RIDGE GOURD THOGAIYAL

(Peerkangai Thogaiyal)
Ridge gourd thogayal, peerkangai thogayal a perfect thogayal recipe to pair with rice, dosa and also on bread.
    Thogaiyals are very handy and i almost make this on weekends and my family loves this the most, especially my daughter is a big fan of thogaiyal. Always i make Thengai thogaiyal or Parrupu thogaiyal, but this thogaiyal i suddenly remembered and asked my mom for the exact recipe. We all enjoyed this with rice along with oven roasted papad.


INGREDIENTS:

RIDGE GOURD	1 NO
URAD DHAL	3 TBLSP
RED CHILLI	4-5NO
TAMARIND	A SMALL PIECE
ASAFOETIDA	1/4 TSP
SALT	AS NEEDED
COCONUT SCRAPPED	1 TSP(OPTIONAL)

METHOD:

• Peel the skin of the ridge gourd  and chop it roughly.

• In a kadai, add oil and throw in the urad dhal, redchillies, tamarind and asafoetida.
• Fry till it turns gold in colour.
• Keep it aside.

• In the same kadai, add the roughly chopped ridgegourd pieces and saute till it becomes soft and cooked nicely.

• Allow it to cool
• First grind the dal and  redchilli mixture along with the coconut(if using) .
• Then finally add the ridge gourd and grind it to a smooth paste.
• Don not add any water,as the ridge gourd will ooze out water.

• Normally we mix thogaiyal with hot rice with sesame oil mixed to it.
• We can use this as a side dish for idli/ dosa.
• I personally love to spread this on bread .

Aval pakoda recipe, Poha pakoda

Aval pakoda | poha pakoda recipe with step wise pictures and video, a deep fried snack made using rice flakes and potato as main ingredients. Potato acts as a binder in this recipe. Though i don't make deep fried snacks very often, sometimes when i  have  guests at my place during teatime i would love to serve tea with any deep fried snack . This pakoda i have tried many times and this time i made for my friends and they all loved this. I have used medium thin aval for this recipe, you can use thick or thin aval too.
Also check out my

• Thool pakoda
• Palak corn pakoda

Poha pakoda recipe

• Recipe Cusine: Indian
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook time: 30 Minutes
• Serves: 25 pakodas
• Author: Jeyashri
• Recipe Category: Snack
• Description: Aval pakoda | poha pakoda recipe with step wise pictures and video, a deep fried snack made using rice flakes and potato as main ingredients

     Poha | aval  2 cups (medium thin flakes)
     Potato  2 meidum sized
     Onion  2
     Coriander leaves  3 tblsp
     Red chili powder  1 tsp
     Salt  as needed
    Plain flour or besan flour or rice flour  2 tblsp
    Oil   for deep frying 

                    Video of how make Aval | poha pakoda

         

Method :

• Cut the onions into very finely.
• Boil the potatoes and mash it well.
• Ensure the potatoes are cooked very well.
• Wash the poha and drain it completely.
• Transfer the poha to a wide bowl.
• Add the chopped  onions, salt, red chilli powder and coriander leaves.
• Mix it nicely.
• Now add the plain flour to this. 
• If the mixture is too moist add little extra flour.
• Do not add any water to the mixture.
• The water oozed out from the onions is enough to make balls.
• Grease your hands with oil and make lemon sized balls.
• While making the balls ,do it very tightly. 
• Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying the pakoda balls.
• Let the oil be in a medium heat while you are frying them.
• Else the inside of the pakodas will remain uncooked. 
• Fry the pakodas in batches.
• Once done drain the excess oil in a kitchen towel. 
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney. 

Notes:

1. Ensure that the potatoes are finely mashed, else the pakodas will not bind with each other.
2. If using thick variety of poha, soak in water for 5 minutes and then drain the excess water. 
3. The poha mixture can be kept inside the refrigerator and pakodas can be made later too. In that case if the mixture becomes moist, add little more flour to get perfect poha pakodas.

    
    
    

Method with step by step pictures :

• Cut the onions into very finely.
• Boil the potatoes and mash it well.
• Ensure the potatoes are cooked very well.
• Wash the poha and drain it completely.

• Transfer the poha to a wide bowl.
• Add the chopped  onions, salt, red chilli powder and coriander leaves.
• Mix it nicely.
• Now add the plain flour to this. 

• If the mixture is too moist add little extra flour.
• Do not add any water to the mixture. 
• The water oozed out from the onions is enough to make balls.
• Grease your hands with oil and make lemon sized balls.

• While making the balls, do it very tightly. 
• Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying the pakoda balls.
• Let the oil be in a medium heat while you are frying them.

• Else the inside of the pakodas will remain uncooked. 
• Fry the pakodas in batches.
• Once done drain the excess oil in a kitchen towel. 

• Serve hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney. 

Notes:

1. Ensure that the potatoes are finely mashed, else the pakodas will not bind with each other.
2. If using thick variety of poha, soak in water for 5 minutes and then drain the excess water. 
3. The poha mixture can be kept inside the refrigerator and pakodas can be made later too. In that case if the mixture becomes moist, add little more flour to get perfect poha pakodas.

