Dhanashree's Recipes - The Flavours & Aromas Of Cuisines

Paanagam

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 09:08:00 -0700

Panagam, a traditional drink from Tamil Nadu

Panagam, is a traditional and ancient drink from Tamil Nadu. It is usually prepared on the occassion of Rama Navami, which marks the birth of Lord Shri Rama (please refer the mythological legend of Ramayan). Panagam is a simple drink and besides Naivaidyam , which means offering to God, it is also prepared during summer to quench thirst and boost energy. It is prepared from Jaggery which is rich source of Iron and is proven to be instant energy booster. Do try this simple drink at home and am sure it will be loved.

Ingredients :

Jaggery - 1 cup

Water- 3 cups

Sonth (Dry Ginger / Chukku) - 1 teaspoon

Limejuice - 1 teaspoon

Cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Black Pepper - 2 pinches

Salt - 1 pinch.

Method :

Grate the jaggery and dissolve it in the said amount of water and place it on the stove over lowest flame.
Slowly add the Dry Ginger powder which is called Sonth in hindi and Chukku in Tamil to it.
Then add the Cardamom powder , black pepper (just a dash or pinch and not more). Then add the salt and limejuice.
Stir well and remove from flame. Please donmt let it come to boil. Just heat it a bit since many cant digest the raw taste of jaggery.
Allow it cool and serve. If needed store in Refrigerator for a hour and serve chilled.
Panagam is ready. Its delicious drink.

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking time : 3 minutes

Serves : 4 persons

Shelflife: 3-4 days

Serving suggestion : serve chilled or warm.

Note :- Please dont let the drink to boil. You can also prepare this drink without heating or cooking it over flame. Dont add too much of black pepper and it can also be left as option. Add salt just a pinch.

Aloo Gobi ki Sabzi ( Maharashtrian Style)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:07:00 -0800

Sabzi is a integral part of Indian cuisine. Be it anywhere , from Kashmiri in north to Tamil Nadu in south and from Gujrat in west to Assam in East, sabzi ( side dish) is basic need for indian irrespective poor and the rich people. I have usually come acorss womens for whom its a big task to decide the side dish rather than deciding the main course. Ofcourse, this tiny side dish provides ample of taste and nutrients required for the human body to keep going. So it needs to be decided with great care keeping in mind all the factors ranging from vegetables, the spices to be used, the nutrients and the likes and tastes of the family members.

Cooking is a menance at times for both working women and housewifes. At such times, a easy to cook nutrious food is often a great help. I would like to post today one such recipe called Aloo gobi which can be used as a side dish to both rice and rotis and is simple to cook , delicious to taste , easy to digest and good to health.

I am posting the recipe the way i cook at home and is liked by many who had tasted it. It can be altered as per personal choices. I have cooked this using maharashtrian style since it tastes great with chapathis and rotis.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 4 large potatoes ( chopped in cubes)
Cauliflower - 1 small cauliflower ( cut them into medium pieces as potatoes)
Turmeric powder - 1/ 4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
Garam Masala Powder - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 5-6 nos
Onions - 1 tablespoon ( chopped finely ) (optional)
Salt - as per taste
Coriander leaves - 1 teaspoon (finely chopped)
Oil - 2 tablespoon.

Method:

Hear oil in a pan. Then add the asafoetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow the seeds to crackle. Add the cumin seeds and saute for a minute.
Chopped onions can be added now as option though it is not that necessary. It would add little essence to the seasoning and the good flavoured thadka. Add the chopped onions ( about 1 tablespoon) and saute them till brown.
Add the chopped potatoes and cauliflower and saute for a minute. Add salt as per taste and saute them continuously for 2-3 minutes.
Salt looses up the vegetables and it leaves some moisture which thereby giving some water which are the own juices of the vegetables. Cooking up the vegetables in its own juice not only gives nutrition by taste too excellent which is basically the techniques used in Maharashtrian foods. Give this method of cooking a try and i bet you would love it. A good non - stick pan can be used if you are not sure about trying this method. I prefer cooking them in Aluminum kadai though.
Add some water to the vegetables enough to cover them. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the vegetable in low flame for 10 minutes. Cooking on low flames gives the vegetable to get cooked well.
Open the lid , and check if the vegetables are cooked. If its cooked or nearly cooked then add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and garam masala powder and saute them well till the masala is nicely absorbed . If you find some water content left then don't worry and saute the sabzi. You can also add little water if needed if you don't prefer the sabzi as dry. I prefer it with little moisture as it tastes good that way.
Again cover the lid and cook further for 3-4 minutes in low flame.
Remove from flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti or rice.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes.
Cooking Time: 20 minutes.
Serves : 4 persons.
Shelflife : Best fresh.
Serving Suggestion : Serve hot with roti, chapatis or steam rice and dal.

Note:

Use fresh Cauliflower for this recipe.
Instead of chopping the coriander leaves with knife , use your hand to cut them and garnish it. Coriander leaves good aroma when cut using fingers.
You can sprinkle little water at the end to get a moisture in the sabzi.
This goes well with both Indian bread and also rice.

Click here to learn and know more about Maharashtrian foods and cuisines- An Introduction To Maharashtrian Cuisine.

Finger Chips (French Fries)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:47:00 -0800

Finger Chips

Finger Chips are favourite among kids of all age, why just kids it's equally liked by adults too. Most fast foods centres have recorded high sales of French fries than any other food available at counter. But why waste money at fast food restaurants when you can easily prepare them at home with much ease. This would not only satisfy your requirement but also save your money. Today, I am going to post the recipe of french fries which can be easily prepared at home with few notes and tips on how to get it crisper and tastier.

Basically french fries are called Indian version of potato chips though they are different. Even french french fries and finger chips are different. French fries are more crisper than our Indian version of Potato chips. French fries are normally freezed potatoes. The potatoes are freezed for 1 or 2 days to make it stiff. In french fries and potato chips its not required. So these 3 are totally different since the way they are prepared differs too.

Here goes the method to prepare finger chips....

Ingredients:

3 Large Potatoes
Cooking Oil ( For deep frying)
Red chilly powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt - to taste.
Ice water - 2 glasses ( to dip the potatoes)
Zip Lock Bag - 1 nos

Method:

Take the Potatoes and wash them nicely. Peel the outer brown skin and keep aside.
Cut the Potatoes in long strips.
Get some Ice water and place this strips in them till you complete the cutting of all the potatoes. This will prevent the potatoes from changing it colour and also keep them stiff. Since potatoes tend to change colour when kept open and also the nutrients tend to decrease if kept open for long.
When you are completed with the cutting of potatoes, take the potato strips and put them in a zip lock bag and close them properly.
Store this zip lock bag in the freezer for few hours. The longer you store , the more crisper the result would be. But don't store for more than 2 days .
After storing them for sufficient time, remove them out.
Heat oil in a deep frying pan enough to deep fry the potato strips.
Once the oil is good hot, put the strips in them one by one. ( Remember the oil should be good hot say bubbling hot, to check it just add a tiny piece in it and you can see bubbles surrounding it).
Fry the potatoes well. Once they turn golden brown, remove them and place them over absorbent paper or tissue paper so that the extra oil is absorbed nicely.
Now remove them from the paper and sprinkle little red chilli powder and salt when it is still hot and toss well. When they are sprinkled over hot chips, they tend to absorb the taste really well.
Now the french fries or crisper finger chips are ready to eat.
Serve with with tomato ketchup and enjoy your evening with loved ones. :)

Preparation Time: 1 day (including the freezing time or else it just takes 30 mins).
Cooking time: 20 mins.
Serves: 4 persons.
Shelflife: Best fresh.
Serving Suggestion : Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Note:

For good results, cut the potatoes into thin strips.
Freeze the strips in zip lock bags so that it remains safe from water.
The more you freeze, the more crsiper chips you get.
But never store them for more than 2 days.
Sprinkle the red chilli powder and salt when its hot so that it absorbs them well.

Second Blogoversary

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 05:03:00 -0800

Today, its going to bee two years. Today is my blogs second anniversary. It feels like as if it was just yesterday and I started my blog without much knowledge. Today am glad I completed 2 years with lots of compliments from many of my blog readers. Thanks to all my followers and blog readers for all the support and help. Its just because of you all that i get inspired to experiment and write more. I have been especially not been able to allocate much of my time to blogging the whole last year due to some alma mater and busy schedule. But I have made a way for it now. I have got my laptop and I will surely look forward to post as many post as possible in between without much gap.

I wasn't aware my blog would so good. When I started I had just 50 hits a day and today I am getting 500 and plus hits per day. I am glad and thankful to all my blog reader for reading and making this happen. Your comments and suggestions value a lot to me. Do let me know if you want me to prepare and post any recipe. I would be more than happy to do that for you. You all inspire me to be a better cook and better blogger.

Finally, I would like to thank my brother who has always been encouraging in every path of my life to do whatever I want and always supported me in shaping my passion. His critics made a good cook and his guidance helped me be a better person . Last but and not the least , thanks to my parents for giving my this life and all your blessings which has always helped me grow better. Above the all, thank you god.

Avial

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:44:00 -0800

Avial , A kerala cuisine

I would first and foremost say sorry to everyone who read blog. I am sorry for being away from blogging for so long and I sincerely apologise for the same. I had been little sick for few days initial and later got engrossed with other activities and work so much that I couldn't make it out to take time for blogging. Moreover, I had a problem with my phone and lost few of my pics which i stored in it for blogging. Anyways, I couldn't save much of the pics since it didn't enable me backup the memory. As such, I did save some pics in my PC which finally gave me some relief. I am looking forward to buy a good camera since the quality of pics would make a difference .Well, henceforth I would make it sure that I am updating and writing my blog often. Afterall, cooking is my passion.

Today, I am posting a typical and famous kerala cuisine called Avial. Avial is popular dish in kerala and considered very important for all gatherings and occasions. Its is excellent vegetarian cuisine and good options for all vegeterian food lovers. It looks fabulous and is made from many vegetables like yam, Snake gourd, potatoes, beans, peas, carrots, pumpkins, drumsticks and so on. In short it includes many vegetables and can be called as a ideal food for vegetarians.

As such even seasonal vegetables like unripe mangoes and others can also be used for avial and if you can't make it out with many vegetables, then use only those which you prefer like you can make a avial out of yam only, or just carrots and potatoes etc.

Ingredients:

Yam - 1 cup sliced into 1and1/2 inch length

Cucumber- 1 cup sclied into 1 and 1/2 inch length

Potatoes - 1 cup sliced similarly

Beans - 1 cup sliced similarly

Carrots - 1 cup sliced similarly

Snake gourd - 1 cup sliced similarly

Raw Banana -1 cup sliced similarly

Drumsticks - 1 cup sliced similarly

Peas- 1/2 cup ( preferably fresh peas ) ( In case of dry ones, soak them overnight)

Note: Slice all the vegetables into equal length and preferably cut it longer as said.

Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup

Cumin seeds - 2 tablespoon

Green chillies - 4-5 nos

Curd - 3 tablespoon

Curry leaves - 10- 12 nos

Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Coconut oil - 2 tablespoon.

