Tomato Kurma, Dill-Dabeli Masala Parathas, Chutney Pudi-Aloo fries with Strawberry Lassi!

Happy Holi to all of you! :)

Yes!! Spring..err.. Summer like weather is here at last! It was sunny 80+F the last weekend and hot rest of this week too! But ground is still not warm enough, I will have to wait until May to start planting in my veggie patch.

In other news, if you remember my little experiments from last week's post of not shopping for 14 days and to go on liquid detox for one day a week, here are the updates!
I did not shop last Saturday as I usually do but ran out of milk, OJ and bread 2 days later. With two teenagers around, I had to shop on the 10th day! I fell 4 days short of my goal, mission NOT accomplished!

But I did successfully complete one whole day of liquid diet on last Thursday though! It wasn't bad at all, lived on 7 cups of liquid for the whole day. Body surely protested by giving me headache and nausea but my mind is lot stronger even though it felt like the longest day of my life!! Next day, hubby says I needed to drink about 10-12 glasses (8oz each) of liquid per day to avoid dehydration and headache if we are not eating solids! Well..too late now, will keep that in mind in future! :P

Btw, we have two birthdays to celebrate this weekend, very busy days for us parents as well! My boy is 14 and my girl is 18 on Saturday and Monday respectively! Finally, one is an adult. YES!! Oh wait, she gets her own bank account and a credit card next week! OH NO! HELP!! :D
Details in my next post.

Okie dokie!! Now let's get on with it without too much yakking from me, shall we? I have spicy Tomato Kurma, festive masaledar Lachcha Parathas, my mom's Chutney pudi, Dabeli masala smothered Aloo fries and a delicious Strawberry lassi for this week. Sounds good, huh?
I will be sending these to few events, logos and links are at the bottom of the post. You can click on all the photos to enlarge them.

Tomato Kurma:
Tomato Kurma is adapted from one of the Mallika Badrinath's books. It's delicious and down to earth as most of her recipes are. Tomato is a fruit but mostly used as vegetable in our kitchen. It is also high in Vitamin A and C, which are good source for us, specially for kids. Since kids usually like Tomatoey Spaghetti sauce, using Tomatoes in Kurma is another way to utilize the goodness. With antioxidant benefits, Tomatoes are excellent for reducing the risk of Cancer too.

You need:
4-5 Tomatoes, Cilantro to garnish, 1 tsp Jaggary or sugar, enough salt.
Seasoning:
2 tsp oil and 1 tsp ghee, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 garlic,chopped,1 large onion chopped, 1-2 green chillies, sliced.
Grind all these to a smooth paste with enough warm water and keep aside:
1/3 cup fresh coconut, 5-6 Cashew nuts, 1 tbsp Poppy seeds, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1/4 tsp chilli pd or 2 red dry chillies, 1 tsp Garam masala. (no need to roast the spices before grinding)
To make Kurma:
1. Heat oil and ghee, add cumin seeds, garlic, chillies, stir for a minute and add onion and fry until soft.
2. Add Tomatoes, salt, sugar, cook until Tomatoes are soft. Turn down the heat.
3. Add the ground coconut masala to this dish and simmer for 30 mins or until you get a delicious aroma. Adjust the salt and spices, add cilantro.
4. Serve with Dill masala Parathas or Dosas or idlies.

Festive Parathas for Holi! Dill and Dabeli masala stuffed Parathas:
Since Holi is not one of the well celebrated festival in South India unlike in North India, I am not very familiar with the traditional Holi festival foods. After reading the choices at Purva's blog about Parathas as one of the foods for Holi, I made these masaledar colorful Parathas for her Holi event. They are colorful with Dill (Ashwini's idea to add Dill) and flavorful with the Dabeli masala added to the dough. Enjoy! :)

You need:
2 cups of Wheat flour, 1/2 cup Dill leaves chopped, (optional), 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp Fennel seeds powder, 1 tsp coriander seeds pd, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp Dabeli masala (store bought or home made), 1/4 cup yogurt and enough warm water to make a firm dough.

Home made Dabeli Masala:
2 tsp cumin seeds pd, salt, 1/4 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp Kala namak (black salt), 1 tsp Mango powder, pinch of Nutmeg/Mace powder, 1/2 tsp chilli powder, 1/8 tsp clove powder, 1/4 tsp Turmeric. Mix all these and use as needed.

Layered Parathas:
Enlarge the collage if you want to see the details of folding the Parathas.

To make Parathas:
1. Add the above in a mixer or mix by hand and knead this to a firm non-sticky dough for 5 mins. Divide into equal portions. Cover the bowl and rest the dough for atleast 15mins or more.
2. Now, look at the collage. First roll one dough ball to 4", spray no-stick or brush some oil, fold the top 2/3rd way down. Fold the top again to a cigar style and stretch the dough to make it longer.
3. Now curl this elongated dough into a peda or snail like shape, flatten and roll out again gently without pressing too hard to keep the layers to a 5-6" circle. Repeat with others.
4. Heat a tava, cook these parathas both sides until golden, brushing with oil or ghee on top while it's still warm and sprinkle some Dabeli Masala on top.

Note:If you don't want to make layers, you can also just roll the dough balls to 5-6" circles' 1/8th thick and cook on Tava too.
Serve these with Tomato Kurma or just with plain yogurt or raita or Pickle.

Mom's Karnataka style Chutney Pudi:
This is one of the three Chutney pudis/powders my mother makes at home. This one has 2 kinds of dal and it's supposed to be very spicy to go with plain Yogurt and rice or dosas and idlies with some ghee. But I add a bit less chilli pd than usual. You can add as much as you like. Great with hot chapatis with a tsp of ghee drizzled on top of this chutney pudi as well.

You need:
1 cup Chana dal,
1/2 cup Urad dal,
1/4 cup dry grated coconut,
and 1 tsp coriander seeds.
enough dry red chillies to your taste.
or enough chill powder,(do not roast this but add it to the grinder)

enough salt to taste,
1 /4 tsp Turmeric,
1/2 tsp Sugar (Optional)
1 tsp or more Tamarind powder.
(or take a large marble sized tamarind (not tamarind paste), roast this until it's a bit dry and stiff. As it cools, it will be drier and easy to powder along with others.)

To make chutney pudi:
Roast first 4 of the above ingredients one by one in a hot pan until reddish, cool them and powder adding the other ingredients on the list coarsely. Do not powder this mixture very fine, it should grainy like Semolina/Rava. Adjust the salt, chilli and Tamarind as you like it. Crunchy Chutney pudi should be well balanced, spicy and tangy. You can add some sugar too, if you like the sweet, tangy and hot taste!

If you make a small amount of chutney pudi and use it quickly, store it in a jar with airtight lid on the counter or in the pantry. If not, it's better to keep it in the fridge, lasts longer there since this pudi has coconut in it.

