of runny type to make more delcious.

Dhal Chutney

Ingredients :

Urad dhal – 2tbsp
Channa dhal -1tbsp
Green chili – 3no
Tamarind – 1tsp
Jaggery – 1tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Salt for taste

Method:

• Take a tsp of oil in a pan and fry all the ingredients except jaggery to a golden brown for a while.
• Now grind with jaggery into a fine paste by adding less water.
• Finally season it with mustard and curry leaves.

Dhal chutney is ready to serve with Ven Pongal.

Note:

• Dhal chutney goes well with paniyaram also.
• For chutney tadka is optional.

Pumpkin Sweet Thoran

Pumpkins are very versatile in their uses for cooking. Whenever I buy pumpkin my first choice of recipe is this sweet thoran. It is very simple and tasty recipe with coconut and jaggery. Pumpkin is one of the very fastest cooking vegetable but the only time consuming part is cleaning. Apart from this, pumpkin is a good boost for immune system which is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. Their seeds also have many health benefits, as they are a good source of protein, zinc, and other vitamins.

Ingredients :

Pumpkin – 1 cup
Jaggery – ½ cup
Grated Coconut – 2 tbsp
Roasted gram powder – 2tbsp
Ghee – 1tbsp


Method:

• Clean, remove skin and chop the pumpkin into small cubes.
• Boil water in a pan and add the chopped pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes till soft but no to mushy.
• Drain the water and spread them in a plate.





• In a pan and add jaggery with water just to immerse it and when it dissolves strain the jaggery water to avoid sand and again keep the jaggery water in fire and once it starts bubbling add grated coconut and pumpkin and stir for couple of mins.





• Finally add the roasted gram powder and mix quickly without forming any lumps.
• Stir on lower flame until all combine well (mix gently) and finally add 1 tbsp of ghee.
• Remove it from fire and serve it.

Yummy Pumpkin sweet thoran is ready to serve…

Note:

• Choose Pumpkins that is heavy for its size.
• Adjust jaggery as per sweet taste.
• The only challenge is in getting the pumpkin cooked in correct way to be soft and not to mushy or overcooked.

Obattu / Poli

In our family we do this poli during most of the special occasion, especially for Diwali, Ugadi and Varalakshmi viratam. Poli is very tasty and traditional recipe which are rarely made during festival season. In my way of doing poli there is a small difference when it comes to stuffing, usually all will prepare stuffing in channa dhal but we use toor dhal for purnam which is also traditionally done from my hubby’s native Krishnagiri. My MIL is an expert in doing polis she will finish making 30 tasty polis in just 30 min. I am slowly catching up the method and now practised for many times and finally I got the shape and taste as my MIL use to prepare and got certificate for the same from my hubby also.

Ingredients :

For outer layer:

Maida – 2 cup
Salt a pinch
Oil ½ cup


For puranam:

Toor dhal – 11//2 cup
Jaggery – 11/2 cup
Cardamom a pinch
Ghee – 2 tsp




Method:

• In a bowl add maida , a pinch of salt and mix well by adding adequate water to make a smooth dough (softer than chapathi dough). Add oil to this dough and keep it aside for minimum 2 hours (oil should float on dough).
• Grate the jaggery and keep it aside.
• Wash and soak the toor dhal for 1 hr. Then cook the toor dhal in an open pan till soft and well cooked (don’t cook for mashy).
• Now drain the water from the cooked dhal and spread in a plate and allow cooling for room temperature.
• Grind the cooked dhal with grated jaggery and cardamom powder in a mixer in to coarse and thick paste (don’t grind for long time just on and off for 2 times).
• Now transfer this puranam into a bowl and add some ghee on top and mix well.





• Now make out small balls for filling.
• Now collect the oil from maida dough in to a small bowl (can use for roasting poli).
• Take a plastic sheet/ banana leaf and grease some oil in it. Now take a small portion of Maida and spread with your fingers and place a small ball of puran and cover well.





• Now flatten well into a thin and round shape.
• Now carefully place the poli in to a hot tawa and flip on both sides until golden brown colour.

Delicious and soft Obattu/Poli is ready to serve with ghee.

Note:

• Instead of using toor dhal can substitute with channa dhal for doing purnam.
• Poli will be fresh in a room temperature, until 2 days no need to refrigerate it.
• Take care while cooking the dhal doesn’t cook for mashy.
• While grinding for puran don’t make it as a paste, if it goes watery then add some roasted gram powder, grated coconut(optional) and ghee 2 tsp and fry in a pan for 5 min it will become thick and flavourful.Then you can use for stuffing.
• Excess drain water from cooked dhal can use for preparing Rasam "Obattu Charu" it will be more tasty.