Method:

Wash all the vegetables and slice them as said and keep aside.
Grind together coconut, green chillies and cumin seeds together by adding little water and make a fine paste and keep aside.
Heat the coconut oil in a deep bottom kadai or pan. Add the curry leaves,Asafoetida, mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
Add the vegetables and little water . Close it with a lid and allow it to cook for few minutes.
Check it after 10- 12 minutes.The vegetables would almost cooked by now. ( another way to check is check out for steam, once steam is seen coming ..its indicator that vegetables are cooked)
Add the fine paste and curd and mix well. Add salt and mix well.
Cook it further for some 5-6 minutes will the coconut is well cooked.
The avial is ready. Serve it hot with steam rice and Sambhar.

Preparation Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves : 5 -6 persons
Shelflife:1 day
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with steam rice and Sambhar.

Note:

Chop and slice all the vegetables into equal size.
Grind the paste finely
The variation of vegetables can be left to personal choice .
Take fresh coconut for this cuisine
Use only coconut oil for this particular dish.

Click here to know and learn more about Kerala recipes and cuisines- An Introduction to Kerala Recipes and Cuisines.

Masala Omelette

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 06:21:00 -0700

I remember that am not spending much time on blogging these days. Also I haven't posted egg recipes since months. I thought of posting this one . Its a simple recipe and can be made by those who don't have any idea about cooking. It can also be a called a bachelor's recipe and I will hint down few tricks to keep on how to keep the masala handy always. As such omelette comes in varieties these days with toppings of one's choice like tomato omelette, chutney omelette, pepper omelette and even pizza omelette. You can find such omelette outside the CST station on the eateries roads.

For this recipe, the masala need to be roasted and grinded. I prefer roasting them , grinding them and then storing them in airtight pepper mill crusher. This is one recipe which my brother is always fond of since he is very favourable to spicy and easy to make recipes after reaching home. Though he never steps in kitchen for cooking, i keep things handy in case he needs something when i am not around.

Hope you would like this recipe too. Do give me your valuable feedbacks.

Ingredients:

For masala:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 teaspoon
Saunf - 2 pinches
Cloves - 4-5 nos
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Pepper - 10-12 nos
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Cardamom (small) - 3 nos
Cardamon (big) - 1 no
Maze - 1/2 of one whole maze.

For Omelette:

Egg - 1
Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
Chopped Onions (optional) - 1 teaspoon
Pepper powder ( freshly grounded) - as desired or just 2 pinches
Milk - 1 teaspoon
Salt - as per taste.

Method:

Roast all the masala ingredients and let it cool down for 5 mins.
Grind it into powder and store it immediately in a airtight container or a pepper mill as per choice.
In a bowl, break open a egg. Add to it the chopped onions, pepper powder, milk and salt and beat well till it get mixed.
In a tawa or pan, heat oil. Pour the omelette mixture to it and spread well with help of a spatula or by just sliding down the pan with help of the handle.
Now sprinkle some masala over the top of the omelette and keep it for a minute before turning or flapping it to the other side.
If needed, sprinkle the masala on the other side too.
When both sides are well cooked, it turns little brown.
Remove and serve hot with meals.

Preparation Time: 5 minutes.
Cooking Time : 5 minutes.
Serves : 1 person.
Shelflife: Best fresh.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with meals.

Note:

Adding milk, makes the omelette softer and tastier.
The masala can be stored in pepper mill and used when needed. It stays fresh for as long as 6 months.

Onion Chutney

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 06:24:00 -0700

First of all, I am very sorry for being away from blog since long. Past few months were really hectic for me and i couldn't make it get on blog. Blog usually consumes more time, since i not only post the recipe but also post some basic information about the recipe and the ingredients along with it's health benefits, history and other information. This usually takes much of time. The past few months have been really tough since I had to shuttle between too many things and had many responsibilities to handle and also had few ups and down in my personal life. But I am happy that I learnt from them and looking ahead to face much more challanges.

India is often called the land of curry or land of chutney by westerns. No doubt, it is really a land of curries and chutneys and no place can beat India when it comes to its delicious authentic taste. There are different types of chutneys which is cooked since ages here and it comes from different parts of our country. Like Tamil Nadu is famous for the coconut chutney, Maharashtra is famous for the garlic chutney, Rajasthan and Gujrat is known for its green chutney , Delhi is known for its Tamarind chutney and so on. These chutneys give a totally different taste our food but be sure to use the right chutney for the right dish.

I will definately post a detailed note on chutneys of india in my coming days. But today, am going to post a delicious onion chutney which is quite famous in the southern parts of Tamil Nadu. Most of you must have noticed the reddish chutney served as side dish on the platter along with Dosas and Idlis. This is the same chutney which is seen on the platter.

The recipe for Onion chutney is quite simple and can be easily prepared by even a not so good at cooking person. It can be stored in refrigerator for 2 days and used ( heat it before using) as and when required.

Ingredients:

Onions - 3 Big onion
Tomato- 2 medium
Whole dry red chillies - 5-6 nos
Fenugreek seeds - 5-6 seeds
Urad dal - 1 teaspoon
Gralic - 5-6 pods
Tamarind - size of a half lemon or 2 tablespoon of tamarind pulp
Salt - to taste.

For tempering: (Thadka)
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 8-10 nos
Dry red chillies - 2-3 nos
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Oil - 1 tablespoon.

Method:

Chop the onions and tomatoes into big pieces and keep ready.
Take a non stick pan or a deep bottom Kadai. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and add fenugreek seeds and urad dal to it and saute till it turns pinkish. Now saute the onions, tomatoes, garlic and whole dry red chillies without adding further oil till the onions turn soft and transperant.
Remove it from fire once the onions turn transparent and the tomatoes turn soft.
Cool it for few minutes.
Add this cooled mixture in a blender and blend it till it becomes a soft puree and set aside.
Keep a kadai over flame and add a teaspoon of oil to it. Heat it for few seconds.
Add the mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
Add the asafoetida, curry leaves and the dry red chillies and saute for few seconds.
Now add the blended puree and saute it well. Add salt to taste.
Cook this chutney for 7-8 minutes on medium fire and keep stirring often.
Remove and serve hot with Rawa dosa or Methi Dosa.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes.
Cooking Time: 10 minutes.
Serves : 4 -6 persons.
Shelflife: 2 days if refrigerated properly.
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with Rawa Dosa or Methi Dosa.

Note:

Choose big pinkish onions for this chutney.
Pick soft red fresh tomatoes for good taste.
Dont add more than 5-6 fenugreek seeds or else it might turn sour in taste.
Add tamarind as instructed.

Click here to learn and know more about Tamil Nadu recipes and cuisines - An Introduction To Tamil Nadu Recipes And Cuisines.

Spring Onion Sabzi

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 23:34:00 -0700

I have been blogging less these days and i am sorry for that. Blogging really takes much time and these days due to alma mater, am not able to get time for blog. Well, I will definately look to it that i take time off for blogging henceforth. I had clicked and cooked plenty of new recipes and want to post them but unfortunately I failed to do so.

Today am posting a sabzi recipe. I wanted to post some recipes which really takes less time and doesn't require too many ingredients. So I thought of posting this sabzi. Well, most of us love spring onion due to its unique taste and blending with other ingredients. Spring onion is one such vegetable with is easy in cooking compared to other vegetables. It gives a extra kick to the food and hence is found in most fast foods these days. It can be used in salads, pancakes and salsas and so on.

As the name suggests, these leafy vegetables comes only during seasons. They look very much like green onions except that they have bulb which are longer and defined. The bulbs and leaves both are used for cooking. Spring onions can be used for decorations, salads, stir fried and whatever way you wish to use them.

Always pick fresh spring onions from market since they tend to spoil fast if stored. Always select those spring onions which have crispier leaves and has rich green colour in them with hard bulb. Never pick those which are slim, wilted and discoloured or else you will end up wasting your money. Discard and peel the outer layer of the spring onion , that will give you a richer crisp taste.

In case, you have a big garden at your residence better plant them since they grow faster and you will get to taste organic spring onions. My grandmother has them in her garden at our native place and it really tastes much better than those available at the markets.

Coming to the recipe, this one can be called a typical maharashtrian recipe and it goes well with dal chawal and chapatis.

Ingredients:

Spring onions - 2 bunches
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Salt - to taste
oil - 1 teaspoon

Method:

Pick fresh spring onions with crisp leaves since they are much taster and healthy.
Wash them nicely under tap water and let them dry for few minutes.
Peel the outer layer of the spring onion . This is would give you good crispness to the food as the outer layer tends to wilted and tasteless due to over exposure to the environment.
Chop them into 1 inch pieces . Chop the bulbs in a way that you get in ring shapes as it them look nice especially to the childrens.
Keep a kadai over flame and add oil in it. Let the oil to heat for a minute.
Once the oil gets hot, add Asafoetida and Mustard seeds. Let the seeds crackle.
Now add the chopped spring onions and saute them for a minute. Don't add water. Spring onions have natural moisture in them and let the vegetable to cook in its own water content so that becomes tastier and healthier.
Add the turmeric powder and chilly powder and saute for a minute.
Add salt as per taste and saute it well.
Keep sating for some 7-8 minutes.
Once the vegetable is cooked well, it will be tender soft and will be transparent .
Remove and serve hot with chapatis or dal chawal.

Preparation time: 15 minutes.
Cooking time: 10 miutes.
Serves : 4 -6 persons.
Shelflife: Best fresh.
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with Chapati or Dal chawal.

Note:

To pick good quality spring onion , always check the leaves. The one with crisp leaves are best.
Also pick those spring onions which are bit green. ( Not necessary that it should be fully green, a part of it should be greener). Those are healthier as per nutritional value.
Always peel off and discard the outer layer of the Spring onion, since they are not much crisp and tend to spoil the other parts which cooking.

Click here to learn and know more about Maharashtrian foods and cuisines- An Introduction To Maharashtrian Cuisine.

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Instant Mango Pickle (Manga Uruga) - South Indian Style

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:02:00 -0700

With the season of mangoes around the corner, its time people prepare pickles and store them for a whole year. Usually pickles takes around 10- 15 days to get readied but at the same time this pickles are preserved for long time , some store it for a whole year. The preservatives like vinegar, salt and oil are some ingredients which helps to store and preserve them for a long time.

But some pickles can be prepared instantly and also can be served instantly . My mom taught me this instant manga uruga (uraga means pickles - A tamil word) and she usually prepares this every summer for me. I love this pickles, it is not only easy to prepare but also can be prepared quickly without much ingredients and can be served in a hour.

Ingredients:

Raw Mangoes - 2
Red chilly powder - 2 tablespoons
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Salt - As per taste
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 10-12 nos or a string.
Oil - 8-10 tablespoons.

Method:

Pick good quality raw mangoes or Kairi from the market.
Wash them properly .
Chop them into tiny pieces. Cut them into very tiny pieces . The cubes should be the size of nail of your tiny finger.
In a bowl take the chopped pieces and add the turmeric powder, red chilly powder and salt to it.
Take a kadai and place it over flame. Add oil and heat it for 5-10 seconds.
Once the oil is little hot, add the Asafoetida, mustard seeds and the curry leaves. Allow them to crackle.
Once the seeds crackle, pour the thadka to the chopped pieces.and mix well.
The pickle is ready. Just allow it to set for a hour and then the pickle is ready to serve. It's really instant and easy and tastes very nice.
Here a nice tip, you can use either raw mangoes or little ripened one. A little ripened but yet raw mango gives a delicious and yummy khatta mitta taste to the pickle which would you licking your fingers.