Dabeli masala and Chutney Pudi laced Aloo fries with Strawberry Lassi for kids!
well...who doesn't like thick cut baked golden Potato fries? They are excellent to munch on for kids and adults. With masala sprinkled on the crispy baked Aloo, they are great for snacking on their own or on the side with a burger or few cutlets. You can use large Potatoes cut into fingers and fry or bake to make these masalaedar aloo fries.

To make masala Fries:
I used frozen crinkled cut Potatoes, baked them at 450F oven until golden. Took them out and sprinkled half the portion with above Dabelai masala, dry herbs and salt and sprinkled the other half portion with salt and my Chutney pudi which I have given recipe above. You can cut Potatoes into long 3-4" fingers and shallow fry and sprinkle with masalas if frozen is not Potato fries are not available to you. Serve this with delicious thick Strawberry Lassi!! Slurp!! :)

Strawberry Lassi:
When FIC event said Pink, I immediately thought Strawberry smoothies. After seeing many smoothies and milk shakes in other blogs, I thought of making it Indian fusion Lassi with Strawberries. It was delicious. If the strawberries are fresh and sweet, you need less sugar and few ice cubes. I used frozen Strawberries, so more sugar needed and no ice! How thick or thin you want the Lassi, it depends on how much water you add. Strawberry Lassi is a great source of Calcium, Fiber, Vitamins and Protein too. Enjoy.

Here it is:
Add 1 cup frozen or fresh Strawberries, 1 cup plain Yogurt, 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup ice cubes, 1/8 cup or enough sugar powder into a blender and make a smooth thickish drink. If you like to add flavor, add few drops Vanilla essence or few Pistachios while blending. But natural flavor of Strawberries is good enough for me. I like my Lassi little thicker, add more water if you want thinner Lassi. Chill Lassi for an hour to serve. Makes about 3-4 servings.

Here are logos of each event, link to their announcement pages and list of my dishes I am sending to these events, please click on the collage to enlarge. Thanks to all the event hosts, enjoy! :)

Tomato Kurma, goes to Sanghi of "Sanghi's Tasty Bites" blog's new event "Fall in Love-Tomato".

Chutney Pudi, goes to Smitha of "Kadumanga" and to her "Colors of taste-Podis" event.

Masala Potato fries, goes to Deepa of "Simple Home cooking" blog's event "Cooking for kids-Potato" and this event is started by Sharmi.

Wheat flour Dill-masala Parathas, go to Roma of "Roma's space", who is guest hosting "JFI-Wheat" this month, an event started by Indira.

Colorful and festive Dabeli Masala Parathas, also go to Purva of "Purva's Dawat" blog's event "Festive Food-Holi".

Delicious Strawberry Lassi, goes to Priya of "Priya's easy and tasty recipes" who is guest hosting "Food in Color-Pink", an event started by Harini.

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My tried and tasted dishes from other blogs, thanks for posting these, girls! :)

Kathirikkai Mor-Kuzhambu, from Malar.
(Cubed the Eggplants since I only had the US style huge purple ones. Finger licking recipe, different from the usual Mor kolzhambu!)
Moogachi Hirwi Amti, from Meera.
(Was delicious and nutritious, skipped the optional coconut milk but added everything else)
Keerai Molagutal, from Super chef.
(Added a bit of tamarind, can't go wrong with this yummy Spinach and dal Molagotal!)

Book I am reading now:
"The quilt and other stories" by Ismat Chughtai. (1915-1991)
Born in 1915 and growing up in a very conservative Muslim family in India, Ismat Chugtai started writing in Urdu when she was in her 20s. Her short story "The Quilt or Lihaaf" was about a young girl who was temporarily staying with her female relative remembering an incident where two women were having a sexual relationship, which was frowned upon at that time. She was charged with "indecent writing" in 1944 for this story by the British Imperial court and she won that case too! How about that?! Happy International Women's day to her! :)
Her stories have been sufficiently well-translated into English by two women; Tahira and Syeda, other stories are very interesting too although it's not easy to translate from poetic Urdu to English. Her other stories are equally endearing in this book. It must be excellent to read them in Ismat's own words in Urdu but unfortunately most of us can't. Thank God for English translation!

Movies I saw:
"Flashbacks of a Fool"
Daniel Craig, "MR. BOND" himself! 'Nuff said!! ;D
But seriously this movie makes you see how and why some "rich" people are such sad souls and every sad soul has a sadder story to tell! Great "R" rated movie to watch )

"I've Loved You So Long"
Loved this French movie with English subtitles. Kristen Scott Thomas, a British actress, keeps you glued to the movie until the last minute to know what happened in her past and why she killed her 6yr old son!

At last, I won a "Drool Worthy" award from Rathna of "Asvadha" blog when we sent in the entries for her "Made for each other" event. I have never ever won anything in my life, so I am deliriously happy, didn't even know I even get a surprise gift! WOO HOO! Thanks Rathna! :)

Lastly, thank you so much to all the bloggers who shower me with many cute awards week after week. I appreciate each one of them, cherish it and they are all listed on the sidebar with your names in it. Hugs to all of you, I am lucky to have all of your support. All of my blog buddies are welcome to grab these awards, you all deserve them. Have a great weekend my friends, have fun!

WHEAT BREAD MUFFULETTA, LEMONY TEA BISCUITS

Beautiful New Orleans:
Beautiful city of Mardi Gras, French quarter, Cajun and Creole food, river front, Audubon,French market, Horse carriages, Cafe Du Monde's Chicory coffee (you can buy this coffee online here) and Beignets, music and all that Jazz!! We love New Orleans, spent a week vacationing there in 2003. Everything was magical as if we weren't in USA at all! After Katrina, we visited that city again in 2006 and we were heart broken to see the devastation. Although downtown New Orleans is unaffected, certain neighborhoods are completely wiped out and we could see cars piled up and rusting in the car parks. My heart goes out to all the lovely New Orleans residents who suffered a great loss and still suffering! Take a photo tour here.

St. Louis Cathedral/Jackson Square and a typical French style building right opposite the famous Cafe Du Monde, photo taken in 2006:



Muffuletta sandwiches are said to be originated at Central Grocery in New Orleans by a Sicilian immigrant in 1906. They are very popular sandwiches in New Orleans along with Roast Beef "Po' boys"(poor man's sandwiches). Muffuletta is made of round loaf of crusty bread similar to Focaccia, split and filled with layers of sliced cheeses and meat like Salami etc. and stuffed with delcious marinated Olive salad. Muffulettas in New Orleans are so huge, sometimes as high as 3" with fillings dripping with olive salad, that it easily feeds 4 people generously, just need a few beverages to complete the meal!:D
Vegetarians can skip the meat and add sliced Zucchinis, Cucumber,Tomatoes etc. Hope you try this delicious sandwich!:)

Basic Whole Wheat Bread:

