ABC Juice

I used to search for more juice varieties and finally I came across it.This simple juice is great for digestion packed with nutrients and vitamins.People who are under diet can kick start their day with this delicious juice which gives more strength.Good for children too.A great combination of fruits and vegetables acts as a real energiser.



Ingredients:
Apples - 2
Beetroot - 2
Carrot - 2

Method:
1. slice the fruit and vegetables.
2.And add into the juicer one by one in order.
3.Make much liquid as possible.
4.Pour into the glass and serve.

Pomegranate Raita

Pomegranate raita is a very simple and healthy recipe.It takes less than 5 minutes to prepare but tastes great .You can eat it as a fruit salad after dinner or as a raita along with rice varieties.

Ingredients:
Pomegranate seeds - 1/4 cup

Whole milk yogurt - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 2

Salt and Pepper

Method:

1.Slit the green chillies into half.

2.Whisk the yogurt along with salt, pepper and chillies and keep aside for few minutes.

3.Finally,just before serving add the pomegranate seeds and mix well.

4.Garnish with some of the pomegranate seeds and serve.

5.It can also be served along with sugar instead of chillies for children.

Instant Murukku

This is a very popular savory snack which can be prepared instantly within minutes.I got this recipe from a book .It was prepared by famous cook 'Revathi Shanmugam'.

I was very surprised when i tried it.It really came out well and the taste was unbeatable.After this,there is no festival in our house without this snack.These rice crackers are very crispy and it will just melt in your mouth.Let's give it a try and send me the feedback.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour - 2 cups

Moong dal - 1 cup

Til seeds - 2 tsp

Unsalted butter - 1 tbsp

Chilli powder - 1 tbsp

Salt

Oill for frying

Method:

1. Cook dal in pressure cooker until it becomes soft.

2.Then drain excess water and add rice flour,salt,chilli powder,til seeds,salt and butter to it.

3.Adjust the spice level according to your taste.

4. Mix everything and make a soft dough from it.

5.Grease the inner portion of the murukku press.

6. Load small portion of dough into the press and squeeze it into the hot oil directly.

7.When it is half done, reverse it to cook on the other side .

8.Fry until it becomes golden brown .

9.Take out from the oil , drain and let it to cool.

10.Store it in an air-tight container.

Bread Jamun

Bread Jamun:
Gulab Jamun is a very popular sweet in India,Pakistan and Bangladesh.These soft dumplings are made up of "khoya"and whole purpose flour which floats in sugar syrup.This is a successfull attempt to make instant gulab jamuns without much ingredients and no strain.
I tried this recipe with white breads .As white breads are made up of whole purpose flour and due to its soft nature , we can make soft and yummy gulab jamuns from it.Even you can't find the difference between real gulab jamuns and bread jamuns.Here , the recipe follows:

Ingredients:

White Bread Slices - 8
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom - 5 pods
Orange Food colour - a pinch
Oil for frying

Method:

1.First, prepare the sugar syrup by adding 1 1/2 cups of sugar to 3/4 cup of water.
2.Stir the contents and then heat at medium flame for about 5 to 10 minutes until sugar gets dissolved well in water.
3.Do not overheat,that will caramelize the sugar.
4.Now,add crushed cardamom pods and orange food colour and keep it warm.
5.Remove the crust from bread slices and make a soft dough by adding water to the bread crumbs(inner soft porton of the bread).
6.Dough should be soft enough to make smooth ball from it.
7.Heat the oil and then put the balls one by one into the oil under medium heat.
8.Jamoons must be fried under medium temperatures otherwise it will tend to break at high temperatures.
9.At medium heat,jamoon will cook slowly , so that complete cooking will be done from inside and even browning occurs.
10.Now add fried jamoons to warm sugar syrup.
11.Leave gulab jamoons in syrup overnight for best results.
12. you can refrigerate it for more than 10 days
13.Serve it either hot or cold and enjoy the delicious taste.

Ribbon Pakoda

Today, my brother is coming. We are going to meet after a long time........So, I prepared his favorite tea-time snack.
This is my ever successful recipe which I tried too many times. I’m sure you will love it.

Ingredients:
Chickpeas (Dalia) – ½ cup
Rice flour – 2 cups
Garlic – 2 (small pieces)
Chilli Powder –1 tbsp
Butter – 1 tbsp
Jeera – 1 tbsp
Hing – A pinch
salt

Method:
1. Grind ½ cup of chickpeas and garlic into a fine powder.
2. Add jeera into the mixture and grind for few seconds. So that jeera got crushed into the mixture. Combine this mixture along with rice flour.
3. Now, add salt, butter,hing, chilli powder and mix thoroughly. You can adjust the spice level according to your taste.
4. Add water to make a soft dough.
5. Heat the oil for deep frying in a wide pan.
6. Take a portion of dough and put it into the murukku press and press in hot oil.
7. Deep fry it in oil until it becomes golden brown.
8. Place it on paper towel to drain the excess oil.
9. Cool it and store it in an air tight container.

