Devi's Blog

HELP Trust

2011-06-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Who they are?
HELP Trust is a non-profit, non religious, non-political, charitable organization (NGO) registered under Govt. of Tamilnadu. H.E.L.P(“Human Education and Liberation for Poor”) was established as an organization in 2004. They address the desperate need to save underprivileged children who are not enrolled in school and limited access to basic education in India from prostitution, Bonded Labor & unskilled employment and to give them education & skill they need to better their livelihood and that of their families

What they do?
They are working with children, women and youth who work in agriculture, the fishing community, laborers and Beedi rolling workers in the slums and very remote villages of Tamilnadu & Maharastra. They are implementing their projects with the help of Churches and women, local leaders and youth groups

(Source: Help Trust Website)

How you can HELP?
They have established evening schools to educate under privileged children. They have introduced programs for the the betterment of the lives of abused and abandoned women by teaching them various skills and educating them.

It is very unfortunate to know that there is such a dark side to these children who carry lots of dreams and aspire to study and are yearning to learn many things. Even if we are able to help them eat a meal it will be a great help to these children and their family. Food being the main reason that these children are forced to work. Not only food.. be it computer, sewing machine, etc... are going to enhance the lives of these children. If you wish to donate money for this cause please do so by clicking the HELP TRUST DONATE button on the top right corner of this blog on AMMADO.

Visit their website for more information @ HELP TRUST

Also contact me if you wish to donate sewing machines, computers, etc.

Super easy ALOO CRACKER CHAAT !

2011-04-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I loove chaat items! I had a craving for it so badly and wanted to eat it right away. But I din't want to use maida, all purpose flour, mixing, frying, etc etc... Not because I don't like it, but because I din't have the time to make it :)

When I was shopping I found these crackers at Target. I'm not a big fan of these as they are(or any other crackers :)). They are not fatty (I read the label). So, an idea struck me, why not make these the base for the chaat and so make the chaat healthy too!.. I got these and tried out. It turned out YUMMMY!!!.. I loved the taste and had lots with the satisfaction of making a healthier version of it.

Ingredients:
Crackers (any flat ones will do)
Potato (to make it more healthier just boil and mash any vegetable you want)
Green chutney
Tomato ketchup
Om podi (store bought :)) (optional)
Chaat powder
Salt
Lemon juice
Red chilli powder
Garam masala powder

NOTE: I din't give any measurements because it is absolutely variable and depends on your taste. I added very little powders just for the spice and flavor..

Procedure:
1. Boil and mash the potatoes (or any veggies). Add salt and other powders and a drop lemon juice to it
2. Prepare green chutney:
   Mint- 1/2 bunch
   Coriander - 1/2 bunch
   Green chili - 2
   Sugar - a pinch
   lemon juice
   salt

   Blend everything together. Leftovers can be refrigerated.

3. So, all ingredients are ready. To assemble, take a cracker place a layer of potato, then green chutney, ketchup and om podi

Your chaat is ready!!!..

I would like to send this recipe to Priya's Fast food NOT fast food event...

Disclaimer: This is not a review for the cracker/product. This is purely my personal use/opinion of the product.

Xtremely EZ pineapple icecream/pudding

2011-04-08T14:40:00.001-07:00

Hey friends! I'm so excited about this recipe... because it is extremely easy to make and soooo yummy :) I've been wanting to try this out ever since I had this at our friend's place. I got the recipe from her. Finally, I got to try this today and must say it is so irresistible :))

So, here goes the recipe:

Number of servings : 10-12

Ingredients:

Condensed milk - 1 can

Crushed pineapple - 1 can

Whipped cream - 1 box

I measured it in cups:

Condensed milk - 1 cup

Pineapple - about 2 1/4 cup

Whipped cream - about 3 1/2 cup

Procedure:

Blend the ingredients in blender and pour it in a freezer-safe container and freeze it. Thats it!!

Keep it out at least 1/2 an hour before use. (for ice cream consistency and more for pudding)

You can eat it as ice cream or pudding. Top it off with any fruits or nuts to make it more yummmy..

Cracked wheat & lentils adai

2011-04-06T14:58:00.000-07:00

Its very busy with my kid these days.. time sure is flying by fast! I'm enjoying this busy phase of life!! along with few other new hobbies.. check out the end of this post for my latest "TRY" :))...

Coming to the recipe.. we all know that adai itself is very healthy.. this one has some new additions like sago, cracked wheat and vegetables to make it even more healthy!

Did you know that sago helps you reduce weight - just a word of knowledge I heard.

Ingredients
cracked wheat - 1 cup
toor daal - 1/2 cup
urad daal - 1/4 cup
moong daal - 1/4 cup
mixed vegetables - 1 cup (onion, beans, carrot, bell pepper, cabbage)
ginger - 1 inch
Green chillies
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Sago - 1/4 cup (optional)
Salt to taste

Procedure:
1. Soak toor daal, urad daal, moong daal together and the cracked wheat separately for 1 hour
2. Soak the sago separately for 1 hour
3. Grind all the daals along with ginger, fennel seeds, cumin seeds to a coarse paste
4. Grind the cracked wheat and mix it with the daal paste. Add salt as required.
5. Saute the mixed vegetables with green chillies and salt and add it to the batter
6. Add the soaked sago to the batter. Make adai after 10 minutes.

Now, about my latest like - NAIL ART... check out my Art blog for this :) Its nothing major.. just a small simple design.. but sure creates a difference!

Cilantro - red cabbage poriyal

2011-03-10T17:10:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!.. how are you all doing??.. Its been some time since I blogged. The change in climate caught us. How do you all handle the winter to spring change?.. With a baby.. having humidifier, hand sanitizer, washing hands, drinking hot water before as precaution and then steaming, gargling, medication aftermath... *Sigh* :)

Anyways, coming to today's post.. This is a very aromatic poriyal. I'm sure you'll love the taste along with the health benefits of the red cabbage..

Number of servings : 3
Ingredients:
Red cabbage - 1/4 of a cabbage
Green chilli - 2
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Coriander - 1/2 bunch
Salt
Mustard seeds
Urad dal

Procedure:
1. Make a powder of green chilli and cumin seeds without adding water
2. Cut the cabbage. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and urad dal, add the cabbage and saute
3. Add salt to the cabbage and cook
4. Add the chilli, cumin seeds powder and saute. When it cooks a little, add chopped coriander and cook until the desired crispiness.

Fresh, healthy, colorful SPRING SALAD

2011-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

Since I saw Pari's "ONLY" event hosted by Nivedita's kitchen I've been thinking about some simple recipe that is purely a offspring of our original thoughts and creativity. It is such a nice event to bring out the innovator in us, isn't it :)

I came up with this very simple, easy-to-make color salad. The idea of salad rose to me when I came through Manjula Aunty's contest for March month.

Number of servings: 3-4
Ingredients:
White channa dal - 1/3 cup
Black channa dal - 1/3 cup
Green moong dal - 1/3 cup
Carrot - 2
Bell pepper (big) - 1
Tomato - 1
Cilantro
Salt

Dressing:
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Fresh ground pepper
Chaat powder - 1 tsp

Procedure:
1. Soak the dals separately over night
2. Pressure cook the dals separately with salt. I kept it for 3 whistles
3. Cut the vegetables separtely and add salt to it. Now mix the vegetables and the dals
4. Add the lemon juice. pepper, chaat powder and cilantro.

Fresh salad is ready!! :) You can vary the dal and vegetable proportions as you like.

Sending this recipe to Pari's ONLY event hosted by Nivedita and Manjula Aunty's March contest.

I crocheted the dish cloth below the bell pepper basket :)

Cracked wheat dosai

2011-02-28T12:13:00.000-08:00

Lately this cracked wheat dosai has become a big hit in our home. Before I used to make wheat dosai with wheat flour. But after learning to make dosai from cracked wheat from my mom, it has become a favorite breakfast/dinner.

Ingredients:
Cracked wheat - 2 cups
Urad dal - 1/2 cup
Salt
Water

Procedure:
1. Soak the urad dal and cracked wheat separately and let it sit for a couple of hours
2. Make a paste of the urad dal in the blender adding little water as required
3. Make a paste of the cracked wheat adding little water (this will be in the batter consistency, while the urad dal is a little fluffy)
4. Mix the wheat and urad dal, salt and let it ferment over night
5. The dosai batter is ready. Ladle out the batter in dosa pan and drizzle oil over the edges. I like to flip the dosai on both sides and make a roast.

This goes well with tomato chutney. Enjoy your healthy yet yummy dosai :))

Kaju Kathli

2011-02-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

I use to love this sweet as a kid. Now, after getting to know how to make it - love it even more :) Being in a country were buying sweets are really expensive, I started learning to make sweets and love the handmade food/ sweet and it makes me feel happy when I see these in the aisle or fridge sections of stores - the thought I can make this and save :)

Kaju Kathli:
Cashews - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - just to dissolve sugar
Ghee - 1 tsp

Procedure:
1. Powder the cashews finely
2. In a pan, dissolve the sugar in water and let it boil till you get a string consistency
3. Then add the powdered cashews and stir well till the mixture comes out without sticking to the sides
4. spread the ghee on a plate and put the mixture on it and mark pieces of your desired shape

Enjoy the yummy kaju kathli.