The bread recipe is from the book "Ultimate Bread" by Treuille and Ferringno. This is a very basic white bread recipe, easy to bake even for beginners. The original name for this bread is "Pain Ordinaire" which is "Ordinary Bread" in French. You can add wheat flour, Rye or Barley flour along with white flour and mix 1/4 cup buttermilk with 1/4 cup of the water to make it more flavorful. I made this simple and round bread just to make Muffuletta.
You need:
2 tsp Yeast,
1/2 cups water,
1 tsp sugar,
3 1/2 cups Wheat bread flour,(or plain flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt.
To bake the bread:
1. Sprinkle yeast to 1/2 cup of warm (115F) water, and sugar, set aside for 5 mins. Sift flour and salt together in a big bowl or stand up mixer.
2. Mix in yeast mix to flour, mix well or use paddle hook on the KitchenAid.
3. Add as much water as you need and let it all come together into firm, moist dough.Knead until smooth and elastic with the dough hook or by hand.
4. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hrs.Punch down and let it rest for 10mins.
5. Put the whole dough on a baking sheet, pat gently to a 10" circle and cover again and let it rise for 1/2 an hour.
6. Bake in the preheated oven at 400F for about 35-45mins, depending on your oven. It sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack. Bread tastes wonderful to make any kind of sandwiches. You can also shape this bread dough into French Bread/Baguettes and bake as well, great to make Garlic bread!

New Orleans Muffuletta with Olive salad:



To make Olive salad my style, you need:

Mix 1/4 cup Olive oil, 1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimento,chopped, 1/4 cup Black olives,pitted and chopped,1 tbsp red Wine Vinegar,1/4 cup roasted red peppers, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp chilli flakes, 1/4 cup chopped bottled Garden vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, Celery, Pearl onion etc soaked in vinegar, drained and chopped roughly, 1 minced Garlic, 1 chopped Shallot, 1 tbsp Capers, salt and pepper to taste all these in a bowl and chill in the fridge as long as you can, preferably overnight or more is great too.
To assemble Muffuletta:
1. Slice the loaf horizontally, add a thick layer of 1/2 of the Olive salad, lay the cheese slices like Mozzarella, Provolone etc and then layer meat slices like Pepperoni, Salami,Ham etc and cheese slice again and end with the rest of the Olive salad on top and cover with top slice of bread.
2. Press the loaf, cover with foil or cling film tightly and chill in fridge for 30mins. Take it out and cut inti quarters to serve with pickled pepperoncini. That's about it, your yummy Muffuletta is ready to dig in without going to New Orleans!

Muffuletta is ready for you!!:)
If you like warm slice of Muffuletta, press the sandwich in Panini press or grill until cheese melts or you can also microwave for a minute until cheese melts.

Try it!

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Ready for some sweet-tart Lemony Biscuits now?

Lemony Tea Biscuits are my contribution to Coffee from "The Spice Cafe". She is hosting Jihva this month which is originally started by Indira of "Mahanandi". She has chosen "Lemon/Lime" as her JIHVA ingredients for February. Thanks for taking time to host Coffee!:)


Lemony Tea Biscuits:
This recipe for flavored southern biscuits is from "Southern Cooking" by James Villas with my slight changes. He says "one of the southern tradition/ritual in the finer homes even to this day is to have "high Tea", sitting in their porches and gardens!" Tea and dainty little Lemon flavored Biscuits make a fine accompaniment for afternoon tea. I have glazed the biscuits with Lemon syrup. Any citrus syrup will do too, enjoy!:))



You need these to make them:

You Need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour,
4 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp salt,
1 tbsp sugar,
4 tbsp cold butter,cut into small cubes,
1 cup milk.
Filling:
2 tbsp melted butter,
1 tbsp Lemon Zest.(grate only the yellow outer skin,not the white part)
Glaze:
3 tbsp Sugar,
juice of 2 Lemons.

Preheat the oven to 450F.
Spray a large baking sheet with no-stick oil.
Mix 2 tbsp sugar and lemon juice well until dissolved and keep aside.

To make them:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking pd, salt, sugar, and cold butter. Mix until it resembles bread crumbs.Add milk, fold gently just enough to mix, do not over mix.
2. Knead 3-4 times on the counter top, pat out to a rectangle about 1/4" thick, brush melted butter evenly on top and sprinkle Lemon zest on top.
3. Roll up like Jelly roll or like cigar lengthwise, cut into 1" rolls.Place them on the baking sheet 1" apart and lightly dab them the tops with sugar and lemon glaze, do not soak it in.
4. Bake for 12-15 mins or until golden on top.Cool on racks and store them in the air tight container.
Note: If you don't want to make the swirls or pinwheel rolls, gently roll out the dough to about 1" thickness and cut out 3" circles, glaze and bake!

Serve at room temperature with jam or jelly for breakfast or with Tea/Coffee in the afternoon!!:)

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Book I read last week:

"The red carpet-Bangalore stories" by Lavanya Sankaran.
Author is raised in Bangalore and living there now with her family (after moving back to India from USA), she writes her very first witty (cosmopolitan people are "one-Thara" people, as Ram her character in the book says!:D) and very articulately written book. It is sprinkled with expletives thru' out the book which I don't like to read or hear in the movies, which is my problem of course! I am old fashioned in that way.
It's a collection of 8 stories, all set in Bangalore (Silicon Valley of India!), writes about new and old generation clashes, about "foreign returned" engineers, ABCDs , perception and presumption of life in USA! IF it's a true portrait of modern day B'lore, specially as in the first story (I really hope it's just fiction!), it shocks me! I have been away from Bengaluru for too many years I guess, again it's all my fault!!! :P
She won a "Poets and writers best of first fiction 2005" award for this book. She is a very BEAUTIFUL girl too, looking at her photo on back of the book!
Movie:
Saw the movie "SAW 4" at last, my favorite most "intelligent" REAL scary bunch of movies (SAW 1,2,3) if you ask me, love them all! :D

Few dishes I tried from other bloggers:

Vimmi's delicious Baingan da Bharta:
Here is a simple but great tasting Baingan da bharta I tried from Punjabi blogger friend Vimmi. I have never cooked Baingan Bharta before since it always involves the usual dhania-jeera pd, garam masala etc. This recipe uses the minimum of spices and tastes excellent with Parathas. Thanks Vimmi, loved it and as you said, it's absolutely delcious!:)
Srivalli's Spicy Peanuts:
Happy cook made these peanuts last week with the recipe from Srivalli's blog. Although this dish is not new to me (my mom always roasts the peanuts in 2 tbsp oil in a pan and seasons), I wanted to try Sri's deep fried version. It came out very well, great to munch on cold Winter evenings, love the fried garlic. Thanks Sri!:)

Enjoy your weekend!:)

GARLIC-MUSHROOM RISOTTO AND ONION-BROCCOLI CALZONE

A "Forever Friends" Hope award was waiting for me from a dear friend Happy cook!:)