Preparation Time: 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Making Time : 20 minutes.
Serves : More than 30 people.
Shelflife: For a month if stored in air tight container in Refrigerator.
Serving Suggestion: Serve it with rice, curd rice, pongal or any roti of your choice.

Note:

Chop the mangoes into tiny pieces. Bigger pieces takes long time to soak up and get readied.
A half ripened mango can be used for a khatta-mitta yummy taste.

Click the link here to know and learn more about Tamil Nadu Recipes and Cuisines- An Introduction To Tamil Nadu Recipes And Cuisines.

Paanakam ( Jaggery Drink)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 12 May 2010 07:37:00 -0700

Panakam is sweet drink made by jaggery. Paanakam is sanskrit word which means sweet drink. This drink is popular in South India and is often prepared for Naivediyam (a offering to god). It is especially prepared on Ram Navmi in most south Indian household. On the occassion of Ram Navmi (the birthday of Lord Rama), Panakam and vadapappu are the two most important food prepared and offered to the Lord. It is believed that Vadapappu is Sita devi's favourite and Paanakam is Lord Rama's favourite drink. Vadapappu is salad made from Moong dal .

Paanakam is a excellent summer drink and is healthy too. Since it is made of jaggery without using sugar , it makes it favorable to all the health conscious people.It tastes excellent when chilled and can be used as a summer drink to quench the thirst. Also it can be prepared and stored in Refrigerator for 2 -3 days.

Ingredients:

Jaggery - 250 grams
Water - 10 cups
Sonth (Dried ginger / chukku) - 1 tablespoon
Peppercorns - 5-6 nos
Cardamom (Elaichi) - 6-8 nos
Lime juice - 2 tablespoon.

Method:

Get good quality jaggery for this recipe. I would recommend to use dark red/brown colour jaggery which is available in market.There are varieties of jaggery made in india but the dark coloured jaggery is high is iron content and is rich in sweetness and hence is considered good for both cooking and health benefits too.
The above pic shows two variety of jaggery and i recommend using the darker one which is high in iron content and also sweetness.

Choose the second variety of jaggery for this sweet drink.

Usually people dissolve jaggery in water and make this drink. But i prefer boiling the jaggery with 1 cup water over flame till it gets dissolved. This way a peculiar raw kind of taste of jaggery goes away.
Grate the jaggery and add a cup of water to it and heat it over flame till it gets dissolved.
Remove from fire and add 10 cups of water to it.
In a blender, take Sonth, Peppercorns and Cardamom and blend it. Don't blend it into fine powder.
Add this powder to the jaggery water and mix well.
Add the lime juice and mix well.
Refrigerate it for 3-4 hrs and serve chilled.

Preparation time: 20 mins.
Making time: 20 mins.
Shelflife: 3 days, if refrigerated.
Serves: 12 glasses approximately.
Serving Suggestion: Serve chilled.

Note:

Use dark coloured jaggery for Panakam.
Don't blend the herbs into very fine powder.

Click the link here to know and learn more about Tamil Nadu Recipes and Cuisines -An Introduction To Tamil Nadu Recipes And Cuisines

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Aamras (Aam Ras)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 5 May 2010 06:53:00 -0700

It's Summers and the one thing which every Indian loves during summer are juicy, tasty mangoes. Mangoes have been part of Indian culture and traditions since ages. India is the place where the best mangoes are cultivated and it's from here that mangoes are exported to other countries. Mangoes can beat other fruits when it comes to taste, that is the reason Mangoes are called the king of fruits.

Mangoes have been part and parcel of Indian culture since long. In some cultures, it is also included in religious and traditional customs like pooja, gatherings etc. Besides this, mangoes are not just enjoyed as fruit but also raw mangoes are equally enjoyed by Indians. These mangoes both ripe and raw is used in recipes and thus a list of recipes can be counted from different parts of the country. Some of the famous recipes are Aamras, Aam Panha, Kairi chutney, Aam Burfi, Aamrakand, Mango sherbat, Mango smoothie, Mango sorbet , Kairi sabzi, Kairi raita and so on.

Aam ras as the name suggests is mango pulp. The word "Aam Ras" is derived from Hindi word Aam and Ras which means mango and juice respectively. Aam ras can be made from either raw mangoes, ripe mangoes or semi ripe mangoes. Traditionally Aam ras is made from Aapus or Aamba which is known as Alphonso mangoes, which is the sweetest mango among all the mangoes.

Aam or the mangoes have been used as cooler since ages. It helps protect from the heat strokes and quenches thirst during hot summer days and acts as instant cooler. This eventually coincides and is available during the summer times in India which are extremely hot. The best time to consume mangoes is the month of May since it is the period when the naturally ripe mangoes are available in market. The mangoes which reaches before it might not be rightly called as naturally ripened. These days hazardous chemicals are used to make the mangoes look like ripened ones but it might result us leaving with bad results on health, so beware of mangoes which looks polished from outside since naturally ripened mangoes don't look polished and has a wrinkle like look from outside. Do wash the mangoes nicely before consuming. Some people do consume Mangoes with it's skin since the mango skin is also considered to have medicinal benefits according to some researchers and texts.

Now let me start with the procedure of preparing Aamras. Pick some good quality, naturally ripened Alphonso Mangoes and few semi ripened Payiri Mangoes. I am using Payiri mangoes too, since traditionally aamras used to be prepared using both mangoes which makes it taste unique without making it too sweet to consume which bores after few minutes.

Am attaching a photograph to show how exactly a Alphonso and Payiri Mango looks like.

Here the above pic shows both Alphonso and Payiri variety of mango respectively. Traditionally Aamras is prepared using both variety of mangoes so that the cuisine doesnt end up being too sweet which spoils the joy and taste.

Pick some good quality naturally ripened alphonso mango (it looks wrinkled from outside) and payiri mangoes for this recipe. Alphonso mangoes are usually pulpy and payiri is semi ripe or raw and is basically used for pickles and chutneys. So let me start with the procedure of Aamras. Hope you would enjoy this and give it a try. Have it with garam puris for excellent taste.

Ingredients:

Alphonso Mangoes - 4 to 6 (naturally ripened pulpy ones)

Payiri Mangoes - 1 or 2 ( semi ripe)
Milk - 1 cup
Sugar - as required
Cardamom Powder (Elaichi powder) - 1/2 teaspoon (freshly ground)
Nutmeg Powder (Jaiphal powder) - 2 pinches (frshly ground).

Method:

Pick some good quality naturally ripened alphonso mangoes and semi ripe payiri mangoes from Market. The naturally ripened mangoes look wrinkled from outside unlike chemically ripened which looks polished from outside. May is the best month when you can find naturally ripened best quality mangoes in Market. Beware of chemical ripened mangoes since it is extremely hazardous to health.
Soak them in water for atleast two hours. This makes them pulp come out easily.
Remove from water and press and soften the mangoes lightly with hands to loosen the pulp.
Remove and peel the tip of the mangoes with fingers and press further to remove out the mango pulp in a bowl. Further squeeze the pulp from the seeds and remove all the pulp from the seeds.
If payiri mangoes doesnt come out that easily then chop the skin and seperate it from the seeds by cutting them. Take both the mangoes in a bowl .
Blend the mango pulps into a blender or hand blend it with a machine. Blend them till it is soft and completely smooth.
Add sugar depending the amount of sweetness you need and again blend nicely till it gets mixed with mangoes.
Now add the milk and blend again nicely. Milk to enhance the taste and give a nice consistency to the pulp. Blend well till a nice smooth mixture is obtained.
Finally sprinkle the cardamom powder and nutmeg powder and mix slightly.
Serve them with Hot puris for lunch.

I have already posted recipe of puri in my blog and i will once again post it next time for a reference.

Preparation Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes (including the soaking time).
Making Time: 20 minutes.
Serves : 8 persons.
Shelflife: 2-3 days if refrigerated nicely in tight container.
Serving Suggestion : Serve hot with puris.

Note:

Pick only naturally ripened mangoes which look wrinkled from outside unlike chemically ripened which looks polished and is hazardous to life.
Don't go for very raw payiri mango. Pick semi ripened ones.
I have added cardamom and nutmeg powder to enhance the taste. You can skip them if needed.
Add sugar as required. Taste the pulp and add as per needed.
If you have problem with milk then you can avoid it. Even skimmed milk can be used for this recipe.

Karunai kilangu Kolambu

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 07:05:00 -0700

I have been posting root vegetables lately on this blog. Just few weeks before, I prepared this Karunai Kilangu Kozhambu at home, so that of posting this here. This recipe belongs to Tamil Nadu where root vegetables are given special importance as a food and for traditional beliefs. South Indians offer root vegetables to god on festive occasion since, they believe it directly connects human with god since it grows under earth and earth is worshiped as mother goddess in India. I don't know what is its English name. It comes from the Yam Family and though people called karunai Kilangu as Yam too, I am not sure about it's right name in English. So, am attaching the pic to let you people know how exactly Karunai Kilangu looks like. The second and third pic shows a vegetable which is the main ingredient called Karunai Kizhangu.

This is Karunai Kilangu (shown in the above pic). Sorry for dim light, i clicked it using my mobile.

This root vegetable usually causes some pain in the throat, which is due to the calcium which is deposited in its roots. So make sure to cook them well and don't forget to add tamarind pulp which removes that itchness which causes pain thus making it good enough to consume.

Ingredients:

Karunai Kilangu - 1/2 kg
Grated coconut - 1/2
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Curry leaves- 8-10
Chana dal - 1 tablespoon
Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Red chilli Powder - 1 1/2 tablespoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
Onion - 1 big, chopped
Tomato- 3 medium, chopped
Tamarind Pulp - 1lemon sized tamarind ball (soak them in hot water and squeeze them to take the pulp)
Salt - to taste.
oil - 1 tablespoon

For Thadka:

oil - 2 tablespoon
Curry leaves - 8-10
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Onion- 1 tablespoon of finely chopped onion

Method:

Wash the karunai kizhangu properly, since roots vegetables have lots of mud and soil sticking to them along with other fertilizers. So wash them properly and clean them and set aside.
In a steamer or pressure cooker, steam the kilangu for some 15 minutes. Some 2 whistles if you are using whistles or for some 15 minutes approximately if you are using steamer. Remove them from flame and let the pressure cool down which allows the vegetable to get cooked nicely which takes some 12 minutes on the go.
Meanwhile, add some hot water to the lemon sized tamarind ball. Well, lemon sized because the tamarind is balled into lemon sized using hands , the way ladoos are balled. Take a bowl and add some hot water in it and place the tamarind ball in it. This hot water will soften the tamarind and give a good pulp. So let them soak in the hot water for 10 minutes. Later, squeeze the tamarind in the hot water (don't throw the water, it is need to get the pulp) , and you can see the extract which is the tamarind pulp. After squeezing them nicely, filter out and throw out the root like left out tamarind substance and keep the pulp aside.
Now, open the cooker and take out the karunai kilangu. The skin would be softer and comes easily, so peel them off using the fingers and seperate the kilangu from its skin.
Cut the karunai kilangu into 1/2 inch slices. Keep it aside.
In a pan, take 1 tablespoon of oil. Allow it to heat. Then add ginger, curry leaves and onions. Saute them till the onions turn pinkish and the raw smell of ginger leaves. Then, add the chana dal and saute it till it turn pinkish. Add tomatoes and asafoetida and saute it for a minute. Then add the turmeric powder, coriander powder and red chilly powder and saute them for a minute. Lastly add the grated coconut and saute them well for 3-4 minutes on low flame.This is the masala which will used to make the karunai kilangu kozhambu or the curry.
Remove this masala in a plate and let them cool which takes around 5-7 minutes.
Once it cools down, grind them with enough water to make it a fine paste.
Now for the curry. Take a big kadai or big deep bottem vessel. Heat it over flame and add 2 tablespoon of oil. Insead of making thadka lastly, i prefer making them while cooking which saves some time. So, add 2 tablespoon of oil and allow it to heat. Add mustard seeds, curry leavesand finely chopped onions and saute them till it turns golden brown. The thadka is ready.
Add the paste to the thadka and mix well. Also add the kilangu and the tamarind pulp. Mix them nicely by stirring with the help of a big spoon. Add 1- 11/2 cup of water and salt to this and again mix well. Bring it to boil. But do keep a constant check since, coconut grated paste tend to foam and might spill out of vessel while being cooked. Let the gravy to cook for some 15-20 minutes.
Make sure that the it gets cooked nicely, the smell of tamarind and coconut must disappear when its ready. If not cooked nicely , you might feel a pain on the throat while eating it. Tamarind helps this settle down so it should be allowed to cook (boil) nicely for 15-20 minutes.
The curry is ready. Serve it hot with rice.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day
Serving suggestion: Serve hot with rice and papad.

