Vengaya Sambar recipe, Arachuvitta vengaya sambar

SAMBAR WITH FRESH GROUND MASALA

Recipe updated with video

     “Vengaya sambar-  Arachuvitta vengaya sambar is a tasty sambar
recipe made using freshly ground Sambar masala, a lentil-based onion gravy, cooked in tamarind sauce, popular in the South Indian cuisine. Addition of shallots to this sambar gives a delicious aroma. My mother used to make this Arachuvitta vengaya sambar whenever we had guests at home, especially newly-weds. She used to brilliantly make this along with Urulai Kizhangu fry, appalam and tomato rasam. To this day, we have a special soft corner for this sambar. Over to my mother’s version of this recipe.
Also check out my

• Vendakkai sambar recipe
• Kalyana sambar

INGREDIENTS: ( SERVES 4-5) | Preparation time: 40 minutes

TOOR DAL	1/2 CUP
TAMARIND EXTRACT	1 CUP
SAMBAR POWDER	1 AND 1/2 TSP
TURMERIC POWDER	1/4 TSP
SAMBAR ONION| SHALLOTS	1/2 CUP
CORIANDER SEEDS	1 TBLSP
CHANNA DAL	1 TBLSP
RED CHILLI	2+ 1
COCONUT SHREDDED	2 TBLSP
OIL	1 TBLSP
ASAFOETIDA	2 PINCHES
MUSTARD SEEDS	1/4 TSP
VENDHAYAM |METHI SEEDS	1/8 TSP
SALT	TO TASTE
CURRY LEAVES	FEW

                       Video of how to make chinna vengaya sambar

METHOD:

• Cook the toor dal with 1 and 1/2 cup of water and a pinch of turmeric powder in pressure cook till 3 whistles.

• Peel the skin of the onions and  wash this nicely.

• Make tamarind extract from a gooseberry sized tamarind soaked in hot water.

• In a pan add oil and throw in the mustard seeds , fenugreek seeds (if adding) and 1 red chilli broken into pieces.

• Add the sambar onion and saute in a medium low flame till the onions become  turned golden brown.

• Add the tamarind extract and add sambar powder, salt, turmeric powder and asafoetida and let this boil till the onions become soft and gets cooked. Do this in a medium low flame.

• Meanwhile in a small pan, add a tsp of oil and roast the channa dal, coriander seeds, redchillis till they become golden brown. When it is done add coconut to this and allow this to cool.

• Grind this into a smooth paste adding little water and keep aside.

• Add the cooked toordal to the boiling tamarind mixture and add the ground masala to this and mix gently.

• Add little water to reach the right sambar consistency.
• Add 1/2 tsp of jaggery . It's optional only. Feel free to omit.
• Bring this to a nice boil without getting the sambar burnt at the bottom.
• Garnish with curry leaves.
• Serve hot with rice and Potato curry

STRAWBERRY MILKSHAKE RECIPE

   Last week I bought a box of strawberry to make a fruit salad for a kids party near the poolside and i was left over with few strawberries and when i was thinking of making Strawberry smoothie, Varsha gave the idea of making milkshake and even i thought to go ahead with that idea so that i can click the picture for a post too.

    I added store bought strawberry milk and Hershey’s strawberry syrup too. You can add Home made strawberry Ice cream too, to make it more rich and thick.

 

INGREDIENTS( FOR 2 SERVINGS)

STRAWBERRY	7-8 NO
STRAWBERRY MILK | PLAIN MILK	1 CUP
SUGAR	1-2 TBLSP
WATER	2-3 TBLSP
STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM	1 SCOOP ( OPTIONAL)
HERSHEY’S STRAWBERRY SYRUP	1 TBLSP(OPTIONAL)

METHOD:

• Combine all the ingredients in a blender till the strawberries smoothly blend with the milk.

• Serve immediately.
• You can use plain milk also. But always cool the milk and use, never use warm milk also.
• Addition of strawberry ice cream will give a very yummy milkshake.

CAULIFLOWER PEAS KORMA RECIPE | SIDE DISH FOR ROTI

     Usually kurmas are doesn’t take place in my kitchen frequently, though i make chapathi almost everyday. Me and my hubby are not a great fan of korma and my kids too. One day when i made rotis for dinner, I was very clueless what to make as a side dish for roti and finally i landed up in making cauliflower and peas korma. Without any much complaints everyone had this.