Thank you Happy cook from "Kitchen Treasures" for this beautiful award. You have been a great friend to me. I am honored to receive this from you!:)
I would like to pass this award to Latha N and Lakshmi of "The YUM blog". You both are much more than friends to me, thank you for that girls! Enjoy!:)
Let me also thank some of my blogger friends who emailed me last 2 weeks and also who commented here as well. You know who you are and I appreciate your words of encouragement,support and understanding. You do make me feel good to know that you are my true well wishers. Thank you very much!:)




Here are two traditional Italian dishes, Risotto and Calzone I made last week. Both are delicious dishes, adaptable to both vegetarian and non-vegetarian choices and meat Calzones are my kids' favorite! Who doesn't like hand held Pizza on the go?!:D

Garlic-Mushroom Risotto:
Risotto, a traditional Italian dish which is made with Arborio or any short grained Risotto rice, similar to our own Bisibele Bhath in texture except not cooked with lentils. Rice combined with different vegetables and meat, Risotto is an easy dish to make. Although it takes a little time to stir to get that perfect Risotto dish, it's well worth the effort. When done, Risotto should be creamy in texture. By the time I took this photo, it had absorbed most of the stock which made it look a bit dry. I had to add little more stock to it and reheat later, it's a delicious dish!:)




Sunita from "Sunita's World" blog has chosen "Garlic" as her choice this month for her "Think spice..Think.." event. Garlic flavored Mushroom Risotto is my contribution to this event. Thanks Sunita!:)



You need:
1 1/2 cup Arborio or any short grained Risotto rice,
1 cups chopped Portabella or Baby Bella or Porcini Mushrooms,or any combination of Mushrooms you like ,dry and fresh,
4 or more cups of chicken or Vegetable stock (or water),
3 tbsp Butter,
1 onion, finely chopped,
3 Garlic, minced or 1 tsp Garlic powder,
3-4 slices of Dried Tomato slices, chopped,
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated,
few gratings of Nutmeg,
salt and pepper,
2 tbsp fresh Parsley, a sprig to garnish.
To make it:
1. If you are using dried mushroom, soak it for an hr in hot water, squeeze dry (you can save the drained water to add to make up the stock if you like) and chop. Chop the fresh Mushrooms and keep aside. Heat the vegetable stock to simmer.
2. In a heavy bottomed pan, melt butter.Add onion, saute until soft but not brown.Add garlic, stir for a mins. Add all the mushrooms,chopped Tomato slices fry for 2 mins. Pour in rice,mix well to coat with butter. Add salt,pepper to taste.
3. Now add a ladleful of stock at a time to the pan, stir and let it absorb the liqui. Keep adding the stock in this way until rice is cooked and not very dry. When done it should have a creamy texture, add more stock than given here to get that texture. Add nutmeg, parsley and half of the Parmesan cheese, mix and garnish with a sprig of fresh Parsley and rest of the Parmesan gratings on top to serve.

Onion-Broccoli-Feta Calzone and Ham-cheese Calzone:
Calzone, which means "Pant legs or trouser" in Italian, is another "fold over" Pizza which I am sure most kids and adults love. You can make Pizza dough at home or use store bought dough,roll out and stuff with either vegetables or meat with cheese inside to bake them. They do make a hearty meal. Enjoy!:)



JFI aka "Jihva for Ingredients" is started by Indira of Mahanandi blog and it's Radhi from "Radhi's Kitchen" who is hosting this month and she has chosen the quintessential "Onion". We can literally cook anything under the Sun with those onions, can't we? I chose to make delicious sweet Videlia onion, Broccoli and Feta cheese Calzone and Ham and Provolone cheese Calzone. Enjoy Radhi!:)

To make it:

You need: Pizza Dough, vegetables or/and meat of your choice, 1/4 cup of Tomato sauce or Pizza sauce (optional), salt, pepper, red chilli flakes and your choice of cheese and herbs.Egg wash or milk to brush.
To make dough:
1. Dissolve 1 tbsp Yeast in 1 cup warm water(110F), 1 tsp sugar. Let it foam.
2. When foamy, add to 3 cups of plain flour or white or whole wheat bread flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp olive oil, and mix and knead to make a soft dough. Add more water if you need it. Easy to make if you use KitchenAid dough hook. If you want herbed dough, add 1 tsp Italian herb mix before kneading. Cover the bowl with damp towel and let it double in a warm place for 1-2 hrs.
To make the vegetarian stuffing:
1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a pan, add 1 onion sliced thin, 1 garlic sliced, saute until soft. Add 1 10oz bag of thawed and microwaved until cooked Broccoli,salt, few chilli flakes and pepper.
2. Saute until dry and let it cool. Add 1/2 cup Feta cheese(I like Feta with Broccoli although Feta is not a traditional Italian cheese) or any cheese, 1/2 tsp Italian herb mix you like. Mix gently.
For meat stuffing: Roughly chop Ham, Pepperoni or any Sausage you have, mix with salt, pepper, Provolone and cheddar or Jack cheese and 1/2 tsp Oregano. Set aside.
To make Calzone:
1. Punch down the dough, divide into 4 pieces,knead. Take each Pizza dough balls, roll out into 6" circles, place some stuffing of your choice in the center, drizzle 1 tbsp of Tomato sauce(like Ragu)if you like and fold over to make a half circle and pinch the edges to seal each of the Calzone. Make few tiny holes on top of the dough for the steam to escape while baking.
2. You can use Egg wash on top or brush some milk or olive oil to make it look good and shiny but not necessary. I like the rustic look of the Calzones without the egg wash!:)
4. When all of them are ready, put them on a non-stick baking sheet. Cover until the oven heats up.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
5. Put the baking sheet inside and bake for 18 to 25 mins, until crust is golden outside.Don't over bake.

Serve with a salad for a delicious and hearty meal!:)

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Now, few pics of "Half Snow day" in NC!:D
Usually, it doesn't snow every year in NC or where I live in NC. We had about 2" snow last Saturday in the afternoon and it was fun lighting the logs in the fireplace, be warm, watch movies and of course eat snacks.Kids and our little Bichon parked themselves in front of the fireplace and had a great time. Now the Sun is back, all the snow has melted and we are back to normal already!!

Books I have read so far:
1. "Pomegranate Soup" by Marsha Mehran,
2. "Memoirs of a lost Egypt" by Colette Rossant,
3. "Mango Season" by Amulya Malladi.

