Saturday, November 26, 2011

CHANA MASALA



Ingriedients:


1 Cup Chana
3 tablespoons oil
Pinch of asafetida
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon gram flour
1 large tomato
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic Paste
1 teaspoon chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chily powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
Capsicum in different colors: 1 Small Piece( to make the dish colorful)





Soak chick peas in water for overnight. Keep the chana in the pressure cooker and cook until its tender
Blend the tomatoes, green chilies and ginger to make a puree.Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.After the cumin seeds crack, add the gram flour and stir-fry for a minute.Add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, red chily powder and cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
The mixture will start leaving the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.Add the cooked chana and a half cup of water and let it cook for 7 to 8 minutes on medium heat, covered.Press the chana with a spatula so they soften. Add the garam masala and cilantro. Let it cook for another minute.Garnish with different colour capsicum

Friday, November 25, 2011

MURUKKU







    Ingredients: 3 cups rice flour 3 tsp. Urad dal flour 2 tsp. melted butter 1/4-1/2 tsp Asafoetida powder Salt to taste


    • Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.Adding water little by little, form a stiff dough. use plastic sheet lightly brushed with oil/butter. Take a small amount of dough and place it inside the  murukku maker.Press the dough on the plastic sheet and you will find the dough coming out shaped as per the one star attachment. Slightly rotate the maker round and round until you make a circle.that you would have to remove it from the plastic to your hands and then drop it into the hot oil.Now fry them until done - You can make it red, light brown or golden as per preference.
      Courtesy to Chef In you

    FRIED RICE




    Ingredients:
    2 cups Rice
    3 tbsp Oil
    100 gms Beans Finely Chopped
    2 Carrot Finely Chopped
    1 Onion Sliced
    100 gms cauliflower Finely Chopped
    Red,Green and Yellow Capsicum (Small Pieces) Finely Chopped
    2-3 Green Chilies cut lenghtwise
    1 tsp Garlic Finely Chopped
    2 tbsp Soya Sauce
    Salt & pepper to taste







    Pick, wash and soak the rice in enough water for 10-15 minutes and drain.Boil water, add rice and little salt with 1/2 tsp oil.Cook uncovered on low heat till rice is tender.Take care not to overcook the rice. Each grain of rice should be separate.When rice is done, drain and add soom cold water and drain again using a large seive and set aside.Heat oil in a pan and stir fry all the chopped vegetables.Cook for 3-4 minutes.Take care that vegetables are not overdone, they should be crisp.Mix salt and pepper to taste.Add the cooked rice and mix well. Now mix the soya sauce to it.Cook the fried rice for 2-3 minutes and serve hot.

    Monday, November 14, 2011

    MASALA PIDI


    Masala Pidi - A traditional Trichur Dish!!!!!


    Ingredients:

    Rice flour - 1 cup
    Grated Coconut1/4 cup
    Jeera 1/2 tsp










    Mix the rice flour,Grated Coconut and Jeera with Boiled Water.When it is cooled and knead it into a soft dough.Make small balls out of this and Keep Aside

    For Masala :

    Coriander Seeds-2 table spoon
    Pepper-1tsp
    Red Chilli-3
    Jeera -1/2 tsp
    Grated Coconut-1/4 Cup

    In a pan add Coriander Seed ,Pepper ,Red Chilli and Jeera and saute well till aroma comes.In another pan add Grated Coconut and saute well till  it turns to golden brown .Grind all the ingriedients together and make a paste.Add water to this paste , put the balls into this and cook well in a kadai...

    Heat Oil in a pan Splutter Mustard seeds ,red chilly and curry leaves and add this to above cooked Masala Pidi



    PAYAR ILA THORAN ( LONG BEANS LEAVES STIR FRY)






    Ingredients:

    Tender leaves of long beans – 5 cups
    Shallots 1/4 Cup
    Coconut – ½ cup
    Red chilly – 3
    Turmeric power – ¼ tea spoon
    Salt – adjust to taste
    Mustard seeds – 1 tea spoon
    Coconut oil – 2 table spoon



    Chop the long beans leaves into tiny pieces. Heat oil in a vessel and add mustard seeds and red chillies into that to splutter. Add grated Coconut with Shallots saute well till it turns light brown. Add chopped leaves of long beans , salt,turmeric powder and stir well.  close the vessel with a lid and heat. When the leaves are cooked stop heating and stir well. 