Note:

Wash the kilangu nicely before using them. Root vegetable tend to have soil and mud sticking to them.
Steam the kilagu for 20 minutes and let the steamer cool down so that the vegetable is cooked tender soft.
Karunai Kilangu has calcium deposit in its roots which gives a pain while consuming them. Tamaraind has the properties which makes those deposits to lay back and avoids causing any pain in the throat.
Let the gravy boil for some 15 mins on minimum.

Click here to know all about Tamil Nadu cuisines- Introduction To Tamil Nadu Cuisines And Recipes .

Mutter Mushroom Masala

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:21:00 -0700

A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi (Basidiomycota, Agaricomycetes) that have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap, just as do store-bought white mushrooms. Thats the defination given in wikipedia for Mushroom.

Generally, mushrooms are spore- producing fungal growths, some of which are edible. The most popular ones have a very distinguishable shape, typically a dome cap with gills or lamellae on the underside along with a stem. Though some mushrooms fit that description there are actually many variations in the mushroom family. They come in an assortment of colors, some are bell shaped, others flat, some have stems, some don’t, some are edible, some aren’t, and some grow in the moist earth while others grow on their food source.

Mushrooms are unique. They are neither animal or plant.

Some people consider them plants for various reasons, but they differ from plants in that they lack the green chlorophyll that plants use to manufacture their own food and energy. For this reason they are placed in a Kingdom of their own," The Kingdom of Fungi".

A mushroom is but the fruit of the fungal organism that produces them, just like an apple tree produces apples to bear seeds to ensure the continuation of it's species, so the fungal organism produces mushrooms that carry spores to ensure the continuation of it's own species.

Therefore, the mushroom is the reproductive organ for the fungus.

Mushrooms are very delicate things, they do not last, some have a life span of less than a day others may survive one week, and a group of tougher mushrooms may last months but they have a tough woody texture.

Mushroom Basically is a fungal with or without stem and is widely used for cooking in almost every country. Though Button Mushroom is the common type available in market, apart from it there are several other varities of mushrooms available for cooking purpose. There are some mushrooms which are poisonous too but it can not be termed as deadly poisonous it only effects the stomach and makes a human sick for few days. But many researchers believe there are few wild mushrooms which can be more harmful too.

Many species of medicinal mushrooms have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. The use of medicinal mushrooms in folk medicine, is best documented in the East. Medicinal mushrooms are now the subject of study for many medical researchers. The ability of some mushrooms to inhibit tumor growth and enhance aspects of the immune system has been a subject of research for approximately 50 years.Mushroom Information and Facts

Mushrooms are low in calories, have no cholesterol and are virtually free of fat and sodium. Mushrooms also contain other essential minerals like Selenium, which works with Vitamin E to produce antioxidants that neutralize "free radicals" which can cause cell damage. Studies have suggested that selenium may reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, may slow the progress of HIV disease and may aid in symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, pancreatitis and asthma. Studies show men who eat selenium rich foods may lower their risk of prostate cancer.

Potassium (good for the heart) is also found in mushrooms. It has been suggested a diet with potassium may help to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Copper is another essential mineral found in mushrooms. Copper aids iron (also found in mushrooms) in making red blood cells and delivers oxygen to the body. Mushrooms also contain three B-complex vitamins; riboflavin for healthy skin and vision, niacin aids the digestive and nervous systems, and pantothenic acid helps with the nervous system and hormone production. These vitamins are found in every cell and help to release energy from fat, protein and carbohydrates in food. Vegetarians should know that mushrooms are one of the best sources of niacin. The vitamin content of mushrooms is actually similar to the vitamin content found in meat.

The amino acid count in mushrooms is higher per serving than corn, peanuts, kidney and soy beans. The average mushroom is also high in protein and nucleic acid. In India, 3 varieties of mushrooms are cultivated and India is widely loving this fungal crop in cooking. That's all about my knowledge on Mushrooms.

In India, there are several recipes on Mushrooms which are not only tasty but easy to cook too. Basically Mushrooms recipes are always easy to cook since it cooks up fast. Mushrooms have the tendency of getting cooked fast and they leave moisture as soon as they are put to cook , which as a result reduces the amount of quantity of mushroom after being cooked . So always buy enough to make your need fulfilled.

Two days before, I cooked this recipe and named it Mattar Mushroom Masala and it really turned up very good. Everyone liked its tangy taste. I am posting its recipe and hope everyone would enjoy it. There is also a quick tip for another recipe from this one. If you have some left over Mattar Mushroom Masala just cook it up with boiled pasta for few minutes and enjoy the taste, it really tastes nice.

Ingredients:
Button Mushroom - 1 Packet, sliced
Onions - 4 Big Onions, finely chopped or shredded
Tomatoes - 5 Big Tomatoes, finely chopped
Green Peas- 1/2 cup or 5-6 tablespoon
Ginger - Paste or finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon
Garlic - Paste or finely chopped, 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Coriander Powder- 1/2 teaspoon, Coarse powder
Red Chilli Powder - 1 Tablespoon
Kasuri Methi Powder(Dried Coriander leaves powder)- 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1 inch stick
Cloves - 4-5 nos
Bay leaves - 2 nos
Oil - 2 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - to garnish, 1 tablespoon.

Method:

Mushrooms are usually available in Packets which is nicely packed in a plastic transparent case and contains some 15-20 mushrooms in each packet. Before purchasing ensure that it is fresh ones since mushrooms have short life and only fresh ones are good for health or it might cause stomach upset. Buy only Button mushrooms for this recipe. I am enclosing a pic of Button mushroom below for a reference.
Clean the mushrooms properly under water since they tend to have soil particles sticking to them.
Let them dry for few minutes.
Slice them into 3-4 pieces vertically depending on its size or else chop them each into 3-4 pieces.
Chop the onions and tomatoes and keep them aside. Also keep the paste or finely chopped pieces of ginger garlic aside. I prefer fresh paste since, it bends well with gravy dishes and also those who avoid ginger and garlic don't find a problem with it if used as paste.
Take a kadai and heat it over flame.
Add 2 tablespoon oil and heat it. Add Cumin seeds, allow it to crackle.
Add cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves. Saute for a minute over low flame.
Add the chopped onions and saute it over high flame till it is soft and turns transparent pink in colour. A pinch of salt can be added while sauting onions , this helps the onions to cook faster an saves time and also add some taste to the onions while sauting.
Once the onions are saute, add the chopped tomatoes and saute them till they are soft. This will take some 5 minutes. Tomatoes will give a rich colour while it is being cooked and use only chopped tomaotoes and not puree or paste which might not give the fine texture and tangy taste unlike freshly chopped ones.
Saute the tomatoes nicely till they are soft and some water is visible which is a result of sauting of tomatoes.
Lower the flame and add cumin powder and coriander powder , both coarsely powdered so as to give a nice aroma and taste. Add the turmeric powder, kasuri methi powder and red chilli powder and saute well till the masalas get mixed properly. Also add the peas and mix well , saute for a minute or two.
Close the lid of the kadai and cook it in low flame for 6 minutes. Just stir once or twice in this duration, but cook them with closed lid.
Open the lid and add the sliced mushrooms and saute well till it gets mixed well with the gravy and masala. But saute them with care since mushrooms are too delicate and might break easily if sauted harshly. Dont add any water since mushrooms leave some moisture when cooked and thats enough for a gravy consistency.
When the mushroom gets mixed nicely with the masala, close the lid and cook it over low flame for 5 minutes.
Open the lid and just stir once.
Mattar Mushroom Masala is ready. Garnish it with chopped coriander and serve with rice or roti.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: Best Fresh
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with rice or roti as a side dish.

Note:

Purchase only Fresh Mushrooms , since mushrooms have short life and can cause stomach related problems if they are old stocked up ones.
Clean the mushrooms properly under tap water and let them dry. Dont chop them finely . Either slice them vertically into 3-4 depending upon its size or cut them into 4 pieces.
Coarsely powdered cumin and coriander powder will enhance the aroma and tate of the dish.
Don't add water to this recipe while cooking since tomatoes and mushrooms both leave moisture while being cooked leaving enough water for a gravy.
Kasuri methi powder can be avoided if not available. It for taste.
Don't be harsh while sauting the mushrooms. They are very delicate, so just toss them or else stir softly.

Upvaasachi Ratthali (Fasting Sweet Potato Recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:01:00 -0800

In my last post, I mentioned that sweet potatoes are used as fasting food by many Maharashtrians. Here is one such simple recipe. In Maharashtra, only simple starchy foods are allowed during fasting times. This starchy foods gives stamina to keep going without letting the meaning of fasting go-by. Sabudhana wada, Aroratachi poli etc are some well known fasting foods of Maharashtrians.

Those staying in Maharashtra must be well know to this recipes. Often most restaurants and Hotels in the city includes fasting recipes in menu especially during Chaturthi and Sankashti. Even groceries stores sell fasting products in most parts of Maharashtra like Rajgira ladoo, Rajgira roti, Sabudhana Wada etc. Special flours are sold in most local grocery stores for fasting purpose like Rajgira flour, Arorat flour, Upvaasachi Bhajni, Mukhane and Mukhane flour etc. I would post fasting recipes in my blog with most of the fasting ingredients available in market.

Today am posting a simple fasting recipe which can be taken during evening time when human body is really exhausted after fasting for long hours. Its a simple recipe and needs very few ingredients and can be cooked fast.

Ingredients:
Sweet Potato - 1/2 kg
Desi Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Curry Leaves - 10-12 nos
Dry whole red chilly - 2-3 nos
Grated Coconut - 2-3 tablespoon
Salt -to taste.