BROCCOLI SOUP RECIPE

Healthy Broccoli soup recipe. 
When i went to the wet market today for my vegetable shopping, without any second thought i picked up the fresh broccoli and on the way back i decided to make a soup out of this,keeping in mind the recipe i read in a magazine long back.
  It turned out really well and my son,  who never eats broccoli, loved the soup very much.
Check out my other soup recipes

• Italian bread soup
• Almond garlic soup

INGREDIENTS:

BROCCOLI	1 MEDIUM SIZED
ONION	2 NO
POTATO	1 NO
GARLIC	4-5 CLOVES
SALT	AS NEEDED
MILK	1/4 CUP
PEPPER	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Cut the broccoli into pieces and wash them.
• Cut the onions and potatoes into big cubes.
• Peel the skin of garlic .

• Keep some florets of broccoli aside .
• Pressure cook the rest with onions,potatoes and garlic till 3 whistles.

• Allow it cool. Grind it into a smooth paste.

• Add 1 cup of water and the milk to the ground mixture.
• Bring it to a nice boil and add the pepper and salt .

• Boil the few broccoli florets, which we kept aside, in 1/2 cup of water.

• Put these florets in the soup.
• You can skip this step  also.

AVAL UPMA, POHA UPMA, EASY BREAKFAST RECIPE

      Poha upma  is an very easy upma  which is made with poha(rice flakes) and quite healthy too. We all love this upma and this  will be our morning breakfast during weekend.
For this upma i used the THICK POHA. You can use the thin one also.
Also check out my

• Batata poha recipe
• Puli aval recipe

INGREDIENTS:

AVAL/POHA	2 CUPS
GREEN CHILLI	3 NOS
ONIONS	2 NO.
CAPSICUM(CUBED)	2 TBLSP
OIL	1 TSP
PEANUTS	3 TBLSP
CORIANDER LEAVES	FEW
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/2 TSP
LEMON JUICE	1 TSP
TURMERIC POWDER	A PINCH
RED CHILLI	1 NO.
SALT	AS NEEDED

• Wash the poha in water and soak it in the water for a minute.
• Drain the water completely.

• Cut the onions and chillies  into fine pieces.

• In a kadai, add a little oil and saute the capsicum for 5 mins.
• Let this be crunchy. Do not over cook.
• I used the Green and Red colour capsicum.
• Keep it aside.

• Add oil to this kadai and throw in the mustard seeds.
• Add the green chilies  red chili and onions .
• Saute till the onion turns pink. Add salt to this.
• Add the peanuts at this stage.
• Saute for few mins .

• Add turmeric powder and mix well.
• Now add the poha and keep in a slow flame.

• Throw in the capsicum and mix well.

• Now switch off the flame and add the lemon juice and mix well.

• Garnish with coriander.

This upma we normally have very hot with any pickle as an accompaniment.

Note:

1. You  can add boiled and cubed potatoes to this upma .
2. If adding potatoes add it after sauting the peanuts.
3. This has to be served hot
4. If you are using thin poha,just skip the step of soaking in the water for a minute.

Wish all my reader, friends,visitors a very HAPPY PONGAL.
CLICK HERE FOR SAKKARAI PONGAL(SWEET PONGAL) RECIPE.

Cauliflower rice recipe, easy lunch box recipes

      Cauliflower Rice recipe with step by step pictures, simple one pot lunch box recipe, made with cauliflower and other spices. This cauliflower rice is  one of the my favorite recipe. Though i made this cauliflower rice many times for lunch box , i never had time to click the pictures on weekday mornings. Finally i made it on a day when my hubby came home for lunch and kids were also on holiday.
Also check out my

• Cabbage rice
• Masala rice recipe

Cauliflower rice recipe

• Recipe Cusine: Indian
• Prep Time: 10 Minutes
• Cook time: 30 Minutes
• Serves: 2-3
• Author: Jeyashri
• Recipe Category: Lunch | Dinner
• Description: Cauliflower Rice recipe with step by step pictures, simple one pot lunch box recipe, made with cauliflower and other spices.

     Cauliflower florets  1/2 cup
     Basamti rice  3/4 cup
     Oil   1 tblsp
     Red chili powder  1/2 tsp
     Onion  2
     Tomato  1 
     Garlic  5 cloves
     Cardamom   1
     Cloves  1
    Salt  as needed

Method with step by step pictures :

• Wash the rise and soak it  in 1 and half cup of water for half an hour.

• Pressure cook the rice by adding little salt and a drop of oil.
• When it is done allow it to cool in a broad vessel.
• Immerse the cauliflower florets in hot water for 5 seconds and take it out.

• Cut the onions into big pieces and sauté them till it turns pink.
• Allow it to cool and grind it to a smooth paste along with cardamom, garlic, tomato and cloves.

• In a pan add oil and sauté the cauliflower by adding red chilli powder and salt to it.

• It took 15 mins for me to roast the cauliflower  without adding much oil.

• When the cauliflowers are done keep it separately.
• In the pan add the ground masala and fry till the raw smell goes off.
• Keep it in a low flame while frying.

• Now add the cooked cauliflower florets to this. Mix well.

• Mix it well with rice.

• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with any rather of your choice.

Cashew coconut burfi recipe, Kaju coconut burfi

 Cashew and coconut burfi recipe, a simple and easy burfi recipe, a perfect Diwali sweet. After a break i am again to celebrate New Year 2011, with a sweet recipe. We had a great vacation with our family and  to add more joy we had a bloggers meet in Chennai and it was nice to fellow bloggers in person.
This recipe i learnt from my Mother in law . She always welcomes us with this sweet  whenever we go to India. I wanted to try this on my own this time and i made this under her supervision and it came out really well. You can make this sweet for Diwali too. In our home, this cashew coconut burfi is the first one which will be prepared for Diwali.
Check out my

• Mysore pak- 20 mins
• Boondi ladoo
• 7 cup burfi