    Saturday, November 12, 2011

    MUSHROOM ROAST





    Mushroom.... Known as the meat of the vegetable world !!!!.....Mushroom is low in Saturated Fat and Sodium, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin C, Folate, Iron, Zinc and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin D, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Selenium (source :http://nutritiondata.self.com)


    Ingredients:

    Button Mushroom 150 gm
    Onion - 2
    Mustard seeds
    Curry leaves
    Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 Tsp
    Garam masala 1/2 Tsp
    Turmeric powder 1/2 Tsp
    Pepper powder 1/2 Tsp
    Chilly Powder 2 Tsp
    Coconut Milk 3 Table Spoon
    Salt
    Oil





    Step 1:  Cook Mushroom with Turmeric powder, Pepper Powder and chilly powder and keep aside
    Step 2:  Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and put the curry leaves
    Step 3:  Add sliced onion and  ginger garlic paste saute till it turns to brown
    Step 4:  Add Turmeric powder, Chilly powder, garam masala and pepper powder
    Step 5:  Stir it for a few minutes and add the cooked mushroom (without water)
    Step 6:  Close the pan with a lid and cook in low flame
    Step 7:  Add the coconut milk and stir gently for few minutes and make it dry.
    Step 8:  Serve and have with chappati /Rice





    Friday, November 11, 2011

    ALMOND CHOCOLATE LADDU





    Almonds are one of the most nutritious of all nuts !!...Almonds are rich in the vitamins and minerals that help to build a healthy heart, especially vitamin E. So we decided to prepare some laddu using almond...Laddu comes from the Sanskrit word transliterated as ladduka or lattika meaning a small ball. We searched in many blogs and found the recipe in blog of Ms.Sangi....thank you Ms. Sangi...

    Ingredients:
     Whole almonds:150gm
    Hershey's milk chocolate chips:30gm
    Condensed Milk :40gm
    Milk:3tsp
    Freshly grated coconut:50gm





    Toast the almonds for about 3-4minutes until the skins begin to crackle.Cool a bit and then dry grind to a fine powder.
    Put the almond flour into a mixing bowl.Add grated coconut and crush well by hand,keep aside.
    Combine chocolate chips,condensed milk, and milk in a non stick saucepan.
    Place on low flame and stir constantly until the chocolate melts.
    Pour the almond mixture into the pan and mix well.
    When cool enough to handle, mix again by hand and make lemon sized Laddus.


    Tuesday, November 8, 2011

    WHEAT PAROTTA


    Parotta, the favorite, unhealthy, bread of Kerla !!!!


    Mainly, Maida and oil make parotta unhealthy.  that's why we used Wheat flour instead of maida to preapre this!!  Of course,  we have to compromise for the taste to a certain extend....but still it is as good as Chapatti.


    Ingredients:


    2 cup Wheat Flour
    1 tspSalt
    1/2 cupWater (approx)
    2 tspOil (for dough making)
    1/4 cupOil (for Kneading)
    1/4 cupOil (for shapping)





    Mix wheat flour,  salt, 2tsp of oil and water. Knead to make a soft dough, like how we make for chappattis and puris. Put it in a bowl and close it with a plate, let it stay for 30 minutes.Now press the dough and knead it by slowly adding oil (1/4 cup) little by little. Repeat the process until the dough becomes very soft (20 minutes approx). Now make equal portions  and put them under a damp cloth or kitchen towel, this helps it from becoming dry.Take one portion and roll it as much as you can with a rolling pin, the funny part is, you can watch as you stretch, it rolls back!!  and stretch it to paper thin size. It might tear in some areas… thats ok. Stretch using your hands or use the rolling pin, oil makes the work easier.  Keep a pan hot and ready while you do the last stretch. Flame should be on meduim high throughout the frying process. Now take one portion of the shaped dough and slightly roll it lenthwise and widthwise with a rolling pin, just one side only. The other side should be the firm on the bottom do not flip while doing this. Transfer it straight to the pan and let cook for few minutes, now flip on the other side and you will see it becoming fluffy, flip one more time. Repeat the whole process for each parotta and store them back under the damp towel. 

    Monday, November 7, 2011

    APPLE JAM



    Ingredients:

    Apple:3 Nos ,peeled and chopped
    Sugar - 1/2 cup
    Lemon juice - 2tbsp





    Mix sugar and chopped apples in a microwave bowl. microwave it for 5 minutes till apples are softened. Blend this apple mixture in a blender. Microwave this blended mixture at  8 -10 minutes or till its thickened.Stir it every 2 minutes.Add the lemon juice and mix well.Pour this to a glass bottle . Allow it to cool and refrigerate it.

