DAL KHICHDI RECIPE

    If you are searching for a comforting one pot meal then this is a perfect recipe which can be made in a jiffy. I learnt this recipe from my neighbor from whom i learnt the recipe of Kachori . I always follow this method for making this dal kichidi.

INGREDIENTS

BASMATI RICE	1/2 CUP
GREEN MOONG DAL(SPLIT)	1/2 CUP
VEGETABLES	1/2 CUP
RED CHILLI POWDER	1/2 TSP
CORIANDER POWDER	1/2 TSP
CUMIN SEEDS	1/4 TSP
OIL/GHEE	1 TSP
ONION	1 NO
GARAM MASALA	A PINCH(OPTIONAL)
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Wash and soak the rice and dal in 3 cups of water for 20 minutes.
• In a pressure cooker add oil/ghee and throw in the cumin seeds.

• Now add the onions and saute till it becomes translucent.
• Add the veggies( i added carrots, beans , cauliflower and green peas)
• Saute for 2 minutes and add the red chili powder, coriander powder and salt.

• Add the soaked rice and dal along with the water.
• Pressure cook for 3 whistles.

• Serve hot with plain curd or onion raitha and papad.

Note:

1. Raw rice or sona masoori rice can be used instead of basmati rice.
2. Pepper powder can be added instead of red chili powder.

CRUNCHY NUTELLA TRUFFLES – CELEBRATING 200TH POST.

     It has been a more than 2 years , I am blogging and and i have gained a lot of friends and without the support of you all it  cannot be possible. I am posting my 200th post today and this makes me to feel so proud and happy and to celebrate this occasion i made a truffle which i bookmarked from Deesha's Space. She has a wonderful collection of vegetarian recipes and this one is very easy to make with only 5 ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:(yields 9-10 truffles)
Source:Vegetable Platter

NUTELLA	4 TBLSP
BUTTER	1 TSP
CHOCO CHIP COOKIES	8 BISCUITS
CORNFLAKES	2 HAND FUL
COCOA POWDER	FOR ROLLING

• Microwave the butter and nutella for 2 mins.
• Add the crushed corn flakes and choco chip biscuits and mix well.

• Keep it aside and when this comes to room temperature make this into balls.
• Roll over cocoa powder and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

• This recipe is done in a jiffy.

NOTE:

1. Choco chip biscuits can be replaced with digestive biscuits or any oat meal cookies.
2. You can add finely chopped almonds or cashew nuts or walnuts to this before rolling or even mix with cocoa powder for rolling.

Serving Suggestion.

• Before rolling into truffles this crunchy crumbles can be served as an topping for ice cream or Custard.
• These truffles be put in a mixer along with  a cup of milk to make an yummy chocolate milkshake

PANEER KORMA RECIPE | SIDE DISH FOR ROTI

         This time I wanted to try out a new paneer recipe other than the usual Paneer Butter masala which i make every week. This I tried out a few days back and it tasted very nice , my little one who doesn’t eat anything with rotis, except butter, feasted on the gravy.

INGREDIENTS:

PANEER CUBES	1 CUP
ONION	1 NO
TOMATO	1 NO
GREEN CHILLI	1 NO
COCONUT	2 TBLSP(GRATED)
CUMIN SEEDS	1/4 TSP
CASHEW NUTS	4-5 NO
GARLIC	3-4 PODS
SALT	AS NEEDED
GARAM MASALA	A PINCH
RED CHILLI POWDER	1/4 TSP
CORIANDER POWDER	1/4 TSP
MILK	3/4 CUP
OIL	1 TBLSP

METHOD:

• Roughly chop the onions and fry them in a tsp of oil till it turns golden brown.
• When it is cool, grind this along tomato and a pod of garlic.

• In a pan, add oil and transfer the ground masala.
• Add red chili powder and coriander powder to this.
• Saute nicely till the oil separates.

• Grind the coconut, green chili , garlic(2 pods) and cashew nuts into a smooth paste.
• Add this to the onion tomato gravy.
• Add the paneer cubes and milk to this (bring paneer to room temp.before adding)

• Do not boil for more than 2 minutes after adding milk and the coconut masala.
• Switch off the flame and add a pinch of garam masala and mix well.

• Serve hot with roti or puloa.

 

NOTE:

1. Fennel seeds can be added instead of cumin seeds.
2. Whole garam masala can be tempered before adding the onion tomato gravy instead of adding garam masala at the end.

Cauliflower curry recipe

   Cauliflower curry recipe with tomato ketchup. When I posted the recipe of Peas Pulao I mentioned that i will post the recipe of cauliflower curry too. Though i made this many times after that, somehow i couldn’t click and today finally i clicked and sharing the recipe of Cauliflower curry|Gobi curry recipe.

Keerai thandu mor kootu, Mor kootu recipe

   Keerai Thandu mor kootu  is a yogurt based gravy, using the tender stem of spinach. My mom makes with keerai thandu and vazhaithandu(banana stem). Whenever I make  Keerai masiyal or Keerai poriyal I include the stem in that. This time I wanted to try out this mor kootu as the stem was so tender. The recipe is similar to Aviyal recipe but this will be slightly a gravy than the thick aviyal.
We can mix this rice or can as an accompaniment for Vatha kuzhambu sadam or Milagu kuzhambu sadam too.
Next time when you are thinking what to make using keerai thandu, try out this mor kootu recipe. Also we can make sambar using keerai thandu.
Check out the vazhai thandu mor kootu recipe. 