I would like to send this recipe to Srivalli's Kid's Delight - Restaurant recreation event  hosted by Versatile Vegetarian Kitchen.

Foodie Blogroll has announced a giveaway of their custom tote bag. Isn't it a pride to take this bag for grocery shopping? :) For the details and to enter the giveaway, see here.

Voting @ Smitha's spicy flavors

2011-02-13T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, I've sent 2 entries to Smitha's "Best food I've blogged about" event.

Paniyaram

Tomato Chutnry (long shelf life)

If you like the dishes please vote for me :)

Tomato chutney (long shelf life) & an award

2011-02-10T12:06:00.000-08:00

In today's post I would like to give you the recipe of tomato chutney that has long shelf life. In the present day's busy schedule, recipes like this comes in real handy, isn't it? I learnt this from my mom and really loved the spicy chutney. You can have this in refrigerator for 15 days. It goes well for dosai, idly, rice, curd rice and many more!

Ingredients:
Tomato (big) - 6
Tamarind - lemon size

To Powder:
Red chillies - 17
Dhaniya - 1/4 cup
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Channa daal - 1 tbsp
Pepper - 1 tsp

Salt
Gingely oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds

Procedure:
1. Heat little oil and saute the ingredients to be powdered
2. Cool it and make a powder and keep aside
3. Heat little oil in a pan and saute the tomatoes (cubed)
4. Cool the tomato mixture and make a nice paste, adding the tamarind and salt
5. Heat the gingely oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds and 2 red chillies and add the tomato mixture
6. Leave it till the tomatoes are well cooked, blended with oil and the oil separates
7. Add the powder and leave it for few minutes

I would like to send this to Smitha's "Best food I've blogged about" event.

Caption:
I'm learning to cook foods that have longer shelf life now days while embracing the role of a new mom :)
So, I feel like entering a new phase - both in life and cooking
This is the first dish in that category and the one that I liked a lot.

Award
I would like to thank Tahemeem for passing on this lovely award to me. She has a wonderful blog!!

There are some rules with this award. Here they are:
1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pay it forward to 15 other bloggers. Please don't leave it general and just invite all your blogger friends to collect the Award. It's always nice to be nominated so please do the favor and nominate 15 bloggers to share the Award with.
3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they’ve been chosen.

I would like to share this award with:
Akila @ Akila's kitchen
Pavithra @ Dishesfrommykitchen
Minu @ Chettinadthruminu
Nithu @ Nithu's Kitchen
Priya @ Priya's easy n tasty recipes
Rachu @ ammaandbaby
Reva @ Kaarasaaram
Jyothi @ the veggie hut
PJ @ seduceyourtastebuds
Kurinji @ kurinjikathambam
Deepa @ Hamaree Rasoi
Aipi @ USMasala
Satya @ SuperYummy Recipes
Love2cook
Swapna @ SimpleVegetarian Recipes

Re-Posting: Paniyaram

2011-02-07T09:12:00.000-08:00

Caption:
The flowery edges of these paniyarams are a indication of prosperity, happiness that are yet to come
So I was told after the festive day
I started making these from scratch...
Little did I know that paniyaram's flowery edges was going to win my MIL's and mother's appreciation
Also, this has been my best cooked dish so far, which was a challenge to a fresher like me!!!

This is a entry to Smitha's "Best food I've blogged about" event

The picture was taken at our home.

You can find the Paniyaram's recipe here.

Black Glutinous Rice Pudding & Giveaway @ Nithu's Kitchen

2011-02-05T13:45:00.000-08:00

Black glutinous rice is highly rich in fiber and very healthy.

"Glutinous rice is a short-grained Asian rice that turns sticky when cooked" Glutinous here refers to glue-like stickiness and not the gluten (Source: Wikipedia)

This rice pudding is called "kavuni Arisi" among chettiars and is a famous chettinad sweet. I've already posted a recipe on this before. This recipe I learnt from my MIL doesn't need the rice to be soaked over night.

No. of serving : 4
Ingredients:
Black glutinous rice - 1 1/4 cup
Water - 4 cups
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Coconut - 1/4 cup (optional)

Procedure:
1. Pressure cook the rice with water. After one whistle, keep the flame on low for about 15 minutes and switch off
2. After the steam is gone, add the sugar, ghee, coconut. Yummy pudding is ready!

Nithu of Nithu's Kitchen is hosting a giveaway for $35 CSN stores. Check out for the details here and her wonderful blog.

And take a look at my first doily :) Check out for the source of pattern in my art n craft blog.

Beans Poriyal

2011-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, this is my favorite recipe with green beans. It is very easy, simple and nutritious!

Ingredients:
Green beans
Idly/Dosai powder (podi)
Salt
Mustard seeds
Urad dal
Oil

Procedure:
1. Heat little water just enough to boil the beans with salt (so that you do not loose the nutrition in excess water. If you have just enough water, once the beans boils you will not have to drain any water at all) and keep aside
2. Heat oil in a pan splutter mustard seeds and urad dal, add the beans and idly podi and saute. Healthy poriyal is ready!!

Variations: You can add cooked toor dal or moong dal or coconut in place of idly podi. Measurements of the beans and podi can be varied according to your taste and requirements.

This recipe is off to MLLA 32 hosted by Sandhya and Started by Susan.

Idly manchurian & won a giveaway - yay!

2011-01-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

Hi friends, I would like to thank Rachel for the lovely giveaway. She has a wonderful blog of gluten-free recipes.
The giveaway includes Yoplait gym back, reflective wrist wallet, pedometer and coupons for Yoplait Light Yogurt. This giveaway is so reflective of the importance of fitness, walking and a healthy life. Exercise is vital in today's fast paced world filled with fast foods.

Coming to today's recipe:

This is a nice, tasty recipe with left over idlies.

Ingredients:
Idly - 3
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Ginger and garlic paste - 1 spoon
Red chilli powder
Coriander powder
Cumin powder
Turmeric powder
Salt
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Cloves
Elaichi
oil

Procedure:
1. Fry the Idly in oil
2. Heat oil in a pan and saute the spices
3. Add the ginger, garlic paste and saute. Then add the onion and saute till it turns golden color
4. Add the tomato, saute. Add all the powders, salt and saute
5. Finally add the idlys and mix well
6. Garnish with cilantro

Beetroot Halwa and a new blog :):)

2011-01-17T13:45:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!!!

Halwa is the only way in which I can consume lots and lots of beetroot :)

I would like to introduce my new blog on art n craft - Fresher's Art Book . This blog is to post my new experiments with different works, please visit my blog and leave your suggestions :) Hope you will enjoy it..

Now coming to the post:

Beetroot Halwa: (Serves 2)

Beetroot (Big, grated) - 1
Milk - 3/4 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Cashew nuts

Procedure:
1. Boil the beetroot with milk until it turns soft
2. When the beetroot turns soft, add the sugar
3. The mixture comes together, add ghee and mix well
4. Add cashews to the halwa

Carrot rice

2011-01-10T13:00:00.000-08:00

Carrots are a must to kids and adults. I guess carrot rice is a good way of introducing the veggie into kids menu.

Number of servings : 2
Ingredients:

Big carrot -1
Onion (small)_ 1
Green chilles - 2
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tumeric powder - a pinch
salt to taste
coconut - little
oil
cinnamon
elaichi
cloves
bay leaf
cumin seeds
cilantro

For the rice:
basmati rice - 1 cup (soak for 10 mins)
water - 2 cups

Procedure:
1. Heat oil saute the spices, add the onion and green chillis and saute till turns brown
2. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and saute
3. Add carrot, coconut and saute
4. When the rice is ready, mix the contents
5. Garnish with cilantro

Rasagulla

2011-01-05T09:25:00.000-08:00

Hi friends, how is the new year to all?... How was your vacations?.. This holidays flew by so fast to me with my son. We had friends who visited him and showered their blessings. It is a great feeling to be surrounded with people who love you and encourage you in all aspects. :)

Coming to the recipe of this post, I made rasagulla recently. It was the first time I tried it and came out so good. I'm insisting on the so good part, because I took the recipe from Akila's Kitchen :) She has given the most accurate measurements for the recipe.

I will post the picture of the rasagullas I made and will give the link to her recipe. Thank you Akila for such a nice dessert :)

Recipe @ Akila's rasagulla

Happy New Year :)

2010-12-31T17:08:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends,

Wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year !!!! :):)

May this new year bring all your wishes and prayers true.

DIY: Chilli Sauce

2010-12-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

Recently, I made a Indo-Chinese dish which required chili sauce. I din't have the sriracha sauce at home. So, decided to make it and use right away. I tried this recipe and it came out good. I would use it in Indo-Chinese recipes in place of chili sauce. The measurements are approximate and earned a couple of tablespoons, I suggest to try and adjust the levels to your taste.

Read more »

Scarf - Knitting & Crochet

2010-12-23T17:24:00.000-08:00

Simple double crochet scarf:

Double Crochet

Garter stitch scarf

Channa Masala

2010-12-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

This was one of the recipes on the menu when we had friends over at home last weekend. The measurements given holds good for 6 persons.

Knitting & Crochet

2010-12-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Some more... the two beanies are single crochet beanies and the cell phone pouch is stockinette stitch pouch with crochet flower..