Method:

Wash the vegetable nicely. Root Vegetables tends to have more mud on the skin than any ohter vegetables. So wash properly under tap water.
Let them dry or just clean the vegetable using a clean cloth.
Steam the Sweet Potato in a pressure cooker for 3 whistles. If you are using steamer then steam it for 15 minutes.
Don't remove the sweet potato from the cooker or steamer that sooner. Remove it only after further 15 minutes. This will make the vegetable softer and it will be well cooked inside.
Remove them, allow it to cool . But don't wait till its completely cooled or else the skin would be again hard to peel. So wait for 2-3 minutes and then peel the skin. It comes off easily. Just peel it with help of your fingers the way you peel the skin off from boiled potatoes.
Once the skin is peeled, cut the sweet potatoes into cubes of 1 inch and keep aside.
Take a kadai and keep it over flame. Heat oil in it and add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
Add dry red chillies, curry leaves and saute for a minute.
Add the sweet potatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add salt and saute.
Spread the grated coconut over it from top and saute well for 2-3 minutes.
The dish is ready to be served. Have it as a evening food during fasting times. It is a ideal food for fasting and gives enough stamina for the body.

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Cooking Time : 7 minutes
Serves : 4 persons
Shelflife: Best fresh
Serving Suggestion: Serve as a evening snack.

Note:

Fasting foods are meant to be simple without much taste , so avoid masalas and powders. But it still tastes excellent this way. Give it a try.
Steaming the vegetable before hand makes it easy to peel off the skin. But avoid letting them to cool down completely since it tends to harden fast.
Oil is avoided during fasting , and only ghee is consumed in fasting food or I have used desi ghee. On normal occasion , oil can be used.

Ratthali Sabzi (Spicy Sweet Potato Sabzi)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 9 Mar 2010 05:32:00 -0800

Winters are the season of vegetables, especially ground vegetables. The Indian market is usually flooded with all kind of vegetables and fruits during winters. Scinentifically it is said that food absorbed by human body during winters gives the maximum good results. So it a double bonanza to grumble on our favourite vegetable during winters.

Sweet Potato is a ground vegetable and is native to South America, and was cultivated and domesticated there 5000 years ago. It is proved by experts that Sweet potota can be cultivated in any farming condition and it has few natural enemies. It hardly needs pesticide or fertilizers and hence can be said that its organic and good for health. China holds the record for producing largest numbers of sweet potatoes and some 100 varieties of sweet potatoes is believed to be cultivated in China. Apart from China Indonesia, India and Vietnam are the largest growers of sweet potatoes. Americans often include in the menu on the occasion of Thanksgiving.

Sweet pototo contains rich Carbohydrates, dietary fibre ,Iron, Calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C , Vitamin B6 besides simple starch. As per study, Sweet potatoes ranks higher in nutritional value than any other vegetable, so do include it in your menu whenever the season is around. Despite having the word "Sweet" in it, it is considered beneficial food for diabetics as it helps to stabilize the blood sugar level and lowers the insulin resistance. Also all part of this plant is good as animal fodder.

In southern America, intrestingly apart from culinary purpose, it is belived to be used in making todye for cloth. By varing the proportions of the juices, many shades of pink, purple and black is obtained.

Sweet Potato comes in two colours yellow and Pink. India is pink sweet potato grower but the outer look of both varieties looks same. In Maharashtra, this ground vegetable is included among fasting food, where people consume it during fasting time. This particular dish can also be called a Maharashtrian style of cuisine and I hope you guys would enjoy having it.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato - 1/2 kg

Red Chilli Powder - 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon

Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tablespoon.

Method:

Wash the sweet potatoes nicely under water and let it dry.
The skin of Sweet potato is hard hence many find it difficult to peel it. But it is not impossible even so either you can peel take a knife and cut off the skin or just pressure cook it over flame without whistle for 5-7 minutes. It helps to remove the skin with ease and the cooking time would be saved while making the sabzi.
Cut the Sweet Potato into cubes and keep aside.
Take a deep bottom kadai and keep it over flame. Add 1 tablespoon of oil and heat it.
Add Asafoetida and mustard seeds to it and allow the seeds to crackle.
Then add the Sweet Potato cubes . Add water to it , add water till the sweet potoes gets covered by it.
Cover the kadai with a lid and allow it to cook over medium flame for 7-8 minutes.
Open the lid and stir softly.
The water must be still left, but dont worry since the that water would make the sabzi softer while it is being cooked.
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt to it and stir well.
Now don't stir the sabzi often and cover the lid and allow to cook for some 2-3 minutes over low flame.
Open the lid and check. If the water is still left then just cook it in open without a lid for further 2-3 minutes.
The sabzi is ready . Serve hot. This sabzi needs no Garnishing and needs very simple ingredients which is easily available at home.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes.
Cooking Time: 15 minutes.
Serves: 4 persons.
Shelflife: 1 day. Best Fresh.
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with Rice and gravy. It also goes well with Puri.

Note:

Choose good Sweet Potatoes for this cuisine. It can chooses easily , just take care that it doesn't has any patchy marks on the outer side.
The skin of this vegetable is hard. So either cut it off with knife or just steam it over pressure cooker for 5 minutes without a whistle which makes it easy to peel the skin easily.
Don't worry if you had added more water while cooking. Starchy vegetables like Sweet potatoes, Potatoes and Yam absorbs all the water and keeps the cuisine soft.
Don't Keep stirring often while cooking or else the vegtable will end up being mashed. We just need it to be soft while it looks good and pleasing to our eyes while is one of the basic senses which checks the food.

An Introduction About Indian Spices

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 04:50:00 -0800

Spices are defined as "a strongly flavored or aromatic substance of vegetable origin, obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as a condiment". In ancient times, spices were as precious as gold; and as significant as medicines , preservatives and perfumes. India - the land of spices, plays a significant role in the global spices market.

No country in the world produces as many kinds of spices as India with quality spices come from Kerala, an Indian state. At present, India produces around 2.5 million tones of different spices valued at approximately 3 billion US $, and holds the premier position in the world. Because of the varying climates - from tropical to sub-tropical to temperate-almost all spices are grown in this country. In almost all of the 25 states and seven union territories of India, at least one spice is grown in abundance.

Spices and herbs are good not only for our taste buds but also for our health. They supply calcium, iron, vitamin B, vitamin C , carotene and other antioxidants. For instance fresh parsley has been linked with cancer prevention due to its antioxidant content and spicy food is much more appealing than a vitamin pill. Besides herbs and spices don't have any kilojoules or fact, so you can eat them to your heart's content.

History Of Indian Spices:

The fame of Indian spices is older than the recorded history. The story of Indian Spices is more than 7000 years old. Centuries before Greece and Rome had been discovered, sailing ships were carrying Indian spices, perfumes and textiles to Mesopotamia, Arabia and Egypt. It was the lure of these that brought many seafarers to the shores of India.

In the ancient era, the Greek merchants thronged the markets of South India, buying several expensive items including the spices. Epicurean Rome was spending a fortune on Indian spices, silks, brocades, Dhaka Muslin and cloth of gold, etc. It is believed that the Parthian wars were being fought by Rome largely to keep open the trade route to India. It is also said that Indian spices and her famed products were the main lure for crusades and expeditions to the East.

With the arrival of the Muslims the scenario altered further. An assortment of spices was used in Muslim preparations and the usage of such spices was popularised throughout the nation under the Muslim rule. As a result such spices gradually became a part of the Indian cuisines. Indian spice trading underwent changes once again during the colonial rule. As far as trading is concerned the Arabian traders were quite instrumental in popularising the Indian spices in the different corners of the world. In India, Arabian traders got the rare and exotic spices of the Far East from local spice merchants. India had spent the previous two millennia spreading its culture to the Spice Islands of the east. Arabian traders were able to make good money supplying these spices, even with the high prices paid to the Indian middle men, not only to their countrymen back home, but to Europe as well.

It was in the year 1492 A.D., that Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Five years later, four tiny ships sailed southward from the port of Lisbon, Portugal, under the guidance of Captain Vasco Da Gama. Like Columbus, Vasco Da Gama too was searching for a new route to the spice lands of Asia. While Columbus failed to achieve the goal, Da Gama succeeded. In a two year, 24,000 miles round trip, he took his ships around the continent of Africa to India and back to Lisbon. Only two of the four ships survived to reach their homeport. These two ships brought back a cargo of spices and other products worth 60 times the cost of the said voyage. Even under the Dutch rule spice trading in India was encouraged. However a combination of spices spread throughout the world as curry powder with the coming of the British.

The British reign in modern India encouraged the spice trading in India. Sandalwood, turmeric, saffron, coriander and a host of other Indian spices were exported from India to other parts of the world. Post independence the trade of Indian spices kept flourishing and a Board of Spices was established to look after the industry. The history of Indian spices depicts that these ingredients were also used in alternative medicines. For instance Ayurveda makes use of several herbs that are also used for culinary purposes. Aloe Vera, cloves, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, etc had been extensively used in Ayurvedic medicines.

In contemporary India spices are used both as culinary and medical ingredients.

Types Of Spices:

Bark Type Spices
Leaf Type Spices
Root Type Spices
Flower Type Spices
Miscellaneous Type of Spices
Seed Type Spices
Fruit Type Spices
Pepper Type Spices

There is a popular belief that spicy foods are bad for health. This belief is not only far from the truth but also that; spices in fact have medicinal properties and are good for health. Spices are well known as appetizers and digestives and are considered essential in the culinary art all over the world.. Some of them have anti-oxidant properties, while others have preservative properties and are used in some foods like pickles and chutneys, etc. Some spices also possess strong anti-microbial and antibiotic activities. Many of them possess medicinal properties and have a profound effect on human health, since they affect many functional; processes. For example, spices intensify salivary flow and the secretion of amylase, neuraminic acid and hexosamines. They cleanse the oral cavity from food adhesion and bacteria; they may help to check infection, and to protect the mucous membrane against thermic, mechanical and chemical irritation. Spices increase the secretion of saliva rich in ptyalin, which facilitates starch digestion in the stomach, rendering the meals, which are rich in carbohydrates, more digestible.

Spices possibly activate the adrenal-cortical function and fortify resistance and physical capacity. Stroke volume, blood pressure and stroke frequency can be markedly diminished or augmented by means of spices. Spices inhibit thrombus formation and accelerate thrombolysis.

During World War I, and a few years after, India was principal supplier of essential oils like thymol, produced both with the help of traditional distillation methods as well as modern steam distillation methods. But the market was lost forever due to invention of synthetic essential oils.

South Indian Spices:
The south Indian foods are popular for their non-steaming spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cover garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric.

The history of the South Indian spices can be traced back to 7,000 years. It is a chequered history of lands, discovered or destroyed, kingdoms built or brought down wars won or lost, treaties signed or flouted, favours sought or offered. Even today, South Indian spices hold the same spell. In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the cultivation of paprika and a chilli variety with high colour value and low pungency is increased. Within the past one decade, the international trade in spices has grown by leaps and bounds.

Some of the South Indian spices include Kura Podi (Curry powder), Sambar Podi (Sambar powder), Charu Podi (Rasam powder), Pacchadi Podi (hot chutney powder) and Pulusu Podi (Sweet `soup` powder).

Pulusu Podi is used to make something like sambar. Rasam powder or Charu Podi is a thin broth that can be drunk as soup or eaten with rice. It is rather spicy and makes a nice hot drink with a warm sensation from the spices. Pacchadi Podi or hot chutney powder is used to make all kinds of chutneys with tomatoes, egg plant, raw tamarind, cucumber, etc.