Pudhina Roti

Easy and Healthy breakfast recipe for your family.............



Ingredients:
Pudhina / Mintleaves - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 2 cups
sugar - 1 pinch
Salt



Method:
1. Wash and drain the mint leaves.
2. Then add sugar and salt to chappathi /wheat flour.
3. Adding a pinch of sugar will not change the taste of flour.Instead ,it will give more softness to roti.
4. Now, by adding warm water prepare soft dough and keep aside for about 1 to 2 hours in an air-tight container.
5. Then finely chop the mint leaves.
6. Make small balls from the dough and roll it on the chopped leaves,so that both sides of the balls should be covered by mint leaves.
7. Dust each ball with flour and spread it into large sizes.
8. Put the roti on the hot griddle and apply some oil on its top .
9. Then turn around in less then 1 minute and grease the other side.
10. Serve hot with any of your favourite side dish.

Spicy Vegetable Pulao

I prepared this recipe for my husband’s birthday party and I got more appreciations from guests .I will never forget it. Those moments are one of my sweet memories. Here the recipe for spicy vegetable pulao.

Ingredients:

Rice – 1 ½ cup
Vegetables - 1 cup
(Beans, Carrot, Green peas, Cauliflower, Potato)
Onion – 2 (Medium )
Tomato – 2
Green chillies – 5
Fresh shredded coconut – 1/4 cup
Ginger-Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp
Cinnamon – 2 sticks
Cloves – 3
Bay leaves – 3
Cardamom – 3
Saunf - ¼ tbsp
Jeera – ½ tbsp
Dhaniya powder – ¼ tbsp
Garam Masala – ¼ tbsp
Chopped coriander leaves – handful

Method:

1. Wash the basmati rice, drain and keep aside for about 10 minutes.

2. Cut the vegetables into medium sizes (of the shape whatever you like ).

3. Then grind all other ingredients with ½ onion. Chop the remaining onion .

4. Put the rice in rice cooker to boil. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. of oil in a pan and fry the bay leaves and chopped onion.

5. Add the vegetables and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes then add the masala paste to it.

6. Stir it for 5 minutes and then add the entire masala ingredient into the rice cooker (before rice gets fully boiled).

7. Serve hot with raita.

( Consider 1: 1 1/2 rice – water ratio )

Sago Upma

Everyone makes sago upma in various ways.Its nice to try out different varieties with sago pearls.Its size and shape tends us to eat it.I learnt this recipe from my mom.This is a good snack too.Here the recipe goes....

Ingredients:

Sago - 1 cup

Moong dal - 3/4 cup

Green chillies - 5(if hot)

Onion - 1 small size

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Urad dal - 1/2 tbsp

Jeera - 1/2 tbsp

Shredded coconut - 1 tbsp(fresh)

Lemon juice - 1/2 tbsp

few curry leaves

coriander leaves

salt

Method:

1. Soak the sago in water for just 5 to 8 minutes and then drain the water and keep aside for about about 2 hours.

2. Boil the moong dal in a separate vessel until it gets half boiled.

3. Pressure cooker is not preferred as dal will get mashed.Only half boil is needed.

4. Now, in a pan, heat the oil and put mustard seeds,Jeera then urad dal and when it turns red slit the green chillies into half and put into the pan.

5. Add curry leaves and finely chopped onion and fry till it becomes translucent.

6. Add the moong dal(after draining the water) and just stir it for 1 minute and make sure dal does not get mashed.

7. Finally add the drained sago pearls into it and sprinkle salt, shredded coconut,lime juice and corainder leaves .

8. Then stir gently twice and put off the fire. serve hot with chutney / pickle /sambar.

(Note: After adding sago , you should not stir much as it will become sticky)

Kovakkai Fry

Kovakkai (Ivy Gourd) fry is my husband's favourite recipe.Every week I used to make this simple and easy dish .Not much ingredients are needed for this.After cutting the edges,cut the vegetable longitudinally and then finely chop the two separate pieces into very thin and lengthy slices.It takes time but fry tastes good if we chop like this.Before preparing this dish, put the chopped vegetable in a bowl along with water.