INGREDIENTS:

CAULIFLOWER( MEDIUM SIZE)	1 NO
GREEN PEAS	1/4 CUP
ONION	1 NO
TOMATO	1 NO
CORIANDER SEEDS	1 TSP
FENNEL SEEDS	1/4 TSP
COCONUT SHREDDED	3 TBLSP
CURRY LEAVES	FEW
CARDAMOM	1 NO
OIL	1 TBLSP
CASHEW NUTS	7-9 NO
GREEN CHILI	2 NO
GARLIC PODS	2 NO
CUMIN SEEDS	1/4 TSP
SALT	TO TASTE

METHOD:

• Cut the cauliflower into small florets.
• Cook the cauliflower and peas ( i used the frozen peas) in a pan adding little salt to that.

• Drain the water and keep it aside.
• chop the onions finely.

• In a pan add little oil and add the onions and saute till golden brown.
• When it is done add the tomato and saute for 2 minutes.

• since i added tomato paste i didn’t saute this.
• Add green chilli, garlic, fennel seeds, cardamom , coriander seeds, cashew nuts and coconut to this and grind this into a smooth paste.

• In a pan add oil and throw in the cumin seeds and add the curry leaves and immediately add the ground masala.

• After a minute add the cooked cauliflower and green peas to this , mix well and let this boil for 2 minutes in medium low flame.

• Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis.

Technorati Tags: Cauliflower korma,Peas masala,how to make korma,easy gravies,side dish for rotis | chapathi,South indian Kurma

COCONUT POLI | THENGAI POLI RECIPE

   
Thengai Poli or Sweet Poli is my most favorite sweet which we normally make for Bogi (the before day of Pongal festival) and for Aavani avittam. Though my mom usually make poli with channa dal poornam i love this Thengai poli more than that.
Thengai Poli is one of my most favorite one and though my mom makes poli mostly with channa dal pooranam, i am not a great fan of that. She always makes 2-3 polis separately for me with  coconut poornam(filling).

PINEAPPLE JUICE RECIPE ( WITH ORANGE)| SUMMER DRINKS RECIPES.

   Before going on to the post, I am happy to mention that my recipe of Tomato Sweet pachadi got featured in The Hindu, a popular daily Newspaper in India. Click THIS LINK to read the recipe.

    Summer  is   still at the peak and i wanted to try a combo of pineapple and orange for a long time. When i saw this fresh cut pineapples in the wet market, I got a packet and made juice after coming home. This tasted so yum and my kiddos too loved this.

 

INGREDIENTS:

PINEAPPLE CUBES	1 CUP
ORANGES	2 NO
SUGAR	3 TSP
WATER	1/2 CUP
ICE CUBES	FEW

METHOD:

• Cut he pineapple into cubes and squeeze out the juice from the oranges.
• Blend in a blender along with sugar.

• Once done filter this and add water and ice cubes.

• Enjoy this easy pineapple juice along with oranges .

Note:

1. Addition of a small piece of ginger while blending, will enhance the flavor and will be more refreshing too.
2. Honey can be replaced for sugar.

HOW TO MAKE SOFT PHULKAS | ROTI(WITH VIDEO)

   Phulka| Chapathi| Soft rotis, fluffy unleavened Indian flat breads made with whole wheat. Phulkas or rotis are popular in almost every Indian cuisine. They can be had at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Filled with the wholesome goodness of wheat, they are extremely healthy and easy to digest even for the elderly. Ever since my in laws were diagnosed with diabetes, I started making phulkas regularly for dinner at home. Initially, getting perfectly round and soft rotis was a bit of a struggle. Like
for several other dishes, for phulkas too I got inspiration from my mom who is an expert at making them. With practice, you can get soft and round rotis used to be her mantra. After a few months of practice, I can confidently make soft and round phulkas/rotis. On request from a friend, I have posted a video of the recipe.
Check out the

• Plain paratha recipe
• Masala square paratha

INGREDIENTS:

WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR	1 CUP
WATER	AS NEEDED( APPROX 1/3 CUP)
SALT	AS NEEDED
OIL	1 TSP

 
METHOD:

• In a wide bowl add the whole wheat flour( I used ashirvad atta) add salt and mix water slowly to make a pliable dough. Add a few drops of oil and cover the dough and keep it aside for 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour. 
• The resting time will release more gluten from the dough and make it even soft.
• While kneading the dough, do not press hard while kneading. Once it is fully done knead it hard by pressing it nicely.