Information Sources: Indianetzone

Siru Kilangu Poriyal

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 3 Feb 2010 06:11:00 -0800

It's winter season and the market is flooded with root vegetables. Most unusual and uncommon root vegetables, vegetables and fruits can be found during this period at best prices. It is believed that human digestive and metabolism system and health works best during the winters so it is always good to consume as many vegetables as possible during this time. Root vegetables are best in terms of nutrients and gives enough energy to us, hence consume them as much as possible. Moreover, root vegetables are really easy to good and tastes nice. If you are bored of the regular vegetables and meats, do opt for root vegetables and experience it's rich taste.

This is a root vegetable called Siru Kilangu in tamil and Koorakai in Malayalam. I don't know its english name, I did search a lot but failed to know it's English name.

Siru Kilangu is very popular among South Indians and especially among tamil and malayali population. The taste of Siru Kilangu is more or less familiar to potatoes but potatoes tend to get extremely when boiled nicely and siru kilangu doesn't get the softer but it is best to eat that way.

In south, the root vegetables like siru kilangu, cheppa kilangu(taro), Sennai (yam), Karunai kilangu are extremely popular.

Ingredients:
Siru Kilangu - 500 grams (It is also called Koorkai)
Grated coconut - 3-4 tablespoons
Curry leaves - 10-12 nos
Dry Red chillies - 2-3 nos
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilly powder - 1 tablespoon
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1-2 tablepsoon.

Method:

The most important and time consuming part of this root vegetable is getting it cleaned and removing its skin. But there is a easy way to do this. Take the siru kilangu is a thick big cloth , gather the kilangu in the middle of the cloth and tie up the cloth into a bundle keeping the kilangu inside.
Now beat the bundle on the floor for atleast 10-15 times. dont waste all your energy in beating it. You are not hitting the stone but a vegetable, so apply less amount of energy.
Hit it on the floor for few times. Now open the bundle. You can see the skins seperated. If needed cover it again and hit on floor for few more times till you feel it is okay.
Now open the bundle. Carefully remove the kilangu from the seperated skin one by one and put it a vessel of water.
Keep the siru kilangu soaked in this water for atleast 3-4 hours. This loosens up the remaining skin and makes it easy for you to remove them completely.
When it is soaked enough, peel the skin of the siru kilangu with the help of a knife. and again put then in a clean bowl of water. Remove the skin of all the kilangu one by one and place it in clean water.
Wash it nicely.
Now here you can either cook the siru kilangu well before and keep it ready or cook it while making the cuisine. I always make them while cooking.
Now chop the siru kilangu into 3 or 4 peices as per choice. Usually siru kilangu is small in size.
Now that the skin has been peeled , it is cleaned and chopped. It is time to cook it.
Take a kadai and heat it on flame. Add oil and allow to heat.
Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
Once mustard seeds get crackled, add pinch of asafoetida . Then add cut the dry red chillies into two from the middle and add it to the thadka. Also add the curry leaves and saute for a minute.
Thadka is ready. Now put the chopped siru kilangu into the kadai and pour enough water till the siru kilangu is covered. Allow it cook without lid for 5 minutes. Later cover a lid and cook for further 5-8 minutes. Add little salt while cooking, later add the the exact amount you need as per taste. Since grated coconut too needs salt so it half the amount of salt can be added later.
Check it. Check whether the kilangu is cooked. You can do this by taking a kilangu out and pressing it with fingers or by inserting a knife inside it. If knife pierces easily hen its cooked or if you get pressed then its cooked.
By this time even the water must have evapourated, if not then cook it for further 2 minutes on open air but dont stir. The water will get evapourated. If case you had already cooked the kilangu then this step (15 and 16 ) is not necesaary.
Now add turmeric powder, salt (remember you did add little while cooking it) and red chilly powder. Stir and mix well.
Add the grated coconut finally and mix well and cook for 1 min more. Grated coconut not only removes the extra moisture but also add taste the recipe.
Siru Kilangu poriyal is ready. Serve hot with Sambhar Rice .

Preparation Time: 6 hours
Cooking Hours : 20-25 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with Sambhar and rice.

Note:

To remove the skin of this vegetable easily, tie it in a thick big cloth and hit it on the floor ( the way cloths are hit while washing in india). But dont hit that hard, just be light and smooth while hitting. Repeat this 10-15 mins till the skin is almost seperated from the kilangu.
To remove the remaining skin, put it clean in clean water . Pour water so that the kilangu gets fully covered. So add ample amount of water and keep them soaking for almost 3-4 hours. Sometimes it needs to be soaked for 5 -6 hours too depending on the skin.
With the help of knife peel the skin of the kilangu and put it clean water. Remove the skin of all the kilangu similarly and put it in clean water. Wash nicely and chop into pieces.
While cooking if you feel there is more amount of moisture in the recipe, then add few more teaspoons of grated coconut. If will remove the extra moisture and keep the recipe dry.

Click here to know all about Tamil Nadu cuisines- I ntroduction To Tamil Nadu Cuisines And Recipes .

Kai Sutthu Murukku

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 05:16:00 -0800

South Indians must be very well aware of this savory called Kai Chuttu Murukku. Murukku is called chakli in western Indian languages . The word "Kai Chuttu" means prepared using hands. Usually murukku is prepared using a press container which gives it the specific shape and design and it is later fried in oil, but in this murukku it's different. Instead of container , hands are used to give them the design and shape and later it is deep fried in oil.
There is something very special about this murukku which I had noted, may be people may find it ridiculous but it's completely my opinion. Just use the same ingredients and use a press container to make murukku . Similarly prepare some murukku using your hands. Taste both the both , I bet you will find a difference in the taste. The one which is prepared using hands are more tastier than those which are prepared using the press container. I can bet on that. Hands definitely gives more taste and make the savory intresting. Once I had a talk on this with a reputed cook specialist in South Indian cuisine, even he was of the same opinion. He said that hands definitely adds a unique taste to the dishes, that's the reason why traditionally prepared cuisines are more famous and liked by people than those which are available ready made in market. It's not just a belief but scientifically too hands can change and make dishes delicious. That's how the saying came where women with good cooking skills are often praised saying they have magic in their hands when it comes to cooking.
Kai chuttu Murukku is item which is always found in most Tamilan household , since it's a Tamil Nadu Savory. Marraiges are often described incomplete unless guests are gifted with a bag containing Kai chuttu Murukku, Beetal leaves, supari, flowers and a sweet dish.
Murukku is prepared in lines(the circles or the rings) depending on the functions. Like this murukku is a three ring which I prepared at home. For marraiges 5 ring Murukku is prepared and 4 ring is prepared during festive seasons.
I love this murukku and make it a point to prepare this at home since I find that more economical and hygienic. I did record the method of preparing the murukku but my video turned out to be too blurred. I will definitely upload the next time i prepare this. As of now I am posting a video link I found on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mJnY8C1Rbo
This Lady Vijayakumari has shown the easy way of preparing the murukku which will definately help you guys to understand .
Often kai chuttu Murukku is considered difficult to prepare but believe me , it's not that tough either. All you need is some expertise and patience. Practice everyday and you will be able to prepare it 5-6 days. Don't make dough and waste it for practicing, just make a rough handful of dough out of rice flour and try.
I would recommend a home made flour instead of readymade flour from market. Since home made flour would be best and the results would be far better.

Ingredients:
Rice Flour - 8 cups (read the method below for preparing the rice flour for Murukku).
Urad dal flour - 1 cup
Butter - 100-150 grams
Sesame Seeds - 2 tablespoons
Salt - to taste
Oil for deep frying (probably Palm Oil)

Method: (For Rice Flour)

Take 8 cups of rice (Pachcha arasi/ Kachcha chawal/raw rice) and wash it. Soak it in water for some 10 minutes.
Drain the excess water from the rice.
Take a big clean cotton cloth or a clean towel. Spread it on the floor or a platform or table.
Spread the rice over the cloth and let it dry.
Don't let the rice dry completely. Once the water is completely soaked by the cloth remove it a vessel. You can take a check here. Just rotate your hands on the rice, if it doesn't stick then its ready for making flour.
Grind the rice to a fine powder.
Use a seive (chalni) and pass the rice flour through them to ensure that flour is too fine and not coarse.
The rice flour is ready for Murukku.

Method: (For Urad dal flour)

Take 1 cup of urad and fry it over low flame till it changes it's color . Don't let it get brown. Just roast it till it turns yellowish.
Now cool the urad and grind it to a fine powder.
Pass it through a seive to ensure that you get a fine powder.
Remember: Use only fine flour or else it might crack up while being deep friend in oil and at times it might pop out and might hurt you too.

Method : (For Making Murukku)

Take all the ingredients( except oil) and mix well.
Add some water to it and kneed it into a very soft dough. The dough should be extremely soft.
Take a clean cloth and spread it over a table.
Take some amount of dough in your hands and twist it in between your fingers and make rings in circular path to make the murukku ( watch the video link given above).
Keep twisting the dough in between your fingers and it will make a way out on the cloth. This might take some practice but worth the result.
Heat the oil. When it is ready check if it is ready for the murukku to be fried. For that just drop in a very tiny piece of the dough into the hot oil. If it is ready, it will float and will have foams around indicating its ready. In other words , you can see it being fried.
Now it is time to fry the murukku.
Carefully lift the cloth with one hand and flap the part where the murukku is prepared in your hands.
Slowly and carefully drop the murukku in hot oil one by one.
In case where you are not sure about it, then you can prepare the murukku in the spatula and then place in the hot oil till it starts seperating from the spatula.
Similarly drop in the other murukku one by one and deep fry it till it turns golden brown .
Allow it to cool and store it a airtight container. This can be stored up to 2 months if stored preperly.
Kai chuttu Murukku is ready.

Preparation Time: 4 hours
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves : Makes almost 100- 120 Murukku
Shelflife: 2 months
Serving Suggestion: A good evening snack.

Note:

Always use home made flour, it might take time but its worth the result.
Pass it through seive properly to ensure that you get fine flour.
Practice and you would definitely perfect the art of making chuttu murukku.
Use desi butter which is available in markets as if would really give a better taste to the savory.

Click here to know all about Tamil Nadu cuisines- Introduction To Tamil Nadu Cuisines And Recipes .

Blogoversary

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:11:00 -0800

Happy first blogoversary!!
Happy Birthday My Blog

1 Day Left For My Blog's First Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:26:00 -0800

Hi guys, It's going to be a year . Yeah, my blog is going to turn a year in few hours. I am quite excited and very happy. Days seems to have run really fast. I still remember the days when I wasn't that good with blogging. I didn't have any idea about what to write and how to explain. I am kind of reserved person and I find it difficult to speak up that easily. But today, thanks to blogging, this has really helped me a lot... I can see myself much improved . Now I am a bit good and comfortable with blogging and also my communication skills and writing skills have improved with this.

I wanted to start few things with this New year but since the first anniversary was just around, I preferred waiting to make this announcement. Yeah not one but 2 announcements. Well don't wanna make you keep guessing it's not a big surprise.

I am going to start 2 new blog under this blogger. One would be poems and shayaris and the other one would be beauty and health blog. Wondered?
I have mentioned a few times that I am blessed with creative skills . I really thank God for that gifting me with this skills. I am passionate about writing and I have loads of poems and shayaris penned down in my dairies and computer. Often my friends suggested me to publish them, but I don't really find them that good enough to publish them. But blogging them is quite a nice idea. Well, I won't be posting all the poems since many of them are really special to me which have my feelings and emotions but I would post many of those which are good enough and would be enjoyable to read.