All these books come with authors' memoirs of their home countries (Iran, Egypt and Hyderabad) along with few recipes too. Yes, I will be cooking some of those recipes in my future posts! I will list more as I read them.
I also watched few old black and White and color English movies which are sitting in my shelf for a long time now. Alfred Hitchcock's movies like "Birds" "Psycho", musicals with Fred and Ginger like "Swing Time" and (French) foreign language film "Indo Chine" are my favorites!
Lastly, I published my last post on the 14th here and 10 days later I am publishing this post today. I am proud of myself that I am able to keep my new year resolutions I made so far and am balancing everything now! YAY for me!:D

Have a great time Y'all and enjoy the weekend!:)

GOT TOOR DAL?! :D

My post overflowing with Toor dal dishes this week goes to Linda of "Out of the Garden" blog who is the hosting JFI event this month. JFI event is originally started by Indira of "Mahanandi". Linda has chosen India's most favorite "Toor dal" as a theme to cook for this November. Thanks for hosting Linda, excellent choice for JFI!:))



About Toor dal:
"The pigeon pea is a member of the family Fabaceae. Other common names for Pigeon peas are arhar, red gram, toovar/toor (Hindi/Gujarati/Marathi/Punjabi), togari bele (Kannada), Kandi pappu (Telugu), gandul, guandul, Congo pea, Gungo pea, Gunga pea, and no-eye pea. The Indian subcontinent, Eastern Africa and Central America, in that order, are the world's three main pigeon pea producing regions.
In India, split pigeon peas or toor dal are one of the most popular pulses, routinely used everyday in dal or Sambhar, specially in South India.
Pigeon peas are nutritionally important, as they contain high levels of protein and the important amino acids methionine, lysine, and tryptophan. In combination with other cereals and vegetables, pigeon peas make a well-balanced food group."
Info from WIKIPEDIA.

Except in non-veg Dhansak and very few others, Toor dal is not usually used in cooking non-vegetarian dishes, so it's all vegetarian dishes here this week here!:))

Toor dal-fresh Dill spiced dumplings cooked in Tomato Gravy:
This is a classic Tamil dish called "Paruppu Urundai Kuzhambu", which means Dal dumplings in gravy, somewhat like Matzo balls in soup! The basic recipe idea is adapted from a cookbook called "Dakshin Bhog" and I changed the recipe a lot by adding Dill leaves to the dal and simmering it with spiced Tomato gravy, very nutritious and flavorful. Try it!:))


Toor dal-fresh Dill spiced dumplings:

Make the dal-dill dumplings first:
1. Soak 1/2 cup of Toor dal for 2 hrs in hot water, drain and add to a blender. Add 2 red chillies or 1/2 tsp chilli flakes,salt, 1/8 tsp of hing and grind to coarse paste without adding water.
2. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a pan, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 finely chopped green chilly,1/4 cup minced onion,fry until soft,add 1/2 cup chopped Dill leaves,stir for minute.
3. Add in dal paste, 1 tbsp grated coconut, 1 tsp rice flour, stir well for 1 minute until dal slightly changes color.Mix well and cool slightly. Make large marble sized balls and keep aside covered.

Sambhar powder: Roast 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Tuar dal, 1 tsp Chana dal, 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds,2 red dry chillies, 1/4 tsp Pepper corns,1" cinnamon stick, cool and powder.
Now make the gravy: 1. Heat 2 tsp each of oil and ghee in a deep pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, pinch of hing and few curry leaves.
2. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of Tomato sauce(canned), 1 cup water, 1/4 tsp turmeric,1 tsp sugar, salt, Sambhar pd, and cilantro and simmer on low heat until it boils for 2 minute and yu get a good aroma of Sambhar.
3. Now drop 3-4 balls of dal in the sauce,wait they come up on top,take them out and keep on a plate.Repeat with all the balls until they are cooked in the sauce.
4. To serve with rice and papad, heat the Sambhar gravy first and then add Dill balls to the gravy.Once they are cooked, they do not break. Delicious, enjoy!:)

Madras(Pearl) Onion Sambhar:
We call Pearl Onions as Madras onions in Karnataka. After Theeyal, this is my favorite Sambhar to cook immediately after I come back home from any vacation, craving for some spicy dal!:D
I like the Pearl onions to be still slightly crunchy in the Sambhar. I fry them separately and then add to cooked dal to prevent them from getting mushy if you cook with Toor dal in pressure cooker.


How to:

Roast these until golden, cool and powder: 1/4 cup dry grated coconut, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp Pepper corns, 1 tsp Channa dal, 2-3 dry red chillies,1 tsp Poppy seeds. Add 1/4 tsp hing or asafoetida and powder in a coffee grinder.
Season: Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1-2 red chillies, few curry leaves.
To make Sambhar:
1. Peel about 20 Pearl onions, stir fry these in 3 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan until they are golden on the edges and almost cooked. They still should be whole and slightly crunchy. Cool.
2. Pressure cook 1 cup Toor dal with 3 cups of water, and 1/4 tsp Turmeric until soft. Mash slightly.
3. In a deep dish, heat oil and add all the seasoning ingredients, fry. Add cooked dal, Pearl onions, ground Sambhar powder, few chopped cilantro, salt and 1 tbsp Tamarind juice.
4. Simmer for 15 mins and serve with rice , pickle and Pappadoms. Tastes better the next day.

Special Masale Dose!
Quick and crisp (Adai)Toor dal-Rice masala dosa, sprinkled with MTR brand red Chutney powder, stuffed with Potato-Tomato filling, served with Coconut-Garlic Chutney and ghee! Sounds good huh? I thought I will give a special twist to the good old Masala dosa and combination of all these three slightly different than usual dishes makes one very tasty masale dose! Enjoy!:))

To make the batter: Soak 1 cup long grain rice, 1/2 cup Toor dal, 1/4 cup Chana dal, 2 tbsp Moong dal, 2 tbsp Urad dal for 4 hrs.
2. Drain all the water, add as much water as you need to grind the soaked dal in the blender until you get a thickish coarse batter like Semolina/cream of wheat, do not have to grind until very smooth.
3. Add the batter into big bowl, adjust the salt and it's ready to use right away or keep it in the fridge if you don't need it immediately.

Potato-Peas-Tomato filling:

To make this: 1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds,2 tsp Urad dal,few chopped curry leaves, 2 chopped green chillies, 1/2" fresh ginger grated or minced.
2. When they turn slightly golden, add 1 minced onion, 1/8 tsp chilli pd, stir until edges are golden. Add 3 peeled, cubed Potatoes, 1/4 cup water, cover and cook until almost cooked.
3. Add 2 large Tomatoes chopped, salt and cilantro. Mix and cook until all the water has evaporated. Adjust the spices and serve.


Coconut-Garlic Chutney:
This is an easy chutney you can make in a jiffy and you will love it if you like Garlic! Keep the chutney creamish in color!

This is how you make it: 1. Add 1 cup of grated fresh Coconut, 2 fresh green chillies, 1/4 tsp pepper corns, 3 garlic,few Cilantro stems (not leaves), few curry leaves, salt, 1 tbsp yogurt to the blender.
2. Grind all these to a smooth paste without adding water if you can. Sprinkle little bit of red chili pd on top and serve.
I used MTR brand dry red chutney powder to sprinkle on top of the dose. To make your own, you can powder 1/4 cup roasted Chana dal(chutney dal or chana dalia) and powder it with red chilli pd, salt, Hing.



How to make Masala Dosa:




1.Heat a electric griddle to 300F. Take a ladleful of batter, pour and spread into huge oval shaped dosa, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp chutney pd, drizzle with oil or ghee.
2. When the bottom is golden, brush 1 tsp of Garlic chutney, add a 4 tbsp of Potato filling in the center of the dose.
3. Fold in one side of the dose to the center and repeat the other side in the same way and take it out on a plate.
4. Serve the crispy dose with little Ghee,Potato filling and Garlic chutney on the side.