Knitting & Crochet

2010-12-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

I'm an absolute beginner to knitting and crochet. It all started few months back, when I wanted to knit a baby blanket. I started to browse for basic information on knitting, searched for videos in youtube. Believe me! there are tons of information online. While nothing will compare to a well organized class... this is just a starting point to know about the craft. I bought the knitting needles from Joann and started searching "What is knitting" ... :) ...

Then comes crochet, which sailed the same boat as knitting. I got the crochet hooks and looked for information on crochet online.

I'm hoping that this post will encourage any one who wants to learn a craft - like an absolute beginner like myself - is very much possible. The joy to creating things(even if it is a small piece) by our hands is immense!! :)

Although I feel to master the craft, it is possible only through proper guidance. I'll put up my knitting and crochet works - I'm very much new to this, so I've tried only very basic items. Hoping to do more :) Would like to get all your valuable comments :)

Here is the first baby blanket (small) that I knit - It is a simple garter stitch baby blanket.

Chocolate Bliss Cheesecake!!

2010-12-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe in the cover of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate and tried it. The result was a pleasing and blissful cake :)!!
Read more »

Go Green :)

2010-09-29T09:47:00.000-07:00

"GO GREEN" - this is a slogan that is increasingly creating awareness about the reduction of use of chemicals, toxics and helping in maintaining a green home, community and world.

I recently put a bin in place for collecting recycling items at home. I came across a lot of videos, information on creating our own cleaning products for the kitchen using things that are already available like the Baking Soda, Vinegar. I din't realize that baking soda had so many cleaning properties!

Back to blogging after a very loooong time!

2010-07-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends,

How are you all doing? I'm so excited to resume my blogging after a very long gap.

In this post I would like to write about a simple recipe - "Kosumalli". Its a side dish that goes well with idly, dosai and idiyappam.

Awards from dear friends :):)!! and Snake Gourd Kootu

2010-02-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Nithu, Cicily and Renuka has shared this lovely award with me :):):)... Thank you for the encouragement dear buddies:)

Cicily also shared these lovely awards with me:).. She has a beautiful blog with lots of yummy recipes and beautiful cake decorations!!..

Nithu and Renuka also shared these beautiful awards with me:):).. As you all know, they both have wonderful blogs!!.. Priya Shared this cute award with me.. I would like to Congratulate her on her recent 200th post!!.. :):) She has a yummy blog!

Thank you all dear friends for all the love and encouragement!!:)

I would like to share all these awards with:

Enjoyyy and happy blogging!!.. I saw the movie Julie & Julia again today!.. its such a bliss to watch the movie!.. very nice!!..

Coming to today's recipe, its snake gourd kootu. Off late, I've been making a lot of kootu's :):)

Ingredients:
Snake Gourd - 1 (medium size)
Channa Dal - 1 hand
Moong dal - 1/2 hand
Coconut - 2 spoons
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Green chilli - 2
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds
Urad dal

Method:
1. The snake gourd I get here has a very thick skin, so I peeled it off slightly. But, it can be used without peeling. Cut the gourd.
2. Boil the channa dal and moong dal together
3. Make a past of coconut, cumin and chilli and keep it separately
4. When the dal is boiled 75%, add the snake gourd and let it boil
5. Add salt, turmeric powder
6. Add the paste and leave it in heat
7. Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds and urad dal and add it to the kootu.

Happy Valentines Day and Carrot Halwa :):)

2010-02-14T16:48:00.000-08:00

Hiii Friends, wish you all a very very happy valentines day!!:):)

Carrot Halwa:

Carrot - 4

Milk - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 1/4 cup

Ghee - 7 spoons
Cashew Nuts
Elaichi

Grate the carrot. Heat 3 spoons of ghee and add the carrot and saute well. Then add the milk and leave it until the carrots are well cooked. Add the sugar and ghee and leave it till the ghee separates. Add elaichi and cashews (roasted in ghee). Enjoy the carrot halwa:))

Awards from dear friends Jisha, Saraswathy, Kavitha and Gayathri

2010-02-11T10:28:00.000-08:00

Thank you Jisha for passing the lovely award to me :):)!!.. Jisha has a wonderful blog - collection of yummmy and delicious recipes!!

Rules for accepting this award:
1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Pass it on to your blogger friends

Thank you Saraswathy for sharing the beautiful award with me:):)!!.. Saraswathy has a lovely blog and I would like to Congratulate her on her great journey in the bloggyworld to her recent 200th post!!!:):)

Thank you kavitha and Gayathri for sharing the lovely award with me :):)!!.. They both maintain a wonderful blog that covers cooking, health, kids, devotion and more!!..

Rules for accepting this award

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Copy the award to your blog.
Place a link to their blog.
Name 7 things people don't know about you.
Nominate 7 bloggers.
Place a link to those bloggers.
Place a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

I've been tagged before for the Kreative blogger award here

I would like to pass the Kreative Blogger Award to :

I would like to share the other 2 awards with all the 7 friends mentioned above and :

I would like to share the Thank you award with Jisha.. and the Smart food blogger award with Saraswathy...

Thank you allll dear friends!!!:):)... Happy Blogging!!!:):)...

Bell Pepper, Broccoli Bhaji and Awards from dear friend Nithu!!!:):)

2010-02-09T20:03:00.001-08:00

Thank you Nithu for sharing the lovely awards with me:):).. Nithu has a lovely and yummmy blog!! with lots of new recipes and cute presentations!!.. I loved her Dosa Girl presentation!!:):)..

I would like to share these awards with:

Thank you alll my dear friends!!:):)...

Coming to today's recipe.. We wanted to have bhaji.. and I was thinking about some different veggies for the bhaji other than onion and potato.. and so gave a try with Broccoli and Bell pepper:) .. It turned out good.. I've seen bell pepper bhaji's in some blogs and have been wanting to try it for some time:)....

This is extremely quick and simple...

Ingredients:

Besan flour - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1/2 cup

Baking soda - a pinch

Chilli powder - 1/2 spoon

Salt to taste

Broccoli (small florets)

Bell pepper

Mix all the ingredients with required water and fry the veggies.

Award from Dear Friends Beena, Kalai and Dolly!!:):)

2010-02-08T20:16:00.000-08:00

Thanks a ton Beena, kalai and Dolly for sharing the lovely award with me:):)!!.. Its a great encouragement and support to me:):)

I've been tagged before here ...

Rules for accepting this award

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Copy the award to your blog.
Place a link to their blog.
Name 7 things people don't know about you.
Nominate 7 bloggers.
Place a link to those bloggers.
Place a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

I would like to share this award with:

Thank you all!!!:):)... happy blogging:):)

Coriander Chutney(Thuvaiyal)

2010-02-05T19:09:00.000-08:00

This chutney goes well with Idly, dosai.. very simple:)

Ingredients:

Coriander leaves - a bunch (cut)

Onion - 1 (big)

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Red chilli - 3

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds

Urad dal

Oil

Method:

1. Heat oil add onion, red chilli and saute well.

2. When onion is translucent add the coriander leaves, coconut and saute and add salt

3. Blend the mixture with required water

4. Heat little oil, splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and add it to the chutney

Broccoli Kootu

2010-02-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

I had this at a friend's place recently.. I dint know broccoli could be cooked as kootu :).. I loved the kootu.. As we were talking stories and then played the game Taboo.. I forgot to get the recipe from her. But I wanted to try it right away, so I made it my way..

Ingredients:

Broccoli - a bunch

Moong Dal - 2 hands

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds - 1 spoon

Sambar powder - 1/2 spoon

Mustard seeds

Urad dal

Tumeric powder - a pinch

Salt

Curry leaves

Method:

1. Boil the moong dal in water along with turmeric powder... when its about cooked, add the cut broccoli and let it boil

2. Make a paste of the coconut and cumin seeds with little water and keep aside

3. When the dal mixture is cooked(this happens very fast with broccoli).. add sambar powder, salt and the coconut paste

4. Separately heat oil and splutter mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and add to the kootu

Note: 1. You can avoid the coconut paste and make just with the dal too

2. You can add onions along with broccoli

Awards from dear friends Aparna and Vinolia :):):)

2010-02-02T23:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks a ton to Aparna for sharing the lovely award with me:):)

Thanks a ton to Vinolia for sharing this lovely award with me :):)

I would like to share both these awards with

Swathi
Cicily
Jyoti
Sanchita
Nithu
Tina
A2ZVegetarian Cuisine

and Thank alll of my friends for all the love and encouragement!!:):)

Bread Pizza

2010-01-31T19:17:00.000-08:00

This is an extremely simple dish and is a last minute entry to Sara's CFK-PFE and started by Sharmi .

Ingredients:

Bread

Bell Pepper (also veggie's like carrots, mushroom,etc)

Onion

Cheese (grated)

Ketchup

Spread a layer of ketchup on the bread, then place a layer of veggies, onion and top it with very little cheese (or more of your choice). Pre-heat the oven to 350 F and place the bread pizza in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Bread pizza is ready. (Different colors of bell pepper can be used to attract). The ketchup will give a nice taste that the kids will love.