I don't write often. I really need a mood or need to be left alone , that's when I can write something. Like many poets who can write on anything and everything, I am not that good in this. I pen down what flows in my heart , they are feelings and emotions which I never share with anyone. I have many friends, in fact loads of friends but I am very much a private person. I don't share any of my feelings or emotions with my family or friends. In a way that has really made me strong as a person today and helped me what I am. I love learning and poems have helped me learn patience, tolerance and most of all it taught me to be good with everyone. Its something which can be taken away from me.

The Purpose I am gonna blog on health and beauty is not much relevant though. I had a bad health and skin since young age and I had to face really worst time due to this. When I was young, I couldn't do much to improve it but now that am bit matured and have enough Knowledge I am really able to fight them. I am born with a allergy which makes me worse to everything harsh around me and takes a toil on my health and skin. I am almost allergic to everything around, it really sounds ridiculous but I live with it. I had a really bad skin till few years but now, I have followed many things , seriously learnt many things which made better results than I had before when I had to run for appointments to many docters. This aren't much special remedies but may be many people would be able to get some benefit out of it the way I had. There are not much Indian beauty sites or beauty blogs on net. May be I can contribute something. Nah, I didn't learn everything myself. I too learnt them from internet sites and blogs, through books, articles from newspaper and Magazines, through people etc. This subject really interests me. Even this is art. I won't be just blogging to share my knowledge but to learn from people who read this.

I am really thankful to all those visitors who visited my blog and made me feel good. I am thankful to all those beautiful comments I received , to all those food sites who invited me join them, to all those people who mailed me to give their feedback. You all made me feel really special and I want your wishes and blessings to keep my blog going .

This isn't just a blog for me, its my friend and guide and I treat my blog with respect on par as a human.

Happy 1st Anniversary To My Blog In Advance!!!!

Mazedaar Sabzi (Patatoes, Cauliflower, Peas &Carrot side dish)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:33:00 -0800

I haven't posted something which can be cooked on daily basis since a long time. These days, i really find it difficult to get time for blogging, but still i make it a resolution this year to post and experiment as many dishes as possible.

Life really turns hectic and fast as days go. We hardly find time for ourselves and activities. Am no exception to this rule, my days are really going hectic and fast with days. That's the reason i opt for something which can be cooked within minutes though i love experimenting in the kitchen. But who has the time? I am south indian and rice is basic staple food at my home. Though i like rice, i believe that rice isn't that good for health and body as much as other grains do. But my parents are aged and can't opt for chewy foods like chapathi and rotis at this age and neither do I have enough time to cook multiple cuisines a day. And the rising prices of grocery won't permit me to take that easy on cooking.

I have always been a fitness freak. I believe in eating right and working out right and staying fit. I make this mandatory in my daily routine and also i regularly keep a check on the fitness of my family members. And the good health starts with good and healthy food so I always make it sure that i cover my daily menu with not only good and tasty food but also healthy and nutritious food. So green veggies, other vegetables, less oil and other things are always taken note of whenever i get into kitchen. I love eating veggies more than rice or roti. It not only provide much needed nutrients but only energizes the body.

This recipe which can be categorized under sabzi is one of my fav dish. I simply love this and make it a point to prepare this at least once a week. This sabzi is not only delicious and spicy but also is good for health. This has maximum veggies like potatoes, cauliflower, peas and carrots which are good for health. As you all know,potatoes have a special power to fulfill the hunger and the other veggies carrots, peas and cauliflower are full of nutrients and health benefits and so does potatoes. To add spicy taste red chilly powder and garam masala are used . This sabzi can be served with rice and as well as roti, bhakri and chapatis. This can also be eaten alone if you area veggie lover, even i do the same.

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 2 big potatoes chopped in 1 inch cubes
Cauliflower - 1 cup florets (cut them into medium or small florets as per choice)
Carrot - 1 big carrot chopped into small pieces
Peas - 1/2 cup (fresh or frozen peas tastes best then the dried ones)
Red chilly powder - 1 tablespoon
Garam Masala powder - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Asafoetida - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Onion - 1 small onion (finely chopped)
Curry leaves - 10-12 nos
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Salt - As per taste
Coriander Leaves - Freshly chopped 1 tablespoon for garnishing.

Method:

Wash and chop the vegetables and keep aside. Keep the potatoes cubes in water since potatoes tend to change color once they are chopped.
Take a deep bottomed vessel or a big kadai. Heat it.
Add oil and allow to heat. Add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle.
When the mustard seeds crackle, add the asafoetida and chopped onions and saute till the onion turns golden brown in color. (Here is a handy tip, sprinkle a pinch of salt when you the saute the onions..this will make it saute faster and your time would be saved).
Add the curry leaves and just saute for few seconds on low flame. Dont saute curry leaves for long since it looses it important nutrients if sauted for long or fried.
Add 2 cups of water this thadka and allow it to boil. This will take just 2-3 mins as the kadai is already heated.
Add the chopped vegetables to the boiling water and salt and stir well.
If you want to cook this in a typical Maharashtrian style, then just add 1/2 cup of water and the chopped vegetables . Add the salt and close the lid. Salt helps the moisture the retain and helps the vegetables to cook well in its own water. This saves the nutrients. Maharashtrian style of cooking basically involves less amount of water and believes in cooking veggies in its own water.
Close the lid and allow the vegetables to cook.
When the vegetables tender soft and cooked well, add the turmeric powder, red chilly powder and garam masala to it. Stir well so the masala gets coated well. Lower the flame and stir in between till the sabzi gets dried up. This takes just 3 mins and also the masalas penetrates well in the veggies.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
Serve hot with rice or roti.

Preparation Time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife: 1 day
Serving suggestions: Serve hot with rice or roti.

Note:

If you are in hurry, chop the vegetables a day before and store in a air-tight container or zip-lock packet and keep it in refriegerator a day before, this will save your time and also save the nutrients.
Adding a pinch of salt helps the onions to saute fast.
To cook this in Maharashtrian style, just add less amount of water and add salt before allowing them to cook. This helps the vegetables to cook well and helps the vegetables to cook in its own water which gives a different unique taste to the cuisine.
Don't keep stirring often, this would mash down the vegetables. Beginners can use non-stick kadai to avoid any mess.

Click here to learn and know more about Maharashtrian recipes and cuisines - An Introduction To Maharashtrian Recipes and Cuisines.

Sharkara varatti (Jaggery coated Banana chips)

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Wed, 6 Jan 2010 07:45:00 -0800

Shakara Varatti is a special chips prepared in kerala. It is unique in taste and can be found in almost every Malayali household. This chips has the meaning and the description of its name in the name itself. Shakara varatti is a Malayalam word (language spoken by people of Kerala). Shakara means sweet and varatti means coated. Yeah right, this chips is sweet in taste and it is coated in jaggery which gives it this unique taste , hence it has this name.

I have few malayali family friends and also i have few malayali friends while i was in college and i had a good opportunity to taste and explore their food and recipes. Kerala recipes are quite simple and not much complicated to prepare. Kerala being a coastal state , malayalis use things which are commonly and easily available in abundance over there. Being a coastal area, it is abundant in coconut trees, banana tree , rice , fish and ground vegetables. That being a reason, you can see many keralities using coconut and coconut oil for cooking. Coconut oil is believed to have many health benefits and beauty benefits. Well let me come to the recipe. Its a delicious recipe which almost tastes like a traditional candy. It requires less ingredients but needs good concentration of mind and little patience for preparing this recipe. But the secret of making any recipe delicious is just prepare with love and affection and serve it much love and affection even the worst made food would taste delicious.

So, here am posting the shakarra varatti recipe, i cant post the preparation pics though since most of the pics turned out to be blurred and had bad quality of light. But i will surely make it a point to prepare this once again when i get time and post the pics on this blog. As of now, I am elaborately explaining the method of preparing this recipe. This was the first time i prepared this, but am satisfied with the outcome so hope it would help those who read it too.

Ingredients:
Unripe plantains(Raw Bananas) - 1 kg (it usually counts to 5 bananas)
Jaggery( - 300 gm
Cardamom( - 5 nos
Dry ginger and cumin seeds powder - 1 tbsp (add just 2-3 pinches of cumins to make powder)
Coconut oil - 250 gm
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Sour curd - 1/2 glass .

Method:

Peel the skin of the plantains(Raw bananas).
Slit the banana lengthwise and cut it into 1/4" pieces.
Put them in warm water for few minutes , say some 10-15 mins.
Take enough water to cover the plantain pieces.
Pour sour curd into this water to get rid of the plantains’ serum. Usually raw plantains are sticky and this makes it uneasy to use . This white sticky thing which looks like serum makes the pieces cling to each other thus making it imperfect. Sour curd washes away those sticky serums thus giving you clean pieces of plantains for chip which stays seperated from each other.
Keep this aside like this for some 30-40 mins. So that the sour curd removes away those sticky serums completely. It won't change the taste anyhow nor would the chips would taste sour.
Now strain the excess water off.
Now take a clean piece of cloth (water absorbale cloth) and pat dry the plantains. So that oil won't throw some boiling sparks on you while frying them.
Heat oil in a deep bottomed vessel . Let it heat for sometime and then lower the flame as this would make the chips crisper.
Put the plantains pieces in the oil . Put in batches so that it is fried nicely.
Keep a check on them continuously by stirring in between so that it doesn't get sticked to each other.
Cook in medium to low fire until the pieces start turning brown. Allow them to cook and fry them properly so that chips are crispy. It will take some time. (Here is a nice tip to know that the chips are fried. When the foams around the chips in hot oil are reduced, its a indication that its well friend and cooked but also be careful not the let them change the color to dark brown).
Once the chips are fried remove the pieces from the oil using a strainer and put them in a tissue paper to absorb excess oil.
Dissolve jaggery in water and bring this to a boil.
When the boil settles down and the mixture becomes thick.
Add the plantains into the boiling jaggery one by one .
The consistency is right if you see thin jaggery threads forming while you stir the plantain pieces.
Add powdered cardamom and dry ginger-cumin powder and mix well. So that the spices gets coated on each chip pieces.Also add ghee and mix well.
Now the nicely coated coated jaggery pieces could be seen visibly seperated and turning dry. (In case, it doesn't look completely dry then add 2-3 tablespoons of fine sugar to this and stir well).
Shakara varatti is ready. Allow it to cool down and then store them in a air-tight container. It remains for 1 month if stored properly.

Preparation Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Shelflife: 1 -2 months if stored in air-tight container
Serves: Can be easily served to 20-15 persons
Serving Suggestions: Serve as a evening snack or serve it with lunch.

Note:

Don't ever fry the chips directly in the oil. Do soak them in the sour curd for atleast 30 mins.
For safety reasons especially beginners, do pat the chips in a dry clean cloth after removing from water and then fry them in oil so that boiling oil doesn't harm you.
Keep stirring occasionally while frying, so that the chips doesn't stick to each other.
When the foams around the chips in hot oil are reduced, its a indication that its well friend and cooked but also be careful not the let them change the color to dark brown.
The jaggery is important part of this recipe. The consistency is right if you see thin jaggery threads forming while you stir the plantain pieces.
In case, it doesn't look completely dry then add 2-3 tablespoons of fine sugar to this and stir well. This would let it dry and make perfect chips

Click here to know more about Kerala recipes and cuisines - An Introduction to Kerala Recipes and Cuisines.