Toor dal-Chana dal Chutney:
This nutritious and quick to make Dal chutney tastes great with some freshly cooked hot rice and ghee or with some plain Yogurt and rice. Keeps well in the firdge for atleast a week!

You Need: 1/2 cup Toor dal, 1/4 cup Chana dal, 1/4 cup dry grated Coconut, 3 dry red chillies or 1/2 tsp red chilli pd, 2 tsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds,1 tbsp Peanuts, 1 Garlic, few curry leaves, salt, 2 tsp Tamarind juice.
Seasoning: 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 red chilly, broken.
To make it:
1. Heat a pan, roast both dals, coconut, Peanuts, chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, curry leaves one by one until reddish. Cool.
2. Add salt and tamarind juice to the blender along with roasted dal etc and grind with very little water to a coarse paste.
3. Heat oil to season, add mustard seeds and red chilly. When they splutter, mix with chutney. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Toor dal dishes I have already posted:
Beets Rasam
TogariBele Saaru, Mysore style
Dal Palak
Okra-Tomato Sambhar
Adai with Beans Palya and Chutney
Toor dal-Dill Sambhar
Toor dal-Beans-Dill Bassaru
Zucchini-Carrots Adai

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Last photos of the Fall:

Turning bright red before all the leaves fall out. Now all these trees are almost bare!!

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DEEPAVALI-A FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!! 2007

A very happy Deepavali to all of you.
May this Deepavali bring all of you loads of happiness,Peace, health and wealth.
Eid wishes to all our Muslim friends too, enjoy the festivities!:))

A colorful Rangoli with a beautiful deepa in the center!

Photo from fotosearch. Here is my last year's Deepavali post!

The Sanskrit word "Deepavali" is derived from Deepa = light and Avali = a row, that stands for victory of brightness over darkness. "Row of lights" are lit and colorful Rangolis are created to welcome Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth and to bring prosperity to our homes and huge fireworks display will be enjoyed by all at the end of the day.

A Indian boy lighting rows of little lamps!



One of the most loved festivals for Hindus, Deepavali or Diwali in India is celebrated with lots of enthusiasm. This festival is celebrated for five days. On the third day, Diwali or 'Festival of Lights' is celebrated. Fireworks and colorful Rangolis are always associated with this Deepavali. Diwali is celebrated with people lighting diyas/Earthern lamps all around the house. Lakshmi(Goddess of Wealth) Puja is performed in the evening to seek her blessings and elaborate meals are prepared for the family. Diwali gifts and sweets are exchanged among the family and friends.
Photo from www.brittanica.com




Although, this festival is celebrated by different communities in a many different ways, the main idea is to celebrate the victory of good over evil, to bring a spiritual light into our lives. In India, Diwali is now considered to be more of a national festival, and the fun aspect of this festival like fireworks etc is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of their faith.More info about Diwali stories and rituals is here.

This post goes to Vee of "Past, Present and Me" who is hosting this month's "JFI and Festival series" combined to make a "Diwali special" Thank you Vee, looking forward to the delicious round up!:))

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Well.. Here is my Pre-Deepavali sample thali, I am going to make this weekend! Usually, I make a grand feast for Deepavali like last year but I cooked so much for Dasara, I am cutting down Diwali menu a little this year. I might make some more snacks this week like Chakli which I have already posted. Enjoy!:)


Menu: Mom's Vegetable Bhath, Parathas, Green Tomatoes Kurma, Carrot-Moong dal Kosumbari, Onion Pakodas, Mini Samosas(store bought), Latha's Mysore Pak and Moong dal-Coconut Payasa, Mysore ajji style!!:)

Now the recipes..

Vegetable Bhath:
This is how my mom makes the vegetable Bhath, which is a spicy coconut paste combined with mixed vegetables and then mixed with cooked and cooled long grain rice. Basmati is not a good match for this spicy masala, which has it's own aroma. Coconut-veggies masala cab be made early and keep in the fridge for atleast 2 days.

Cook 2 cups rice, spread on a wide pan and let it cool.Cook 2 cups of cubed mixed veggies like Green beans, Carrots, Greenpeas, Turnips and Cauliflower separately and drain water.Keep aside.
Grind these with very little water to a thick coarse paste: 1 cup grated coconut, 3-4 green chillies, 4 cloves, 1" cinnamon/Dalchini, 1" Ginger, 2 large Garlic, few curry leaves, stems of Cilantro to avoid green color, 20 leaves of mint.
To make it: 1. Heat 1 tbsp oil and ghee mixed, add 1 small onion chopped and fry until edges are golden. Turn down the heat, add ground masalas and cooked drained veggies, mix gently and simmer for 5 mins.Do not fry, just heat thru' the masala.
2. Add this masala by ladlefuls to the rice with salt, toss gently until well mixed,adjust the salt and use only as much masala you need. Serve with a Salad.

Green Tomatoes Kurma:
We had our first Spring frost last week, that means no more red tomatoes for me! But they were loads of green Tomatoes left on the plants. I made this Kurma with a recipe my friend gave me in B'lore, little different than my own Kurmas! You can use any vegetable you like with the same masala. Goes very well with Poories, but I made some layered Parathas for Kurma.


1. Chop 6-8 Green Tomatoes into big chunks or any veggie you like,peel and cube 2 small potatoes, keep aside. 2. Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter, splutter 1 tsp mustard seeds and 1 tbsp Chana dal, and 1 tsp Urad dal. Add all the Tomatoes and potatoes with a cup of water and cook until almost done. Turn down the heat.
3. Add ground Kurma Masala, simmer gently until you get a good aroma. Tastes great next day. Add more water if needed but Kurma should be thickish.




Grind all these to a smooth paste: 1/4 cup grated fresh coconut, 3-4 red chillies or red chilli pd, 1 tbsp roasted chana or gram dal (chutney dal), 1/2" ginger, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/8 tsp turmeric, 1" cinnamon stick, few cilantro stems,6 Cashews, 4 cloves, 1 tbsp Poppy seeds(pre-soak in boiling water to make it easy to grind) and 2 Cardamoms(seeds).

Carrot-Moong dal-red Onion Kosumbari/Salad:
A typical but easy and delicious K'taka salad, Carrot Kosumbari, you might have seen in many blogs and in K'taka round ups too. A very refreshing lemony salad to eat with spicy dishes, here is mine.



1. Soak 1 tbsp Moong dal in hot water for 30 mins, then drain all the water, keep aside. Grate 2-3 Carrots to a bowl, add 1/4 red onion finely chopped,1/2 green chilly finely chopped, Moong dal,few chopped cilantro, squeeze 1/4 or more lemon juice, salt and fresh ground pepper.Cover and chill for 15 mins before serving.
You can season it with heated 1 tsp oil, mustard seeds and few curry leaves too.