Onion-Bell Pepper Uthapam

2010-01-30T23:57:00.000-08:00

This is a very very simple recipe with the dosa batter. This is a great way to tuck in vegetables like bell pepper, green peas, carrot, etc in our menu.

Ingredients:

Bell pepper (finely chopped)

Onion(finely chopped)

Green chilli(chopped)

Coriander leaves

Mustard seeds

Oil

Heat the oil, splutter the mustard seeds, add the chilli, onion and saute. Then add the bell-pepper, coriander leaves and saute little. Add this to the dosa batter and ladle out uthapams.

Cocoa Burfi - for the repost event :)

2010-01-28T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hiiii Friends!.. I'm starting this post with a big smile that pushes me 2 years back :):) The reason is this was my very first post in my blog and I got a chance now to re-post it for the repost event hosted by Jaya and I thank her for this wonderful opportunity.

Just a few months after landing in US... Just the time I was learning to cook... This was the very first sweet I made :):)..... But, I din't know I was going to blog this when I made it.. this picture was taken to show my mom how my first sweet came out :)

Later one day, as I was thinking of something to do to keep myself occupied and interesting... my husband came up with the idea of starting a blog... and I blogged "Cocoa Burfi" :) ... Now as I see the post and comments, it takes me all the way back to my college memories :).. Kanmani and Ramya, two of my best friends have commented on the post... :)

This was my original post and now comes the same recipe newly written:

Ingredients:

Sugar - 2 cups

Coconut - 1 1/2 cups

Cocoa Powder - 2 tablespoon

Water - 1/2 cup

Ghee - 1 tablespoon

Method:

1. Grind coconut in blender to fine powder and keep it aside

2. Heat the vessel and add the sugar and water to a thicker consistency ( to check the consistency: take water in a plate, add two drops of the liquid, if it does not dissolve, its in the required consistency)

3. Add coconut to this mixture and stir till it thickens a little

4. Add cocoa powder and ghee and continue stirring till the whole mixture thickens a little

5. Pour this mixture into a greased plate and cut into pieces

I've uploaded the old pic and the same pic - slightly edited.

Kara Kuzhambu (Thick)

2010-01-26T22:32:00.000-08:00

Any type of kara kuzhambu is my fav :):)... nice and spicy!.. This version is a thicker one, similar to the one we get at grand sweets, Chennai.

Ingredients:

To paste:

Tomato - 2

Garlic - 1 full (all pods)

Coconut - 1/2 cup

Aniseed - 1 spoon

Coriander powder - 4 spoons

Chilli powder - 4 spoons

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Gingely oil - 7 spoons

Tamarind concentrate - 1/2 spoon

Salt to taste

Method:

Blend all the ingredients to paste together with little water. Heat the gingely oil, add the paste, tamarind, salt and leave it until the oil separates.

Veggie Sandwich

2010-01-25T21:43:00.000-08:00

I came across RV's "Healthy Fast Food" event , Sudeshna's "Cook like a bong" and was thinking about different options and came up with this toast.

Ingredients:

White whole grain bread (or Wheat Bread)

Potato (bolied)

Bell pepper

Carrot (grated)

Cheese - grated(optional)

Green chutney

Green Chutney:

Mint leaves

Coriander

Green chilli

Salt

The mint and coriander should be taken in equal halves and this should be blended along with green chilli with little water and add salt to the chutney. This chutney can be made before hand and stored in refrigerator. Making this chutney immediately also requires very very less time.

Note: If you don't have mint leaves, you can just use coriander leaves.

Sandwich:

Spread a layer of green chutney, place the potato, bell pepper, carrots and Cheese (Optional) on a bread and close it with another bread. Toast this in the toaster. Veggie Sandwich is ready!

Re-posting for APS - Rice event - Kavin Arisi

2010-01-25T18:27:00.000-08:00

This is a sweet uniquely special among chettiars. This is made of Red Rice and its very very simple to make.

My husband loves this sweet and I like it too :).. I would like to enter this for the beautiful event - "Served with Love" conducted by Arundhuti (http://gourmetaffair.blogspot.com/2009/12/announcing-my-first-event-served-with.html) and APS - Rice event by Silpa's http://konasaniskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-my-first-event-aps-rice.html

Ingredients: (Serves 5 people)

Red Rice - 3/4 cup

Sugar

Ghee

Coconut

The red rice should be soaked overnight with 3 1/2 cups water.

Method:

1. Pressure cook the rice along with the water to 1 whistle ( the rice and water will be a thick porridge like mixture)

2. To this add sugar, ghee and coconut. The levels for these depends on your taste buds. To start add 1/2 tbsp ghee, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp coconut(shredded)

Re-posting for APS - Rice event - Paniyaram

2010-01-25T10:29:00.000-08:00

I learnt this recipe from my Mother-in-law. This paniyaram is made during a function called Pillayar Nonbu among chettiars. I would like to enter it to the lovely APS - Rice event conducted by Anita (http://konasaniskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/01/announcing-my-first-event-aps-rice.html)

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 2 cups

Dark Jaggery - 1 cup

Oil

Method:

1. Soak the rice for 2 hours and spread it in a towel to dry for 1 hour

2. Blend the rice in blender finely without water and sift the flour

3. Melt the jaggery by just sprinkling the water and pour it in the flour and mix it to a consistency little thicker than chapati dough

4. Mix little water to the dough and make it to a thick liquid consistency

5. Heat the oil and ladle out the paniyaram

Pachadi (Moong Dal Sambar)

2010-01-24T21:24:00.000-08:00

This is a chettinad special dish that can be paired with Idiyappam, Upma, Idly, Dosai, Puttu. The recipe always has egg plant, I din't have it today... So I did it without the egg plant which is also equally good. The main ingredient is the "Moong Dal"...

I would like to enter it for the MLLA - 19 started by Susan (http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-legume-love-affair-host-lineup.html) and hosted by easy crafts (http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/12/mmla-19th-helping-event-announcement.html)

Ingredients:

Moong dal - 1 hand full

Onion - 1

Tomato - 1

Potato (small) - 1

Green chilli - 2

Tamarind concentrate - 1/2 spoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Salt

Mustard seeds

Coriander leaves

Oil

Method:

1. Cut the onion and tomato. Pressure cook the moong dal, onion, tomato, potato, chilli, and tumeric powder to 2 whistles

2. Add the tamarind paste and salt to this pressure cooked mixture and add water and cook

3. Heat oil separately to slutter mustard seeds and add it to the mixture

4. Cut coriander leaves and add to the mixture and leave it in heat for few minutes

Note: The egg plant is cut and pressure cooked along with dal and other mixture.

Award from Dear Friends Nithu & Jisha :):)!!

2010-01-23T12:31:00.001-08:00

Hi Friends... I'm so happy and thankful for all the love and awards shared with me :):)... Thanks a ton Nithu(http://nithubala-recipes.blogspot.com/) and Jisha(http://jishaskitchen.blogspot.com/) for passing the lovely award to me :):)

Rules for accepting this award

Thank the person who gave you the award.
Copy the award to your blog.
Place a link to their blog.
Name 7 things people don't know about you.
Nominate 7 bloggers.
Place a link to those bloggers.
Place a comment letting those bloggers know about the award.

7 things about me:

1. I like pad thai without peanuts and the peanut sauce

2. I've always felt computer programming is hard :)

3. I like to wait and watch the first snow of every winter :):)

4. I enjoyed a lot playing the game Taboo with my friends

5. I like to watch Tennis when Federer and Nadal plays the final match

6. I loved the movie Finding Nemo

7. I was soo excited when I got my first award from Sumathi, I was all smiles for the next couple of days :):) and this happens every time a friend shares an award with me :):)

I would like to share this award with

Nithya - http://4thsensesamayal.blogspot.com/

Mythreyi - http://myerecipecorner.blogspot.com/

Jagruti - http://joyofcooking247.blogspot.com/

Vineetha - http://malabar-ruchi.blogspot.com/

Mahimaa - http://spicesetc.blogspot.com/

Shama - http://easy2cookrecipes.blogspot.com/

Aruna - http://ensamayalkuripugal.blogspot.com/

Thank you all!!

Jeera Rice and an Award from Dear Friend Sarah :):)

2010-01-22T09:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks a lot Sarah (http://www.vazhayila.com/) for sharing the beautiful award with me :):)... its encouraging :)

I would like to share it with my blogger buddies

Rachana - http://rachanakothari.blogspot.com/

Nithu Bala - http://nithubala-recipes.blogspot.com/

Ramya - http://mysignaturedishes.blogspot.com/

Renuka - http://cookingyummy.blogspot.com/

Rohini - http://curriesandspices.blogspot.com/

Deepa - http://www.foodlyrics.com/

Kitchen Queen - http://kattameethatheeka.blogspot.com/

Sowmya - http://gururaghav-gururaghav.blogspot.com/

Jisha - http://jishaskitchen.blogspot.com/

Sangeetha - http://kothiyavunu.blogspot.com/

Duchess - http://roseteacottage.blogspot.com/

I'm soo happy :):)

Jeera Rice :

Basmati Rice - 1 and a half cup

Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 spoon

Green Chilli - 2

Coriander leaves

Salt

Oil

This is a very very simple and a flavored recipe that can be had with Dal Makhani or any other gravy.

Method :

Heat oil and add the cumin seeds, chilli, coriander leaves and add this to the rice and add salt and cook as usual.