    Sunday, November 6, 2011

    CHERU PAYAR CURRY(GREEN GRAM)





    Ingredients

    1 Cup Whole Green Gram

    3 Green Chilles Slit

    1/2 Inch Ginger Grated or Finely chopped

    1/2 Tsp Turmeric

    1/2 Tsp Red Chiili Powder

    1/2 Cup Grated Coconut – Ground to paste.

    Seasoning

    2-3 Tsp Oil

    1/2 Tsp Mustard Seeds

    2-3 Dry Red Chilles Broken

    Curry Leaves






    Soak the whole green gram in water for about 15-30 mins.In a pressure pan, add the soaked & drained green gram. Add enough water, few curry leaves, grated ginger, slit green chilles & turmeric. Stir.Pressure cook for 3 whistles and simmer for about 5 minutes & turn off the flame.Add the chilli powder & salt in to the cooked green gram , Stir well & simmer for few minutes.Add the ground coconut. In a separate pan heat 2-3 tsp of oil for seasoning.When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds. When they pop add the red chilles.Stir for a second & add the curry leaves.Add the seasoning to the green gram curry, simmer for 2-3 minutes before switching the flame off.

    Puttu and Cherupayar is the common break fast of Keralites.....

    MUSHROOM THORAN





    Ingredients:

    Mushroom 1 Cup

    Shallots 1 Cup

    Grated coconut -1/2 cup

    Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

    Chilly powder - 1 tsp

    Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp

    Garam masala - 1 tsp

    Pepper Powder-1/2 tsp



    Ginger - One small piece


    Garlic - 4 pieces

    Curry leaves - 1 sprig

    Mustards - 1/4 tsp

    Green chillies - 2


    Lime Juice -2 tsp

    Oil -2 table spoon

    Salt - To taste




    This recipe we tried as one lady, from kalba, UAE, explains in a cookery show called food path.  Thanks to Mr. Kalesh for bringing her in this show.  She made it with meat, but we tried with mushrooms, instead. No doubt, it was really yummy......


    Put the chopped mushrooms in a vessel containing water and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder,Pepper Powder, salt 1/2 tsp oil and 2 or 3 curry leaves Cook 10 minutes and keep aside.

    Heat oil in a pan at medium heat. Splutter mustards and fry Ginger ,Grlic and Green Chillies. Now Fry them and then add the Shallots ( don't slice shallots). Stir fry until they are lightly browned. Bring down the heat and add the chopped mushroom pieces, grated coconut , masala powders, salt and curry leaves. If the item is too dry add water and stir .After that add the lime juice and cook 5 minutes. 



    Garnish with coriander leaves and serve....!!

    PAYAR MEZHUKKU PURATTY


    Ingriedients:


    Long Beans
    Shallots: 8Nos
    Red Chilli: 3 Nos
    Grated Coconut:1/4 Cup
    Curry Leaves 3-5
    Coconut Oil
    Salt




    Cut the long beans in length wise. In a micro wave vessel add long beans,oil and salt and cook for 7 minutes in microwave .At the  same time,  crush the coconut with shallots and red chilly. Mean while heat the oil in another pan and add the crushed items with curry leaves and  add the cooked long beans and stir it for a couple of minutes.


    This is a traditional keralite recipe.....

    LEMON RICE







    Ingredients:


    1 Cup Basmati  Rice
    2 tsps Lime Juice
    1 tsp Chana Dal


    For Seasoning:


    2 Table spoon Oil
    1 tsp Mustard Seeds
    1 tsp Chana Dal
    1/4 tsp safeotida
    8 or 9  Curry Leaves
    3-4 tsps unsalted peanuts
    1/4 to1/2 tsp turmeric powder






    Cook 1 cup basmati with 2 tsps lime juice and 1 tsp oil If the rice looks sticky, spread it out on a baking sheet to cool a bit. Also soak 1 tsp chana dal (split bengal gram) for 30 minutes, drain, pat dry and spread on a microwave-safe plate.In a big pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil (we used light sesame oil).To it add1 tsp brown mustard seeds1 tsp chana dal (see note above)1/4 tsp asafeotida,8 or 9 curry leaves3-4 tablespoons unsalted raw 1/4 to 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.When the nuts begin to get toasty, add2-3 chopped green chillies, and the mustard seeds pop and the peanuts are golden, add the rice and Stir gently.