"Feather light" Onion Pakodas!:D
This is my favorite way of making feather light onion Pakodas, crunchy and tasty. It's also very easy to make in a hurry too. Hope you try!:)

1. Take 1 or 2 large red onions or Vedelia onion or regular onions, slice 1/4" thick half rings,put them in a wide mouthed bowl.
2. Add 1/4 tsp of baking soda, salt, 2-3 green chillies finely chopped,finely chopped few curry leaves, few cilantro, 1/2" grated ginger, 1/2 tsp crushed Ajwain/Carom seeds, 1 tbsp crushed Coriander seeds to the bowl with onions, 2 tbsp hot oil, mix, cover and keep aside.
3. Heat enough oil to deep fry. Now, sprinkle about 3-4 tbsp Besan/ chickpea flour on the onion mix and gently stir just to coat the onions with Besan. Flour should just clinging to the onion, do not add any water at all.Adjust salt and chillies.
4. With a fork, pick a small lump of onion mix and drop in the oil with the help of a spoon. Fry until golden, Drain on the paper towel. Best eaten hot!!


Mysore special, Moong dal Payasa with ground coconut and poppy seeds:
Hesarubele-Kayi-Gasagase Payasa or Moong dal Payasa/porridge with sweet ground coconut is my ajji's recipe which is typical Mysoorean style dessert. I love the grainy soft dal with a great taste of coconut and poppy seeds paste. I add way less sugar than the my grandmother since I don't like any of my desserts too sweet. Please add as much sugar as per your taste!:)

1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee, fry 1/2 cup Moong dal until golden and add 1 cup of water and cook until dal is soft either in pressure cooker or microwave or in the same pan. Add 1 cup whole milk and 1/4 cup grated Jaggery or brown sugar, simmer.
2. Add ground coconut paste, simmer until thick. Heat 1/2 tsp ghee and fry 1 tbsp Raisins and Cashewnuts until golden and add to the Payasa. You could add more milk to the Payasa if it's too thick and Saffron if you need some color.
Grind these to smooth paste: 1/4 cup fresh Coconut,1 tbsp Poppy seeds(pre-soaked in hot water for 5 mins), 1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds, enough milk to grind to a smooth paste.


Latha's "melt in the mouth" Mysore Pak:

I have made Mysore Pak before with my own recipe but after looking at Latha's golden Mysore Pak, I had to try with her recipe. Although, they didn't come out as good as Latha's, they were very tasty and had melt in the mouth texture just like we get in the sweetmarts in K'taka! Here is her recipe!
Here is how I made it: Warm 1/2 cup Besan(Chickpea flour) in a non-stick pan with 1 tsp ghee. Heat 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup Sugar in the Microwave until sugar dissolves. Add to the warmed Besan, whisk briskly.Add 1/2 cup ghee and 1 tsp Cardamom pd into the pan, keep stirring on medium heat until you honeycomb like texture. Drop the mix into greased plate. Cut into shapes and let it cool.Enjoy!:)

One more look!:)

We lit our front porch with votive candles, a bit toned down than last year's, it was too cold outside!!:)

Kids and Arvind enjoying "noiseless" Deepavali firecrackers all covered up in winter jackets and shoes while mom took photos!!;D


And that's it for this year's Deepavali. Have fun this Friday with all the feast, family, friends and fireworks. Be safe and enjoy. See you next week with Bihari dishes!:))

FESTIVAL FOOD: DASARA/VIJAYA DASHAMI

Hope you all had a great time celebrating last weekend. Here is an image of dolls of nine Goddesses, who are worshiped and celebrated as a part Golu/Bombe habba during the nine nights of Dasara:
(It's all about girl power in India at this time!!:D)

Photo from Wikimedia commons.

Dasara or Vijaya Dashami or Navaratri festival:
The word Navaratri literally means nine nights in Sanskrit; Nava=Nine and Ratri=nights. During these nine nights and ten days, nine forms of Shakti i.e. female divinity are worshiped in South India. The last day of all the celebrations is "Vijaya Dashami" means "The triumph of righteousness".
The following 9 forms of goddesses are worshiped during these nine days: Durga, Badrakali, Amba or Jagadamba, Annapurna, Sarvamangala, Bhairavi, Chandika or Chandi, Lalitha, Bhavani and Mookambika.
In North India, Navratri is celebrated slightly different than in South India, where they rejoice the triumph of Lord Ram over the evil King Ravan, and the 10th day ends by burning the huge effigy of Evil Ravan symbolizing victory over evil.

Mysore Palace is lit up for Dasara:
Click here for more photos of the palace.

Here is how; we celebrate Dasara in Mysore, Karnataka, also famously called "Mysore Dasara", is a 10-day long festival which also includes display of various colorful dolls called "Bombe Habba".
On the day of Dasara, a procession of exquisitely decorated elephants carrying the idol of goddess Chamundi is taken through the city. It used to be the Maharaja of Mysore who used to ride the Elephants waving at his subjects on that day but not anymore!! I vaguely remember watching the Dasara procession as a young child in the late 60s, when Mysore Maharaja Late Shri.Jayachamarajendra Wodeyar used to parade on top of the Elephant decorated with loads of gold! Info on Dasara rituals, click on Wikipedia.

I am sending this to Vee of "Past,Present and me" blog, for JFI special edition "Navratri Festival" round up. Thanks for hosing Vee!:))

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Here is my post of "Tamil Festival food" for Regional Cuisine of India which is a brainchild of Lakshmi of "Veggie Cuisine". This event is hosted by Viji of "VCuisine" this month. Thank you Lakshmi and Viji!:))



Usually, we celebrate just Diwali and Shivaratri at home. But last weekend,I decided to cook Tamil Nadu style feat for us as a part of Dasara! These are the cookbooks I referred to cook for Vijaya Dashami(10th day) festival food:


I referred to the cookbook "Festival Samayal" for the ideas of what to cook for Vijayadasami, which the author Viji Varadarajan explains it in detail listing all the Tamil festivals. Once I decided on the menu, I chose few from her book; Thayir Semia, Nava Dhaanya sundal, Sugian and rest of recipes from my fave cookbooks from Mallika Badrinath who is also from Tamil Nadu. We absolutely enjoyed the Thali!:)




My Dasara Festival Food Thali, Tamil Nadu style, with many dishes which are common to other South Indian states as well:
In Tamil Nadu, Vijaya Dashami festival incorporates worship of the goddesses Lakshmi,Shakti and Goddess Saraswati on the last day. Here are some of the Festival treats as they celebrate in Tamil Nadu.



Menu: Puliyodharai Saadham(Tamarind rice), Coconut Rice(Thengai Saadham), Thayir Semia(Vermicelli in Yogurt), Nava Dhaanya(Nine beans for 9 nights!) Sundal,Ulundhu Vadai, mixed dal Vel/Ribbon Pakoda, Rasam, Papad, Pickle, a Tamil Nadu special dessert called Sugian(coconut-Jaggery balls fried in sweet batter) and a beverage, Paanagam (Sweet and tangy non-alcoholic drink).