50th Post - Desi Channa Masala & an Award from Dear Friend Priya :):):)!

2010-01-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Thank you Priya(http://recipes-priya.blogspot.com/) for Sharing the lovely Award with me:):)... I would like to share this award with all my blogger friends, Please accept it :)

This is my 50th post and I would like to thank you all for the encouraging feedbacks and lovely comments, for without that my interest in blogging would not have increased :)

I would like to enter this for the MLLA - 19 started by Susan (http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-legume-love-affair-host-lineup.html) and hosted by easy crafts (http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/12/mmla-19th-helping-event-announcement.html)

Desi Channa Masala:

Desi Channa - 2 cups

Onion - 2

Tomato - 2

Chili Powder - 1/2 spoon

Sambar Powder - 1/2 spoon

Garam Masala - 1/4 spoon

Coriander Powder - 1/2 spoon\

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 spoon

Cinnamon - 1 stick

Cloves - 2

Bay Leaf

Salt

Oil

Method:

1. Soak the channa over night and pressure cook it to 2 whistles

2. Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf. Then add the chopped onions and saute well. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute well

3. Blend the tomatoes and add to this mixture and cook well

4. Add all the masala powders, salt and cook well

5. Add the pressure cooked channa along with the water, this will thicken the mixture

6. Cook well and garnish with coriander leaves

This goes well with chapatis and as side dish to rice also.

Simple and quick Potato Masala

2010-01-20T15:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not a great fan of curd rice generally. But this Potato masala is a key to unlock my taste buds to the curd rice :)... and I started to like both the masala and curd rice. If you run out of onion and tomato and have just the potatoes, this is a quick recipe!

Ingredients:

Potato (big) - 2

Oil - 1 spoon

Chilli powder - 1/2 spoon - 3/4 spoon

Turmeric powder - a pinch

Mustard seeds

Urad Dal

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut the Potatoes into small cubes and microwave it for one and a half minutes (this step can be skipped, I do this so it cooks quickly)

2. Heat oil in vessel, splutter mustard seeds and urad dal, add the potatoes and add turmeric powder, salt and chilli powder and saute

3. Sprinkle very little water as needed and cook until soft

Awards from dear friend Sowmya :):)

2010-01-20T15:08:00.000-08:00

Thank you Sowmya (http://gururaghav-gururaghav.blogspot.com/)for sharing the lovely awards with me :) .... It means a lot to me and is a great means of encouragement!! ... I'm so so happy!! Thank you! :)

Pongal Nal Vazthukal :):):)!!!

2010-01-14T15:25:00.001-08:00

Hi friends... wish you all a very very happy pongal :):) ...

Lots of my blogger buddies have beautifully explained about the festival and its importance, So I will just present my part of it - my fav: Chakkarai Pongal :)

Rice - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup

Water - 7 cups

Cashew nuts, Raisins

1. Wash the rice with water and sift this water and keep (this water is used to make the pongal)

2. Heat the water in the Pongal vessel and wait till it overflows (this is what we refer to as Paal Pongrathu... However, otherwise we need not wait until it overflows)

3. Add the rice and let it cook well before adding jaggery

4. When the rice is well cooked add the Jaggery and cook

5. Heat ghee, add cashew nuts and raisins , roast and add this to chakkarai Pongal

Apart from this, we also make white Pongal, Pongal Kuzhambhu, Sweet Potato porichathu, Karunai Kilangu (In India we make this, I don't get that here, So I substitute it with Potato), Vazhakkai Porichathu, Paruppu, Kootu

After making all this, we draw Kolam in Swami Shelf, in a vazha ilai(Since I don't get that here, I place it in a plate itself) place all the cooked items, place it in front of Swami and Pray and then eat.

Rice with Mythreyee's Poondu Kuzhambu and Nithya's Aromatic cabbage curry

2010-01-12T20:46:00.000-08:00

I tried a combination of recipes from the two blogs. It was really really hot, spicy and nice!!

Poondu Kuzhambu : http://www.paajaka.com/2008/04/poondu-kuzhambu-garlic-gravy.html

Aromatic Cabbage Curry : http://4thsensesamayal.blogspot.com/2009/12/cabbage-coriander-aromatic-curry.html

Radish Sambar

2010-01-09T21:16:00.000-08:00

Of all the sambars, I love the radish sambar very much!... It has a unique flavour and taste. This is the only dish in which I eat lots of radish happily :)

Ingredients:

Radish (small) - 5

Onion - 5 or 6

Tomato - 1

Sambar powder

Tumeric powder

Toor dal - 1 hand full and a half

Tamarind paste

Salt

Mustard seeds

Curry leaves

Coriander

Method:

1. Peel the radish and cut in round shapes and boil it and keep aside

2. Pressure cook the toor dal with a pinch of turmeric powder

3. Boil the chopped onion and tomato and add to the cooked dal

4. Add little water, Samabar powder, salt and tamarind paste and let it boil

5. Add the boiled radish and let it set

6. Heat little oil splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add it to the sambar

7. Add some coriander leaves

Award From Dear Friend Sangeetha

2010-01-08T16:29:00.000-08:00

Thank you Sangeetha (http://kothiyavunu.blogspot.com/) for passing me this lovely award !!! :) ... I'm so happy on receiving it :):). Makes me feel special.

Rules of the award:

1.You must thank the person who has given you the award.

2.Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3.Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.

4.Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5.Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers.

6.Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7.Leave a comment in the nominated blogs to let them know they have been nominated.

7 Things about me:

I like to watch movies
I love reading books, now I'm reading Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
I find blogging very interesting and I'm more than happy to have started it
Baby corn manchurian is a dish I've been wanting to make for a long time, but din't since I don't get that here
I've been actively blogging for about a month
I like coffee and tea
I like to go to temples

I would like to share it with....

Mythreyi Dilip (http://myerecipecorner.blogspot.com/)

Sumathi Karthikeyan (http://ammavin-adupankarai.blogspot.com/)

Sarah Naveen (http://www.vazhayila.com/)

Susri (http://susricreations.blogspot.com/)

Priya (http://recipes-priya.blogspot.com/)

Fazia (http://faizaali.blogspot.com/)

Shahana (http://www.abcofcooking.blogspot.com/)

Thank you !! :)

Spinach Kootu

2010-01-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Spinach - 1 packet

Moong dal - one hand ful

Coconut - 1/4 cup

Green chilli - 2

Cumin seeds - 3/4 spoon

Mustard seeds and cumin seeds - little to splutter

Coconut oil

Salt

Method:

1. Wash and cut the spinach. Mean while, Boil the Moong dal until its soft

2. Blend the coconut, cumin seeds, chillis with little water

3. When the Moong dal is ready, add the spinach and cook until its soft (this happens very soon with spinach)

4. When its soft add the paste and cook and add salt

5. Heat little cocnut oil and splutter mustard seeds and cumin seeds and add to the spinach

Methi Chapati with Channa Masala

2010-01-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Heat oil and saute the methi leaves. Add little salt and chilli powder and saute. Add this to the chapati dough and make chapatis. This goes well with channa masala.

Updated Blog URL

2010-01-05T00:05:00.000-08:00

Hi friends...

I wanted to change the blog url to some name that indicates the blogs content directly ( I don't know why I had my name before :) )... so I updated today to http://www.fresherscookbook.blogspot.com .....

Dal

2010-01-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Masoor dal - 2 cups

Chilli powder - 3/4 spoon

Ginger and garlic crushed - 1 spoon

Onion - 1/2

Tomato - 1/2

Salt

Mustard seeds

Curry leaves

Method:

1. Boil the masoor dal in water until soft and keep aside

2. Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and tomato and saute well

3. Add this to the dal and add chilli powder and salt and leave it in heat for few mins. This goes well with chapati

Chilli Cheese Toast

2010-01-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

I came across this recipe in http://www.foodlyrics.com/?p=550 and tried it the same day :), it was very nice and we liked it very much!

Re-Posting for MLLA-19 - Channa Masala

2010-01-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to send this recipe to the lovely event hosted by http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/12/mmla-19th-helping-event-announcement.html and http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-legume-love-affair-host-lineup.html

Ingredients:

channa - 125 gms

onion (finely chopped) - 2

tomato (finely chopped)- 2

tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp

chilli powder - 1 tbsp

channa masala - 1 tbsp

garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

cinnamon - 1/2 stick

cardamom - 2

cloves - 2

ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon

oil

salt to taste

coriander to garnish

Method:

1. Soak the channa dal over night and pressure cook it to 3 whistles

2. Heat the oil and add cinnamon ,cloves and cardamom

3. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute it. Add onion and saute it well till it turns golden brown

4. Add tomatoes and saute well. Add the salt and masala powders to this mixture and cook well

5. Add the channa dal and cook

6. Garnish with coriander

Re-Posting for MLLA-19 - Rajma Masala

2010-01-04T11:25:00.000-08:00

I would like to send this recipe as a entry to the lovely event hosted by http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/12/mmla-19th-helping-event-announcement.html and started by http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-legume-love-affair-host-lineup.html

Ingredients:

rajma - 1 1/2 cups

onion (finely chopped)- 1

tomato (finely chopped)- 2

red chilli powder

garam masala

turmeric powder

bay leaf

cinnamon

cloves

oil

salt to tase

coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Soak rajma over night and pressure cook to 2 whistles (keep the cooked water to use later, this makes the gravy thicker)

2. heat oil and add bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves

3. Add the onion and saute well, till it turns golden brown

4. Add tomatoes and saute well and add salt and turmeric powder to it, saute till its in a gravy like consistency

5. Add the cooked rajma with water, add chilli powder and garam masala powder and leave it to boil to the desired consistency

6. garnish with coriander

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

May your new year be blessed with PEACE, LOVE and JOY!!:).....Wish you all a very very happy and prosperous new year!!! :):)

Reposting for WYF: Tea Time Snack event

2009-12-30T14:14:00.001-08:00

I'm very happy to send this to the lovely event http://simpleindianfood.blogspot.com/2009/11/wyftea-time-snack.html

Ingredients:

2 potato

1 small capsicum

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup carrot

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup cauliflower

3 tomatoes finley chopped

1/2 inch ginger finely chopped

2 green chilli chopped

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

red chilli powder

tumeric powder

garam masala powder

oil

salt

lemon juice

Method:

1. chop the vegetables and boil it in 2-3 cups of water. When done, drain the water and mash the vegetables(not to paste).