Preparation time: 10 minutes  Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves:3-4
INGREDIENTS:

SPINACH STEM (CHOPPED)	1 CUP
COCONUT	3 TBLSP
GREEN CHILLI	1 NO
CUMIN SEEDS	1/4 TSP
RICE FLOUR	1/4 TSP
COCONUT OIL	1 TSP
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/4 TSP
YOGURT(CURD)	2 TBLSP
SALT	AS NEEDED

METHOD:

• Chop the stem of the spinach finely. Discard the root.
• Cook this in a pan adding very less water.Add salt while cooking.
• This will get cooked in 7-10 minutes.
• Grind the coconut, green chilli and cumin seeds along with the rice flour into a smooth paste.Add little water while grinding.

• Mix the paste to the cooked spinach stem and add the yogurt to this.
• Mix well to form a  thick gravy. do not add much water as it will make the kootu watery.
• After adding yogurt  do not boil for a long time. Just put off the flame in a minute.
• Temper with mustard seeds and serve with rice .

• Enjoy keerai thandu mor kootu.

Notes:

1. Do not add more rice flour to this, it will make the gravy too thick and bland.
2. Adjust chili according to your spice level. 

GULAB JAMUN RECIPE – JAMUNS USING KHOYA| DIWALI SWEETS RECIPE

  
 I never tried gulab jamuns on my own,even using the instant gulab jamun mix. When i saw the recipe of homemade gulab jamuns using khoya in Nags space, I bookmarked it at once and bought a packet of khoya on the following weekend. It turned out very soft and now i am confident in making jamuns.
For original recipe click here.

THIRUVADIRAI KALI RECIPE |THIRUVATHIRA KALI

         Thiruvadirai is favored for Lord Shiva, on the day of Thiruvadirai star in Marghazhi (November-December)and  is a festival of great importance. The sweet dish offering on this day, Thiruvadirai kali,  and today i am sharing the recipe of Thiruvadirai Kali recipe. Check out the Thiruvathirai Kootu | Thalagam recipe.
        When I called up mom yesterday for the recipe, she told me the entire procedure and I remember her making in a heavy bottomed Brass vessel called “URULI”. Since I don’t have this here I made in pressure cooker like we make Arisi Upma.

INGREDIENTS:

RAW RICE	1/2 CUP
JAGGERY	1 CUP
WATER	3-4 CUPS
MOONG DAL	2 TBLSP
GHEE	2 TBLSP
CARDAMOM POWDER	A PINCH
COCONUT (GRATED)	2 TBLSP

METHOD:

• In a pan dry roast the raw rice till it becomes reddish brown. Be careful not to get it burnt. Allow it to cool.

• Soak the moong dal for 10 minutes in water and cook this in open flame for 10 minutes or till the dal turns soft and not mushy.
• Drain the water.

• In a Pressure cooker add the jaggery and pour a 1/2 cup of water to this.
• When the jaggery melts filter the impurity and boil the jaggery water for few minutes. Add 3 cups of water to this .
• Add the coconut and cardamom powder to this.

• Grind the roasted rice in a mixer into a rava consistency. Don’t grind it too much into a powder. It should be of semolina(rava) consistency.

• Add this to the boiling jaggery water and add the cooked moong dal.
• Add ghee.
• Mix well and pressure cook till 2-3 whistles.
• Thiruvadirai Kali is ready for neivedhyam.

Notes:

1. It took 4 cups of water for me to cook . The measurement depends upon the nature of rice. If the rice is too old it needs lot of water. If it is new rice, 2-3 cups is enough.
2. You can cook this in open flame as we do for rava upma. Since My mom gave me an easy option I have done this in pressure cooker.
3. Instead of cooking the moong dal separately it can be roasted along with rice and can be ground along with it.

TOMATO SWEET PACHADI RECIPE | THAKKALI PACHADI

    Tomato Sweet Pachadi is my mom’s signature dish and it is liked by everybody at my place including kids. This tomato pachadi is generally served in tamil brahmin weddings and functions. We used to call this as tomato jam. Since i am not a big fan of sweets , i never attempted to try this at home. During my visit to India few weeks back, my mom made this and i clicked the pictures and sharing the recipe with you.
Before going to the recipe I thank all my fellow blogger friends for visiting my space and commenting on my posts. I missed many wonderful posts and will catch up all at the earliest.

INGREDIENTS:

TOMATO	12 NO
SUGAR	2 AND 1/2 CUP
WATER	1/2 CUP
DATES(DESEEDED)	4-5 NO
RAISINS	1 TBLSP
CASHEWNUTS	1-2 TBLSP
GHEE	2 TSP

• Wash and chop the tomato into small pieces.
• In a heavy bottomed vessel ( my mom used pressure cooker), add sugar along with the water.

• Add the chopped tomato to the sugar and stir well.
• Do not add any water,after adding tomatoes, as the tomatoes will ooze out water.
• Keep this in a medium low flame and stir continuously.
• The process will take 35- 45 minutes to reach the pachadi consistency.

• Fry the dates, cashew nuts, raisins separately in ghee and add to the pachadi.
• Mix well.Serve warm or chilled.

KADAI PANEER – SIDE DISH FOR ROTI-PANEER RECIPES

 Paneer recipes are always a  super hit at my home. Though i have tasted kadai paneer  in restaurants many times, somehow I never made this at home. Last week i thought i will try this kadai paneer recipe. I tried out and it was a super hit among my family. It is a very simple recipe too. Do try this Kadai paneer at home.