Method:

1. Heat 2 table spoon of oil into a pan and add mustard seeds.

2. When it starts spluttering, add urad dal and then add the finely chopped vegeable pieces without water.

3. Add little amount of turmeric to it and simmer the heat.

4. Stir it occasionally until it gets half-cooked.

5. Then add salt and chiili powder to it and stir in the low heat.

6. Close the pan and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Fry it in the intermediate time.If the ivy gourd starts to shrink, then it is said to be done.

8. This fry tastes good if it is little more spicy.

9. Serve it with hot plain rice.

Ragi Idli

Ragi also known as Indian millet is an popular grain in south India for its nutritious health benefits and a must diet for all ages. The biological benefits of ragi are pretty much the same as those of oats and barley. It provides carbo-hydrates including dietary fiber, B- vitamins ,iron, magnesium,selenium etc .

Ragi provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. And it is found to be very good diet for diabetic patients and helps in reducing bad blood cholesterol (LDL) lowering risk of heart disease and for proper bowel function. And especially the folate in whole grains helps to prevent neural tube birth defects during fetal development and during pregnancy.

Ragi porridge is very famous in olden days which is one of the secret of our ancestors healthy regime. B'coz of its health benefits , it becomes weekly diet of our family. This is one of the traditional recipe from my mother.

Ingredients:

Ragi flour - 3 cups

Urad dal/White lentil - 1 cup

Beaten Rice - 1 handful

salt

Method:

1. Soak the urad dal and poha in water for about 4 to 5 hours.

2. Then grind it well by adding little water every time, until you get paste like consistency.

3. Take a large bowl and pour the ragi flour and make it into a paste using water .

4. Then add urad dal paste and salt and mix it well.

5. Then keep the batter in microwave oven and just heat it for 1 minute.

6. As winter has started, you will be finding little difficulty in fermenting the batter. So for that just heat (mild heating) the batter for 1 minute in oven and close and keep in the same warm surroundings in the oven.

7. Prepare this batter in evening and allow it to ferment overnight.

8. Next morning, grease the idli plates and pour the batter into it and steam it for about 20 minutes.

9. you can enjoy these hot and tasty ragi idlis along with Chutney powder/with any chutney.

(Note: You can even make dosas with this batter).

Okra Dosa

Everybody likes Okra. So far u have tried sambar, sabji, gojju etc. in it. Now, let's try this new colourful okra dosa. This green dosa is evergreen dosa in my mom’s kitchen. It's more like an green adai and soft like an omelet.

Ingredients:

Okra - 8

Raw rice - 2 cups

ginger - 1 inch piece

Onion - 1 (medium)

Jeera - 1/2 tbsp

Green chillies - 5

Curry leaves - few

Coriander leaves - few

salt

Method:

1. Soak the rice in water for about one and half hours. Then wash (drain the water)and cut the okra into pieces.

2. Grind the rice along with okra, ginger, green chillies and salt. If u want more hot, u can increase the amount of chillies.

3. Grind it until u get dosa batter consistency.

4. Then finely chop the onion,chillies and coriander leaves and add it to the batter along with curry leaves and jeera.

5. Keep it aside for 10 minutes.

6. Then make delicious green coloured okra dosa in your pan.

7. And serve hot with coconut chutney.

Chettinad Special !!!!

This is my first post. Your food blogs inspired me a lot and today made me to create my own blog with the help of my husband. I would like to share my recipes with you.

Chettinad recipes are famous for its spices. This Eggplant( Brinjal) curry called “Therakkal” is a well - known side dish which goes well with Idly, Dosa, Roti and Parotta.

Ingredients:

Eggplant -3
Potato – 1 (big)
Tomato – 1
Onion – 1
Curry leaves –few
Coriander leaves - few
For Masala:
Grren Chillies – 4
Red Chillies – 6
Saunf – ½ tbsp
Jeera – ½ tbsp
Cashews – 2
Chana dal (Dhalia) – 1 tbsp
Coconut – ½ cup(fresh)
For Seasoning:
Saunf – ¼ tsp
Pepper – 5 seeds
Cinnamon – 1 small piece

Method:

1. Cut all the vegetables into small sizes and keep aside.

2. Grind the masala ingredients.

3. Pour some oil into the pan and make the seasoning.

4. Then add the finely chopped onion , tomato, potato and brinjal in order.

5. Then fry it for sometime at very low heat.

6. Then add the masala and add 2 ½ cups of water to it.

7. Let it to boil under medium heat until it get thickens.

8. Finally add few curry leaves and chopped coriander leaves to it and serve hot.