2. Heat oil in the pan, add tomatoes, ginger, green chilli, cilantro and fry it till it comes to paste like consistency.

3. Add red chilli powder, tumeric powder.

4. Add the vegetagle mixture and salt and cook it with 1/2 cup of water

5. Add garam masala powder and little lemon juice. Serve with Pav.

Brussels Sprouts - health facts

2009-12-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

Brussels Sprouts are rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin K and a good source of other nutrients. I browsed the following information on brussels sprouts from http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=10. Brussels Sprouts can be cooked as kurma in our style, I hope to post the recipe with pictures when I make them some time.

Health Benefits:

Cancer Protection from sulfur containing phytonutrients
Optimize cell's detoxification and cleansing abilities
Supports healthier colon
Protection against Rheumatoid Arthritis
A birth defect fighter
Cardiovascular benefits

Nutrient	Amount	DV (%)	Nutrient Density	World's Healthiest Foods Rating
Brussel sprouts, boiled 1.00 cup 156.00 grams 60.84 calories
vitamin K	218.80 mcg	273.5	80.9	excellent
vitamin C	96.72 mg	161.2	47.7	excellent
folate	93.60 mcg	23.4	6.9	very good
vitamin A	1121.64 IU	22.4	6.6	very good
manganese	0.35 mg	17.5	5.2	very good
dietary fiber	4.06 g	16.2	4.8	very good
potassium	494.52 mg	14.1	4.2	very good
vitamin B6 (pyridoxine)	0.28 mg	14.0	4.1	very good
tryptophan	0.04 g	12.5	3.7	very good
vitamin B1 (thiamin)	0.17 mg	11.3	3.4	very good
omega 3 fatty acids	0.26 g	10.8	3.2	good
iron	1.87 mg	10.4	3.1	good
phosphorus	87.36 mg	8.7	2.6	good
protein	3.98 g	8.0	2.4	good
magnesium	31.20 mg	7.8	2.3	good
vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	0.12 mg	7.1	2.1	good
vitamin E	1.33 mg	6.7	2.0	good
copper	0.13 mg	6.5	1.9	good
calcium	56.16 mg	5.6	1.7	good

Mutter Paneer

2009-12-28T21:27:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gms

Green Peas - 1 cup

Onion (big) - 1/2 chopped

Tomato - 1

Cashew nuts - 6

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Cinnamon - 1

Cloves - 3

Bay leaf

Chilli powder - 1 spoon

Tumeric powder - a pinch

Coriander powder - 3/4 spoon

Salt

Oil

Method:

1. Grind the tomato, cashew nuts, ginger garlic and cloves together. Boil the peas and keep aside

2. Cut the paneer into cubes and shallow fry it with very little oil and keep aside

3. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil and add the spices and onion and saute till golden brown

4. Add the paste to it and saute

5. Add tumeric powde, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and saute. Sprinkle water as required

6. Add the peas to this and let it blend. Add the paneer to it and let it blend

Viennese Sachertorte

2009-12-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

I'm a fresher to baking and this is the first time I've tried to bake a cake from scratch :)

I would like to enter it to the "Cakes and Cookies" event conducted by Mahimaa (http://spicesetc.blogspot.com/2009/12/contribute-your-recipes-spices-etc.html) and Divya's "Show me your cake" (http://divya-dilse.blogspot.com/2009/12/show-me-your-salad.html)

Ingredients:

350 gms of dark chocolate(I used Hershey's special dark chocolate)

150 gms butter

150 gms icing sugar

few drops of vanilla essence

6 eggs, separated

125 gms all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

1. Break the chocolate (150 gms) and melt it in a bowl placed over simmering water.

2. Beat the chocolate, butter, icing sugar, vanilla essence, and egg yolks until it combines well.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder and add it to the batter and mix well

4. Beat the egg whites and fold into the batter

5. Preheat the oven to 300 F, place the batter in the baking pan and bake for about 50-60 minutes, then take it out and allow to cool.

6. Melt the remaining chocolate placed in a bowl over simmering water and spread over cake and leave it to set for some time. The cake is ready.

Lima Beans Masala Kuzhambu

2009-12-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

I tried Butter Beans masala kuzhambu from my athai's blog http://chettinadthruminu.blogspot.com/2009/08/masala-kuzhambu.html , Substituted the butter beans with lima beans. It came out good :)

An Award from Dear friend Sumathi Karthikeyan!!! :):)

2009-12-24T21:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks a lot to Mrs. Sumathi Karthikeyan (http://ammavin-adupankarai.blogspot.com/) for sharing this encouraging award with me :):) . I am sooooo excited :), its really encouraging.

Wish you all Merry Christmas!!

Onion Gosthu

2009-12-24T14:23:00.000-08:00

I tried Onion Gosthu from my bogger friend Aruna Manikandan's blog http://ensamayalkuripugal.blogspot.com/2009/09/onion-gosthu.html . It came out good :)

Paniyaram

2009-12-23T23:53:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Raw rice - 2 cups

Dark Jaggery - 1 cup

Oil

Method:

1. Soak the rice for 2 hours and spread it in a towel to dry for 1 hour

2. Blend the rice in blender finely without water and sift the flour

3. Melt the jaggery by just sprinkling the water and pour it in the flour and mix it to a consistency little thicker than chapati dough

4. Mix little water to the dough and make it to a thick liquid consistency

5. Heat the oil and ladle out the paniyaram

Chilli Paneer

2009-12-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

I tried chilli paneer today.

Ingredients:

Paneer - 200 gms

Bell Pepper (Capsicum) - 1

Onion (medium) - 1/2

Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 1/2 tbsp

Corn Flour - 1 1/2 tbsp

Green Chilli - 3

Garlic (finely chopped) - 1 tbsp

Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp

Chilli Sauce - 1 tbsp

Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp

Soy Sauce to taste

Salt to taste

Lemon juice

Coriander Leaves and Spring Onions to garnish

oil

Method:

1. Cut the paneer into cubes. Mix corn flour, 1/2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste, salt and little water. Put the paneer into this mixture and coat it with the mixture

2. Shallow fry the paneer

3. Heat 1 tbsp oil and add cumin seeds. When it splutters add chopped garlic, 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste, green chilli, chopped onion and saute

4. Add coriander powder and very little water and saute

5. Add chilli sauce, soy sauce and the bell pepper and saute

6. Add lemon juice to taste and little salt

7. Add the paneer to this mixture and mix

8. Garnish with coriander and spring onions

Idly Upma with leftover idlies

2009-12-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

I made idly upma with yesterday's leftover idlies.

Ingredients:

mustard seeds

urad dal

red chillis

onion chopped

oil

Method:

Dip the Idlies in salt (to taste) water and squeeze and shred it without water. Heat the oil splutter mustard seeds. urad dal, red chilli and add the onion and saute. Add the idly and mix it.

Ulundhu Vadai

2009-12-22T21:34:00.000-08:00

I din't get the shapes perfect, but it was very very soft :)

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 1 cup

channa dal - 1 tsp

chilli - 2

salt to taste

oil to fry

Method:

Soak urad dal and channa dal together for 2 hours. Blend the mixture, chilli and salt by sprinkling water into a thick dough consistency. The dough is ready. Dip your fingers in water and take a ball of dough, make a hole in the middle and fry it in oil.

Kavin Arisi

2009-12-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

This is a sweet uniquely special among chettiars. This is made of Red Rice and its very very simple to make.

Ingredients: (Serves 5 people)

Red Rice - 3/4 cup

Sugar

Ghee

Coconut

The red rice should be soaked overnight with 3 1/2 cups water.