• Keep a small amount of flour for dusting and make the dough into equal balls.

• Roll them into round rotis dusting in the flour when needed. Do not dust too much as this will turn the roti dry.

• Heat a non stick tawa and it should be in a medium low flame.
• Place the rolled roti on the tawa on cook for few seconds and turn it on the other side.
• Cook till you see small bubbles.

• Take out the tawa from the stove and place this roti on the direct flame and you can see the roti puffs up.
• When done on one side flip it and cook on the other side. This step you can get fast once you start practicing.

• Repeat the same procedure for the rest of the roti dough balls.
• Normally i use this type of tong to handle this hot phulkas.
• Brush this with oil or ghee if you want, but without this also the rotis will stay soft.

Here is the video of making puffed rotis. Kindly bear with the poor quality as it was taken early in the morning when i was making rotis for kids lunch box.

  Video of how to roll phulkas

• I served with paneer butter masala on that day. You can have with any SIDE DISH of your choice.

Notes:

1. While kneading the dough little milk can also be added as this will give very soft rotis.
2. If using hot water for making dough, the rotis will be soft but you can not make soft rotis with the left over dough for the next day for making chapathi.
3. While putting the rotis on direct flame be careful not to make any small tear roti else it won’t puff up.
4. While putting the roti on direct flame flip it soon , if they get over cooked then it will be crispy as a papad.
5. Some people will add a tblsp of yogurt while kneading the dough . As i haven’t personally tried this i don’t now how this will come out.
6. The most important thing is making the dough in a right consistency.Ensure that it should be soft. If it is too watery also then you have to dust this too much and finally end up in making dry rotis.
7. If it is hard then the rotis will become hard. With few times of practise you can get it right.

I am going on a break for 2 weeks and will be missing all the nice recipes around the blog sphere , i have scheduled few posts during this break time and see you back after a while.
Keep sending mails for any queries and keep visiting my space for new recipes

CHILLI CHEESE TOAST RECIPE

Recipe of chilli cheese toast with Video
Chilli cheese toast recipe is a quick snack recipe made in a jiffy.  I used to have this in Five star super market ( a chain of stores in Chennai)  when i was working in Chennai . Most of the Friday evenings and during long hours of work we used to go there in the evening and have their sandwich which used be Rs.5, and this chilli cheese toast was Rs.7. Last week when i bought cheese to try out a recipe my hubby reminded me about this chilli cheese toast which we used to have in office, i wanted to try it out. It turned out super yum and i recollected the memories associated with the chili cheese toast.

Chilli cheese toast

  Preparation Time : 5 mins | Cooking Time : 5 Mins |Serves: 2

     Bread slices   2
     Green chili  1
     Bell pepper | capsicum  1-2 tbslp
     Pepper powder   2 pinches
     Grated cheese     3 tblsp
     Salt  to taste
                               Video of How to make chilli cheese toast

                       
     

Method

• In a bowl add the cheese, finely chopped green chilli.

• Add finely chopped bell pepper, pepper powder and salt to taste.
• Mix well.

• Spread this mixture evenly onto the bread slices.
• Preheat the oven at 160 degrees for 5 minutes and bake it till the cheese melts.

• Serve with tomato ketchup.
• This can be made in a sandwich maker also.
• You can make this in Microwave too.
• If making in microwave, toast the bread on tawa with little butter and then spread the cheese mixture onto the toasted bread and microwave for 2 minutes.

Note:

1. Add chili according to your spice level.
2. Deseeded tomatoes can be added to make this more colorful.
3. If making in a pan, cover the bread slices with a lid and cook until the cheese melts. Do in a low flame to avoid the bread getting burnt.

Technorati Tags: Chilli cheese toast recipe,cheese recipes,easy bread recipes,bread toast,recipes with bread