Click here to know more about Indian sweets and desserts - An Introduction to Indian Sweets And Indian Desserts.

Happy New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 08:39:00 -0800

Wish You All A Very Happy And Prosperous New Year

An Introduction To Kerala Cuisines And Recipes

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 03:38:00 -0800

Kerala is located between north latitudes 8 degree 18' and 12 degree 48' and east longitudes 74 degree 52' and 72 degree 22', this land of eternal beauty encompasses 1.18 per cent of the India. The land area of kerala is about 38,863 sqkm, with a total population of 31,838,619. It is about 3 per cent of the country's population. The population density of the state is about 655 people per square kilometer, About 16 per cent of the people live in the cities. Most of the others live in large, semi-urban villages.
If there is one place in the riveting diversity of India where there is tangible beauty and a phenomenal thing like total literacy, it is in Kerala. Kerala is full of good things. This small State in the southern tip of the Indian peninsula is an easy winner owning to its great mind-blowing landscape and infinity of intriguing customs, high-intensity cultural life and educated public so often dressed in white. From Kasargode to Thiruvananthapuram Kerala is choc-a-bloc with places that attract tourists and travelers from all over the world.

South India has hot, humid climate and all its states are coastal. Rainfall is abundant and so is the supply of fresh fruit, vegetables and rice. Andhra Pradesh produces fiery Andhra cuisine which is largely vegetarian yet has a huge range of seafood in the its coastal areas. Tamilnadu has Chettinad cuisine, perhaps the most fiery of all Indian food. This style too is largely vegetarian.

From Kerala comes Malabari cooking, with its repertoire of tasty seafood dishes. Hyderabad is home of the Nizams (rulers of Hyderabad) and regal Nizami food rich and flavorful with tastes ranging from spicy to sour to sweet. Hyderabadi food is full of nuts, dried fruits and exotic, expensive spices like Saffron.

Kerala Food:
Food in Kerala

Food in Kerala (Malayali food please, not Keralan) depends both on area - South versus North Kerala, backwaters versus the hills - and community: Moplah (Muslim), Syriani (Christian) and different Hindu communities.

Many things are common like the use of coconuts, fish and rice, but other things can be quite different - obviously something like beef which is a big feature of Syriani food would not be eaten by Hindus - but I also find less known differences. For example, the Thiyya community from North Kerala , is totally obsessive about shellfish like kalamakai (mussels). No one from South Kerala ever seems to eat them which is perhaps for geographical reasons - rocky coasts versus sandy beaches.

One of the interesting points of difference between communities is their differing use of breads all based generally on rice flour: appams and iddiappams for Syrianis, pathiri for Moplahs, nai-patthal for Thiyyas, appams and puttu for Nairs, dosas and puttu for Namboodiris. These are well worth trying since most of them would be hard to get outside Kerala. Another Kerala staple is tapioca which can be very good cooked there (and only there).

In Cochin and the backwaters the cult fish to try is karimeen or pearl spot, a quite beautiful really estuarine fish. Otherwise you'll get the usual seer, a big meaty fish which tends to dominate fish cooking in South India. Even in Bombay, where pomfret rules, followed by rawas and surmai, you'll get more variety than you get in restaurants in South India. But I mustn't get into a rant on this.

Moplah cooking is among the best in Kerala, and relatively easy to get since many Moplahs have started restaurants. Their biriani is famous, if you like biriani (I don't). They have interesting Arab influenced dishes like harisa, which is their version of the stewed wheat and meat concept that becomes haleem in Hyderabad and khichada in North India. They have lots of lesser known things like mutta-malas, egg yolks cooked in sugar syrup and pulled into strings.

Syriani spiced beef (erachi olathiyathu) is wonderful. The authentic version will be dry fried and spicy, but not explosive and usually cooked with hard chips of coconut. Totally addictive stuff. Meen vevichadu is their fried fish, which varies a lot.

Hindus usually eat fish as well, and its always pretty good, whatever the version. Two vegetarian dishes that I totally gorge on are kalan, made from green bananas cooked with yoghurt and coconut oil and olan, made from pumpkin and beans cooked in coconut oil (if you don't like coconut oil, and some people hate it with a passion, you're going to have a hard time in Kerala).

A Typical Kerala Cuisine is Simple As:

Rice Main Course of Food :
The essential ingredient of the daily diet is rice. Breakfast, lunch or dinner, it is some rice preparation or the other, served along with a variety of fish. Fish is consumed in a variety of ways – it is preserved after being dried and salted or cooked in a delicious coconut gravy. Prawns, shrimps and crustaceans constitute some of the other famous delicacies.

Morning Meals:
After the morning dose of coffee, a typical malayali household serves breakfast that may either consist of soft idlis, prepared out of a paste of fermented rice and black pulses, or dosa, an oval spread of the same ingredients. Well-seasoned appams or periappams, made by mixing this paste with tomatoes, onions and other handy vegetables, are some of the other morning culinary delights.

Midday Meals:
Midday meals consist of boiled rice that may be mixed with moru (curd or bitter milk) or rasam (thin clear pepper water or soup) and a range of vegetables. Pachadi is a delicious dish, cooked out of tiny pieces of mango, mixed with hot spices. Sambar, pulses prepared with vegetables is a standard daily fare. Thoran, a coconut-based dry fish dish that is mixed with minutely chopped vegetables, herbs and curry leaves, and similar to avial, which is cooked in a sauce, is another delectable dish.Pappaddakams, or crunchy round flakes made of rice flour,chutneys (a kind of sauce) and pickles, are scrumptious additions without which a meal is incomplete.

Wheat preparations are more popular in Muslim establishments. Well-prepared spirals called barottas and pathiris are made from refined flour, fried in oil and served with vegetables and curries.Chappathi, poori (a sort of baked or deep fried equivalent of bread)may be cooked optionally.

Diverse Use of Ingredients:
A melange of aromas resulting from the free use of pepper, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, ginger, chillies, and mustard, used in most curries, fill the kitchens of the well-to-do, but generally the poorer folks content themselves with kanji (rice with water) and take fish with tapioca. Most dishes in Kerala are cooked in coconut oil and are incomplete without a mandatory use of coconut in some form or the other.

Kerala Snacks:
Kerala is equally famous for traditionally homemade snacks a variety of banana chips, and rice flour cookies, are served with evening coffee.

Merry Christmas Wishes and Facts about My Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Dhanashree) — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 21:43:00 -0800

Hi friends, I know its been late but still its never too late and so i would like to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS. Hope you guys enjoy a lot and munch on plenty of cookies, chocolates and cakes this Christmas.

I had plans to bake to some cookies and cakes specially for this Christmas and wanted to share them and its recipes with you but unfortunately it didn't happen and i could make it out. Off late, i have been blogging less and am not able to make it up on my blog. I really make few good recipes and wanted to share them with you , even got them clicked and those pics and stored up in numbers counting above 100 in my PC but i haven't been able to manage to upload them and blog those recipes. My bad!!!

But I am definitely making myself sure that i get some time for blogging them. Blogging is something i really love now. I still can't believe that my baby (my blog) is going to be a year old in next 21 days. And i had more than 24 Lakhs visitors on my blog since the day i started blogging. It really makes me happy. I still cant believe that its going to be a year. Time really runs so fast.

When I started blogging, i wasn't that much interested though i was quite excited about blogging.
I read and heard many people blogging, so i too wanted to be one among them. I am really gadget crazy and net savvy girl and cant think about living with gadgets and internet. So i joined blogging. Then i learned that blogging needs a good subject to post. I merely didn't want any personal blog or something which would steal my privacy. I am very private person. So, i took some days to decide on a subject. It was then that i decided to get with food blog.

Though i had been very Academic , it was art which always interested me. I was always passionate about cooking, drawing, painting, rangolis, stiching, designing and creating something new. And the other thing besides this art which really interests me is history. I love history and keep surfing to learn things about history whenever i get time.

I am good at cooking, well i am not crediting myself but its what i have heard people saying about me. Yeah, i love cooking and simply love experimenting in kitchen. Usually girls learn cooking from their mothers. In my case, i never learned cooking from my Maa (I call her maa since i was a kid). When i was in my high school, my maa had a heart attack. She was asked to have a complete bed rest. I was in my 5th std then and never knew how to cook. It is a really astonishing for me at times when i think about it, i still can't make out the exact taste of salt in any dish but i eventually excelled myself in this art called cooking. When Maa was asked to bed rest, she had this tension about who would cook food for us. She wanted to get up and cook for up but was unable to do it. I read her worries looking at her face, and it was the day i grew up from a little playing girl to a understanding and supporting daughter for my family.

I went in to the kitchen and started with cooking. I had no idea nor any knowledge about cooking, whatever i knew was those little things i had seen my maa doing in the kitchen whenever she used to cook. So I prayed God( I believe a lot in almighty) and started with my cooking. And the first thing i cooked by myself was plain boiled rice and rasam. I must be strange to know how a girl who had no knowledge about cooking , cooked rasam at her first take. Well whenever i used to come back from school, I used to rush to maa and sit on the kitchen platform and would go on talking about my daily activities and all sorts of things. I was really very talkative those days. I still remember Maa smiling by herself whenever she used to hear me going blah blah and blah. At times, she used to ask me "Are you not tired of talking so much?". While I used to go on with my talks, she used to be engrossed in her cooking. I had a good memory and whatever i saw used to get stored in my brains . I have seen her doing cooking though i never saw them fully but only glimpses, it used to be stored in my mind. And it was those things which helped me make rasam.

That's how I cooked Rasam. I took this rasam and went to Maa and asked her to have her meal. Maa was completely taken aback. She kepting asking me how did you make this. But she was at the same time proud of me and kept kissing me with teary eyes. That rasam wasn't that good but she still loved it and appreciated me a lot. And on the other hand, my brother (the closest person to me) couldn't believe that his kid sister cooked the meal for everyone. He even inspected the kitchen to see if I had turned off the stove properly. We used to have a higher kitchen platform those days so my bro questioned me about how i managed to cook since i wasn't that good in my height to cook on a high platform. I showed him that i used a small stool to match with the height of platform and he gave a hug. He felt proud to see me being so responsible and ate what i cooked without any complaints. He is a perfectionist when it comes to food. He is big foodie and wants everything perfect when it comes to food. The first time, when i cooked (i really didn't cook that well), he didn't frown and appreciated saying that I was good. He is my biggest critic when it comes to cooking, I had improved my cooking skills and till improving all due to his views and critics.

Since that day, there has no looking back, and i started learning and cooking all by myself. I read papers, books, surfed internet , watched cook shows and it all helped me cook better. Years passed by and I became more and more interested in cooking as a art and loved experimenting.
Today i can cook good though not excellent. Today, I have enough knowledge in cooking be it Indian styles like South Indian, North Indian, Bengali, Maharashtrian, Konkani, Goan, Oriya, Punjab, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Kashmiri , Moghlai etc and also in international Cooking styles and cuisines like Italian, Lebanese, Chinese, Arabian, American, Mexican etc. I have eagerly learnt baking cakes, cookies to making ice creams and salad dressing. And I wish to learn more and more and excel myself in this Art as much as I can. Also I hope to share my cooking with everyone through blogging and would love to get the feedbacks. I know I had really disappointed few people pastly through blogging and I apologise for the same. This blogging has not only helped me get better as a cook but also helped me get better in writing skills. I would love to keep blogging and I need support and love from everyone who reads my Blog.