Method:

1. Pressure cook the rice along with the water to 1 whistle ( the rice and water will be a thick porridge like mixture)

2. To this add sugar, ghee and coconut. The levels for these depends on your taste buds. To start add 1/2 tbsp ghee, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp coconut(shredded)

Channa Masala

2009-12-20T22:10:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

channa - 125 gms

onion (finely chopped) - 2

tomato (finely chopped)- 2

tumeric powder - 1/4 tsp

chilli powder - 1 tbsp

channa masala - 1 tbsp

garam masala - 1/2 tbsp

cinnamon - 1/2 stick

cardamom - 2

cloves - 2

ginger garlic paste - 1 spoon

oil

salt to taste

coriander to garnish

Method:

1. Soak the channa dal over night and pressure cook it to 3 whistles

2. Heat the oil and add cinnamon ,cloves and cardamom

3. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute it. Add onion and saute it well till it turns golden brown

4. Add tomatoes and saute well. Add the salt and masala powders to this mixture and cook well

5. Add the channa dal and cook

6. Garnish with coriander

Beans Usli

2009-12-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Channa dal - 3/4 cup

red chilli - 3 or 4

fennel seeds - 1/2 tbsp

cumin seeds - 1/2 tbsp

Beans - 250 gms

oil - 1 tbsp

mustard seeds

urad dal

salt to taste

Method:

1. Soak the channa dal for 2 hours

2. Blend the soaked channa, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and red chilli by sprinkling water in small amount

3. Cut the beans and boil it until a little more than half cooked

4. Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds and urad dal add the paste and saute till it looses the moisture

5. Add the beans to it and saute it to blend with the paste and add salt.

Note: Radish can be used in the place of beans. The radish should be shredded finely and need not be boiled, can add directly to the paste

Idly with Sambar

2009-12-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

Idly dough: (to make 12-15 idlys)

Idly Rice - 1 cup

Urad dal - 1/4 cup

salt to taste

soak Idly rice and Urad dal separately for 5-6 hours. Blend the urad dal by just sprinkling water. It should be in an fluffy consistency. Keep the mixture separate. Now blend the rice (add water as needed), not too fine. Mix the two and add salt. Leave the mixture to ferment for 7-8 hours.

Note: Fermentation is a very important process in getting soft Idlys. If the Dough is not fermented enough, the Idlys might be hard. The Urad dal is also important in getting soft Idlys, the dal should be washed 4-5 times at the time of soaking.

Kuzhi Paniyaram

2009-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

Kuli Paniyaram is a specialty dish of chettiars. I learnt to make this from my mom. My husband loves this dish :) My friends too:).. I love making this any time. I would like to enter this dish to the lovely event conducted by Arundhuti (http://gourmetaffair.blogspot.com/2009/12/announcing-my-first-event-served-with.html)

Ingredients:

Sona Masoori Rice - 1 cup

Idly Rice - 1 cup

Urad Dal - a little more than 1/4 cup

little fenugreek seeds

Method:

1. Soak the ingredients together for 2-3 hours

2. Blend the soaked ingredients in Blender with salt

3. Leave the dough to ferment for 6-7 hours

4. Heat 1 tbsp oil splutter mustard seeds, urad dal and coriander leaves and add it to the dough and mix (chopped onions can also be sauted along with this and added)

5. The dough is ready, spoon out the dough in the mould and leave it for 2 min and turn over and leave it for 2 min. Kuli Paniyaram is ready to eat

Chutney:

Red Chutney is the best combination to kuli paniyarams.

Ingredients:

Big Onion - 1

tomato - 1

garlic - 5 pods

red chilli - 6

gingely oil - 5 tbsp

1/4 spoon of tamarind concentrate

salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat little oil and add the Red chilli, Onion and Garlic pods and saute

2. Add the tomato and saute, add the salt and tamarind

3. Blend the sauted mixture without adding water

4. Heat gingely oil spultter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add the mixture and saute well to the required consistency. Chutney is ready to be served with Paniyaram.

Tip to ferment Idly/Dosai maavu (dough)

2009-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

I live in Chicago, in places as cold as Chicago the Idly /Dosai maavu (dough) takes a long time to ferment... I heard this tip from one of my friends here, and tried it.. it really works good. Once you grind the dough, keep it under a light (like the one in microwave placed above the stoves). This keeps the dough close to the light and speeds up the fermentation process. But, not all homes have microwaves placed in this style, switching on the conventional oven's light and keeping the dough in there will also help. Alternatively, just keeping the dough in the conventional oven will also speed up the process.

"Julie & Julia"

2009-12-18T18:19:00.000-08:00

I just watched the movie "Julie & Julia", a very nice movie on how Julie Powell(played by Amy Adams) was inspired to cook by Julia Child(by Meryl Streep). A inspiring movie which shows how Julie writes a blog about how she cooks all the dishes (524 Recipes in 365 days) from Julia's book - "Mastering the Art of French Cooking".

The movie is based on a true story. Julie Powell started to write the blog: "The Julie/Julia project", which gained a large following and eventually wrote a book - "Julie & Julia : 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen", which was made as a movie -"Julie & Julia".

The movie is about how cooking and food changes Julie and Julia's lives and gives them a full interest in life.

potato masala

2009-12-15T23:04:00.000-08:00

we had a potluck today at my friend's place and my dish was potato masala. I made this for 10 people.

ingredients:

potatoes (medium), boiled, peeled, cut in chunks - 8

onion (chopped finely) - 1

tomato (paste it in blender)- 1

oil

mustard seeds

urad dal

curry leaves

chilli powder

turmeric powder

Method:

1. heat the oil, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves and urad dal

2. add onion and saute it till golden brown, add the tomato puree and saute it well till it looses raw smell

3. add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt and saute

4. add the potatoes and mix well

5. leave it in low heat for about 20 mins, occasionally stirring

Veggie cutlet/hotdog/burger

2009-12-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

I tried a little experiment today, using the same stuffing for different dishes. My husband loved the Veggie hotdog and cutlets!.. I'm looking forward to an occasion to make this for my friends. I would like to enter to the lovely event conducted by Arundhuti (http://gourmetaffair.blogspot.com/2009/12/announcing-my-first-event-served-with.html)

Stuffing Ingredients:

potatoes - 4

green peas - 1 1/2 cup

carrots - 1/2 cup

chilli powder

salt

coriander leaves

lemon juice

boil the vegetables and mash it together with all the ingredients to form the stuffing.

Veggie Hotdogs:

hotdog buns - 8

grated cheese

mix 1/2 cup of corn flour in water

bread crumbs

Shape the stuffing like a hotdog and dip it in corn flour mix and the coat it with bread crumbs and shallow fry it, till golden brown. The patty is ready. Take a hotdog bun, coat it with a thin layer of ketchup in the slit and then a layer of grated cheese, then place the patty on it and coat another layer of cheese as required. Bake this in Microwave oven for 15-20 seconds for cheese to melt. Veggie hotdogs are Ready.

Samosas:

All purpose flour - 1 cup

salt

oil - 1 tsp

Sprinkle water as needed to the flour,salt and oil mix and knead into a soft dough to make samosas. take the dough and press it like we do for chapati , then cut it in the middle, each half can be shaped into a cone and use the stuffing inside the cone and close it. deep fry the samosas.

Note: The dough was a little difficult to press and the samosas came thicker. its important to press it thin.

Cutlet:

I shaped the stuffing into flat circles and dipped it into the corn flour mix then into bread crumbs and shallow fried it to make cutlets

Burger:

The same cutlets can be shaped more flatter to fit the burger buns and cheese slices can be used and baked for Veggie Burger.

ketchup can be used for all the dishes above to serve with.

Rajma Masala

2009-12-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

rajma - 1 1/2 cups

onion (finely chopped)- 1

tomato (finely chopped)- 2

red chilli powder

garam masala

turmeric powder

bay leaf

cinnamon

cloves

oil

salt to tase

coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

1. Soak rajma over night and pressure cook to 2 whistles (keep the cooked water to use later, this makes the gravy thicker)

2. heat oil and add bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves

3. Add the onion and saute well, till it turns golden brown

4. Add tomatoes and saute well and add salt and turmeric powder to it, saute till its in a gravy like consistency

5. Add the cooked rajma with water, add chilli powder and garam masala powder and leave it to boil to the desired consistency

6. garnish with coriander

Cabbage Capsicum Rice

2009-12-13T22:27:00.000-08:00

I tried this recipe from my Athai's blog : http://chettinadthruminu.blogspot.com/2009/10/cabbage-capsicum-rice.html with slight variations.

ingredients:

Capsicum - 1 cup

Cabbage - 1 cup

Cooked Rice - 2 cups

Green chillies minced - 3

cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

ground pepper to add flavor

oil - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. heat the oil and add the cumin seeds, when it splutters add the capsicum and chilli and saute

2. add the cabbage and saute, add salt to taste

3. Add the sauted vegetables to the rice and mix well and finally add the ground pepper to add flavor

Chocolate Fudge Brownie

2009-12-13T22:15:00.000-08:00

I tried Chocolate fudge brownie from Duncan Hanes, very similar to my previous post on brownie from Betty Crocker.

Aloo Capsicum

2009-12-13T22:05:00.000-08:00

Hi.. i tried this recipe from my Athai's Blog : http://chettinadthruminu.blogspot.com

Aloo (big) - 2

capsicum - 2

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

3 tsp gram flour(besan)

salt to taste

coriander leaves to garnish

method:

1. heat the oil and add cumin seeds, when it splutters add the potato and saute

2. add salt and the turmeric powder and saute

3. add capsicum and chilli powder, garam masala powder and saute until cooked

4. add the besan flour and saute and add coriander leaves.