How to make these;
Mixed dal Vel/Ribbon Pakoda:
Heat enough oil to deep fry to 350F.

Roast 2 tbsp each of Moong dal, chana dal, Tuar dal, yellow roasted Chana dal(Chutney dal), 1 tbsp Urad dal separately until golden. Cool and powder finely in the blender. Add this to 2 cups of rice flour along with 2 tbsp hot oil, salt, pinch of baking soda, chilli pd, 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds. Mix well, add enough water to make stiff dough, add to Chakli/cookie press with ribbon/slit plate and press out into the hot oil to deep fry until golden. Drain on paper, and happy munching!


Puliyagarai, Coconut Rice and Semia in Yogurt:
A simple but tasty tamarind rice and a fragrant coconut rice cooled down with Indian rice Vermicelli in spiced Yogurt. Perfect!:)

Easy Puliyodharai:
Cook 1 cup Rice, cool and keep aside. Heat 3 tbsp oil, add 2 tbsp Peanuts, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tbsp each Chana dal, 2 red chillies, a pinch of hing, few curry leaves.Put in 3 tbsp Tamarind juice, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, simmer until thick.Add 1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder, 1/2 tsp Pepper pd,1/4 tsp sugar and salt.When thickens, take out and add to the rice and mix well.


Coconut Rice:
Cook 1 cup rice, mix 1 tsp ghee and little salt, mix and cool. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tbsp each Chana dal, Urad dal, 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds,few curry leaves, 2 green and 2 red chillies, 2 tbsp Cashewnuts, fry until golden.Add few minced cilantro, then 1/2 cup grated coconut dry or fresh, stir for 3 mins,add a little sal and take it off the heat. Mix with rice,adjust the salt.

Thayir Semia:(Rice Vermicelli in yogurt)
Heat 2 tsp ghee, add 1 cup rice Semia broken into 2" bits, fry until reddish,add 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups of water and cook until soft and drain the excess water if any left or cook until all the water evaporates. Cool the Semia, separate the noodles and keep aside in a big bowl.
Beat 1 cup plain yogurt and 1/2 cup milk with salt. Heat 1 tsp oil, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds,1 tsp Chana dal, few curry leaves,2 chopped green chillies, 1 tsp grated ginger,1 tbsp minced cilantro until reddish.Add to the rice bowl and mix in the yogurt. Adjust the salt and serve at room temperature.

Nava Dhaanya Sundal:
A delicious and healthy stir fry of Nava=nine Dhaanya=beans for nine nights of Navaratri. You can use canned beans too.Make Sundal with just one kind of beans or nine, your choice!

Soak 2 tbsp each of Chickpeas, Peanuts, Brown Chana, dry White Peas, Kidney beans, Blackeyed Peas, Field beans(Lilva), and cook all these until soft, drain water. Soak 2 tbsp each of Moong dal and split Chana dal for 1/2 an hr and drain the water. Don't cook these two, use raw. Mix all these with little salt, 1 tsbp grated coconut, 1 tbsp Lemon juice, minced cilantro. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds,Curry leaves,pinch of Hing, 1-2 chopped chillies,fry until reddish and mix with Sundal, adjust the seasoning.

Plain and Masala Ulundhu(Urad dal) Vadai with Rasam:
A South Indian snack of fried savory lentil doughnuts with a spicy Tomato gravy to dip or to soak in.

Soak 2 cups of Urad dal for 2 hours, drain all the water and grind in blender until you get a smooth and fluffy. Take out in a bowl, add salt, pepper and a pinch of Baking powder for plain Vadais and for masala vadais, add Minced Onion, cilantro, green chillies, 1 tsp grated ginger, mix well. Heat oil to deep fry. Wet your left palm or a parchment paper, put a golf size lump of thick mix on it. Make a flat circle, with your index finger, make a hole in the middle and stretch like doughnut.Slide in to oil carefully, and fry both sides until golden. Drain on paper towel. Serve with Chutney or Rasam or Sambhar.

My own favorite recipe for Tomato Rasam:

Roast 2 tbsp Tuar dal, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 2 tbsp grated dry coconut, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 2 dry red chillies until reddish,cool and powder. Keep aside. Heat 1 tbsp oil and ghee, add in 1/2 tsp each mustard seeds and cumin seeds, few curry leaves,pinch of hing. Pour in 2 cups of Tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp turmeric,salt , 1-2 tbsp of Rasam powder you made before and 1/2 tsp of Tamarind juice. Simmer for 15 mins on low heat.Adjust the seasoning and add minced cilantro. Serve with Rice, Idlis, Vadai etc.


Sugian/Suyyian:
A Tamil Nadu special sweet ball, made of sticky sweet coconut dipped and fried sweet rice or plain flour batter and great tasting too.Enjoy.(Thanks Latha N, for Suyyian name and plain flour advice)

Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a non-stick pan, I added 2 cups of sweetened grated coconut we get here, mixed with 1 tbsp Molasses, 1 tsp Cardamom pd, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp powdered Chutney dal(roasted gram or Chana) and stir fried these until they form a lumpy mix with sugar caramelized.Cool, make into balls using a bit of milk if it's too dry to roll, keep them aside.
Heat oil to deep fry. Mix 1 cup Rice flour, 3 tbsp powdered sugar in a bowl, add enough water to make a thick batter.Dip the coconut balls in the batter, deep fry in oil until golden, drain on paper towel. Enjoy!:)

Paanagam:
This is basically a sweet and tangy beverage made with Jaggery (You can also use dark unbleached brown sugar), lemon juice,and spices. Makes a refreshing non-alcoholic drink. Jaggery I bought last time was almost looks like bleached blond color, so my Paanagam was yellowish rather than dark colored Panaka but very refreshing!:D



Heat 1 cup Jaggery with 3 cups water until dissolved, strain into a glass jug. When cooled, add 3 tbsp Lemon juice, 1 tsp Ginger powder or juice, 1/2 tsp Cardamom pd, 1/4 tsp salt, and drop a few fresh Mint leaves. Mix and chill in the fridge.Strain again if you like and add Ice Cubes just before serving.





Another look and I am almost done!:D



Two more ways to serve the delicious Rasam:

Idli-Tomato Rasam:
The ever delicious combo in South India, Idlis(steamed Rice cakes) and Rasam (spicy Tomato broth) makes a great breakfast or any time meal. If you are new to making Idlis, click HERE for step by step instructions and photos.Same batter and fermentation but Idlis are steamed with different mould that Thatte Idlis. Enjoy!:))


Rasa Vada:
A classic and popular South Indian snack, fried Urad dal vadas are soaked in Rasam and served. You can also sprinkle some minced onions and cilantro on top of the dish for garnish.


Okay!! Now I am done. See ya, I will be scaring you next, be very afraid!!;D