Chocolate Cake

2009-08-11T15:25:00.001-07:00

I tried the betty Crocker's chocolate cake. Got one packet and equally poured the mix in to 2 baking plates. When the cake was done, I cut off the top mount part fron both cakes. I mixed whipped cream and cocoa powder to get choclate cream and applied it to both cakes and placed it one above another. It was looking like a double layered cake you will get in stores!!

Brownie

2009-08-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

I tried the Betty Crocker's brownie mix recently and it came out pretty good! For baking starters, Betty Crocker's is an excellent choice. I just followed the instructions on it( mixing the powder with eggs and water), pre-heat the oven and bake a per instructions.

Pav Bhaji

2009-08-10T20:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

2 potato

1 small capsicum

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup carrot

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup cauliflower

3 tomatoes finley chopped

1/2 inch ginger finely chopped

2 green chilli chopped

1/4 cup cilantro chopped

red chilli powder

tumeric powder

garam masala powder

oil

salt

lemon juice

Method:

1. chop the vegetables and boil it in 2-3 cups of water. When done, drain the water and mash the vegetables(not to paste).

2. Heat oil in the pan, add tomatoes, ginger, green chilli, cilantro and fry it till it comes to paste like consistency.

3. Add red chilli powder, tumeric powder.

4. Add the vegetagle mixture and salt and cook it with 1/2 cup of water

5. Add garam masala powder and little lemon juice. Serve with Pav.

DAL MAKAHNI without heavy cream

2009-08-09T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Black Urad Dal - 3/4 cup

Rajma - 1/4 cup

tomato - 2

onion - 2

ginger - 1 inch

garlic - 4 pods

turmeric powder

red chilli powder

garam masala

cinnamon

clove

cilantro

oil

salt

Method:

1. soak rajma and black urad dal together in water overnight.

2. Pressure cook dal and rajma and leave it to 2 whistles.

3. do not drain the pressure cooked water. Using the whole mixture along with water will thicken the gravy.

4. Make paste of ginger, garlic and 1 onion. Chop the other onion.

5. Make paste of the tomatoes.

6. heat oil in the pan, add cinnamon stick and cloves.

7. Add the chopped onion and cook. Add the onion paste and cook till the raw smell goes away.

8. Add the tomato paste and cook it.

9. Add tumeric powder, garam masala and red chilli powder.

10. finally add the rajma and urad dal along with the water and simmer it.

11. garnish with cilantro.

PANEER KURMA

2009-08-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Paneer - 1 pack

onion - 2

tomato - 2

ginger - 1 inch

garlic - 4 pods

cloves - 2

chilli powder

garam masala

cilantro

salt

oil

Method:

1. cut the paneer into cubes. Shallow fry it and keep it aside.

2. Make a paste of 1 onion, ginger, garlic and cloves. chop the other onion and keep aside.

3. Make a paste of the tomatoes.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the chopped onion and fry. Add ginger, garlic and onion paste and fry until the raw smell goes away.

5. Add the tomato paste and cook it till the raw smell goes away.

6. Add red chilli powder, garam masala and salt.

7. When the gravy cooks well, add the fried paneer to it and leave it to simmer.

8. When its ready, garnish it with cilantro.

This can be served with chapathi, paratha or Naan.

Swag Bucks

2009-08-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

Swag Bucks is a internet search engine (provides results from google and ask.com). It lets you collect swagbucks when you search using swagbucks.com and you can redeem the swagbucks to get the available prizes.

cooking tips....

2008-06-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

I would like to share some of cooking tips that i have heard and used....

Whenever you make idli dough or kuli paniyaram dough , you can soak little aval(flattened rice) along with the rice and make dough....... this will soften the idli or kuli paniyaram.

For kuli paniyaram, instead of aval, you can add left over cooked rice... this will also give soft paniyarams.

In any dish , if you have added too much of salt, you can drop a sphere of chapathi dough in the dish, this will take off excess salt.

Do not re-heat the used oil, using re-heated oil only adds saturated fat to our body, which is not good for health.

Try to switch to canola oil , instead of vegetable oil.

Whenever you make vegetable biryani, you can add cocount milk to the grinded masala, this will increase the taste of the biryani.

When using microwave at home, try not to boil water in microwave. This could be dangerous. Over heatin of water in microwave can cause to burst it.

BROCCOLI - a health fact

2008-03-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

BROCCOLI is a powerhouse of various vitamins, minerals and other medicinal facts. It is a good anti-oxidant and a very much healthy vegetable.

So, i tried to put down some information about broccoli here....along with a simple recipe...

Broccoli is a store of Vitamins B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B5 (Pantothenic acid), B6, B9 (Folate), Vitamin C and A. And it also has various minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and zinc.

In the recent past, a lot of experiments had been carried over broccoli for its medicinal values and it has been found that the nutritional value of broccoli lies in a substance called isothiocyanates. Isothiocyanates are a class of potent anti-carcinogens. Meaning, they fight and help prevent cancer. Another study shows that broccoli is associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease.

Coming to the cooking part, it is very important that broccoli should be only lightly boiled, for it may loose its healthy content if over boiled. Lightly boiled broccoli , by itself makes a healthy recipe. Another way to have it, is to saute the lighlty boiled broccoli in little oil along with mustard seeds, black gram, green chilli and salt.

So, just try it and add it to your food chart!!!!!

PROTEIN FACTS - "RED KIDNEY BEANS (RAJMA)"

2008-03-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

well..... what could be more satisfying than to eat good healthy food and to maintain a perfectly fit body??!!!

I would like to brief about RED KIDNEY BEANS (or rajma as we call it), which is an excellent source of proteins, fibre, vitamins and minerals and what not!!!!

Rajma forms an integral part of north-indian cuisine. Its an wholesome source of proteins, fibre and some vitamins. Also its low in total fat and it has a low glycemic index(GI).

Nutritional Highlights:
Kidney beans (boiled, red), 1 cup (177g)
Calories: 225
Protein: 15.3g
Carbohydrate: 40.4g
Total Fat: 0.88g
Fiber: 11.3g

Rajma is a treasure of nutrition, but, consumption of raw red kidney beans may lead to acute gastroenteritis, which may be severe.
Beans should be boiled for at least 10 minutes to degrade a toxic compound - the lectin phytohaemagglutinin - found in the beans, which can cause severe gastric upset. This compound is present in many varieties of beans, but is especially concentrated in red kidney beans. So, its always good to boil the beans in fresh water for atleast 1o minutes before cooking.

So make rajma an essential part in your diet chart and reap its benefits!!!!!!

To start of with a simple rajma recipe visit:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=rajma+masala&search_type=

"CHETTINAD" - rich culture and tradition....

2008-03-11T15:26:00.000-07:00

The rich culture and traditions of the CHETTINAD community has always fascinated me......

The truely enormous chettiar mansions, the uniquely tasting chettinad food, the grandly arranged chettiar marraige,etc.... all these have aroused my curiosity to look into deeper roots the community. So, i tried to collect some information about chettiars and enlighten about the community.......

also see..

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/videopod/default.aspx?id=23376

The nagarathar society is divided into nine temples(koil):

illaiyathangudi

mathur

vairavan koil

nemam koil

illupaikudi

surakudi

velangudi

irani koil

pillayarpatti

some of these temples have further divisions called pirivu.

There are about 75 villages now in the chettiar community.Devakottai and Karaikudi are the two major towns of chettiar clan. The regions with significant chettiar population now incudes Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, Singapore,Malaysia. To know about the detailed history of the nattukotai chettiars visit:

http://www.rootsweb.com/~lkawgw/natchetty.html

FAMOUS CHETTIAR TEMPLES AROUND THE WORLD:

Sri Thendayuthapani Temple(singapore) also known as Chettiars Temple is one of the oldest temple built by nattukotai chettiars in the year 1859 A.D. , some of the functions that are grandly celebrated in this temple are thai pusam, skanda shasti, thiru karthigai, letcha archanai and navarathri. Even today this temple is being maintained by the chettiars residing in singapore and each and every function is celebrated traditionally.

Another temple which reflects the chettiar tradition , even today, is the Arulmigu Thandayuthapani Temple also known as Nattukotai Chettiars Waterfall Temple is located in Penang, Malaysia. An estimated 100,000 people attend the Thai pusam festival at the temple, making it the largest festival and human gathering in Penang. It is also a leading tourist attraction.

COCOA BURFI...

2008-03-11T12:31:00.000-07:00

hiiiii all.... this is my mom's recipe.... which i tried recently , and it came out really good... its very simple and easy to try in home...so, just give it a shot!!!!!....

INGREDIENTS:
Sugar 2 cups
Coconut 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder 2 tablspoons
Water 1/2 cup
Ghee 1 tablspoon

METHOD:
Grind the coconut in a blender to a fine powder like mixture and keep it. In a vessel add the sugar and water and heat it to a slightly thicker consistency (to check the correct consistency, take little water in a plate and add two drops of the liquid, if it does not dissolve in water,then it is in required consistency). Then add the coconut to the sugar and stir it, till it thickens a little. When its thickens, add the cocoa powder and stir, then add the ghee and continue stirring. When the whole mixture thickens a little, pour it in a plate(greased with ghee) and cut it into pieces.