KAMBU KOZHUKATTAI

KAMBU KOZHUKATTAI

I guess this very common dish also, the favourite of Lord Ganesha need no introduction. I have replaced rice with kambu which is yet another millet variety. It came out pretty well. Have it hot with onion/tomato chutney. You will simply love it.

HOMEMADE PANEER

Being known all packaged foods are loaded with preservatives we still go behind them in this fast paced lifestyle... Now with new health problems and increasing awareness, most of us have begun our baby steps towards healthy food habits. Most of the store bought ingredients can be easily prepared in home. The spice powders even, ready mixes. It is not that difficult to make them plus what we make are far more healthier. All you need is to spend some extra time which we all can for the sake of our loved ones...


                To begin with, making paneer in home is the most easiest of all. We all use paneer in some way or the other. Its an all time favorite among all age groups... Not only easy to make, the homemade ones are so fresh and soft. Paneer, also known as cottage cheese is not processed like the other cheese varieties... Its just coagulated milk using food acids. One interesting fact is that, we Indians have been using Paneer even before Christ it seems. That is  almost 2000 years back... Its history goes way back like the story we tell kids "long long ago so long ago..."

MINT / PUDHINA RICE

Be it any hurry bury week day or a lazy week end, if i am late to the kitchen, variety rices are my life saviors. Especially on weekdays when i have to pack lunch.Whether it is sudden or pre planned, they ease my morning madness.

People have a wrong assumption that greens include only spinach varieties... coriander and mint (including all herbs) comes in the same category and they are very rich in nutrients. In addition to many other things, mint is an excellent source of antioxidants. Henceforth, guys instead of just using them as a flavoring agent, make it a point to incorporate them in your meal plan. This recipe is one such idea. Its easy to make, light to your tummy, fresh, flavorsome and is packed with all goodness of health.

CHOLA PANIYARAM

Its millets everywhere now. The awareness of their health benefits have brought a thought of including them in our daily meal. Millets which was often being called as "poor mans meal" has now become more of a mandatory ingredients in most of our kitchen. Irrespective of their health benifits i was reluctant to cook with millets wondering will they be tasty enough. Few of us in home including me, are quite picky when it comes to food. Finally, decided why not give it a try. So, started adding them to my regular diet and so far no complaints. Most of the dishes came out good.

Today's recipe, chola paniyaram which I got from my Chithi ( my moms younger sister) came out quite tasty and crispy as well. I generally avoid paniyarams as they consume more oil. Now with nonstick paniyaram pan and my millet batter I almost ate 2 servings.. Cheers to healthy and definitely tasty cooking.

This millet, commonly known as cholam in tamil), jowar (in hindi) or sorghum (in english) is of pepper size and is white in colour.  It is far more nutritious than rice or wheat. In other words its a power house which is packed with nutrients. One important thing that you should always remember before using any millet is that they are tiny grains and sometimes you find stones mixed. So, wash them well at least 4-5 times before use.

JEERA RICE

A simple yet flavourful dish. I made it along with rajma gravy for lunch. Actually, this is not the exact version of traditional jeera rice. I changed it to suit my families taste buds. It did came out really well and everyone in home liked it. When wondering what can be done to improvise this dish to my families taste, it suddenly striked why not use the leftover stock water of cooked rajma (thank goodness i finished the gravy first) to cook my jeera rice. But will that be enough? Checked my pantry and I found some cashews. Also, had ginger garlic paste which I always make it a point to have it in my fridge. The first thing i do coming home from market every week is to make ginger garlic paste for the week (I also add few green chillies and the stalks of coriander leaves to the paste. I like it that way as it adds more flavour and aroma. Plus the stalks of coriander are nutritious.  So next time use it instead of discarding it). Finally, with all my ingredients ready the cooking began.....

RAJMA GRAVY

A north Indian delicacy which steals your heart with all the richness. It is a wholesome meal for an ideal Sunday lunch. It goes well with pulavs, jeera rice, roti or naan and even with plain cooked basmati rice. As any recipe goes you can make this one too in a few ways. The recipe that I'm to post now  is an easier version and more of a home cooked style than, a restaurant one. The tricky part here is to perfectly cook the rajma. There are a few tips you can use to make this mouth watering dish.                      1. It is one difficult bean and takes a lot of time to cook so I always soak it overnight preferably in warm water and cook it in a pressure cooker. 

2. Selecting the right bean is also a crucial part. Light coloured ones take less time to cook.

3. Also check the date of packing. Older beans takes  more time to cook.

Hope these tips help you. Do try this recipe and post your comments. 

MIXED VEGETABLE TOAST

I love sandwiches any given day. They are fresh, easy to make and so yummy to taste. Its an easy and effective way to make people eat veggies especially, kids who love cheese. I even add cooked or sprouted pulses to make it more nutritious. Also, when there is leftover vegetables from lunch i stuff it in bread with some cheese or mayonaise or mint chutney and toast it.  Basically there is "n" number of stuffing's you can make for a sandwich. The beauty here is it never fails you and it always comes out yummy... The recipe I'm posting now is quite a mixed sandwich. I initially planned on making a Bombay sandwich and ended with this one. As i said, they never fail me. It came out pretty good and every one in home loved it. Especially, my father in law and sister in law, who too share my craziness for sandwiches. They are my inspirations to cook. They love whatever i make. My sister in law is my co partner in kitchen and my poor father in law who is our tester to all the madness we create in the kitchen. Thanks guys. Love you loads....

பீர்கங்கை தோல் தொகயல்

Peerkangai is a quiet common vegetable which is loaded with dietary fibers. Most of us just use the inner flesh and throw away the skin. Well don't do so. You can make a yummy thogayal out of it. It tastes heavenly with hot rice and some ghee on top. A quick, easy yet, a healthy recipe. You can make this dish in quite a few ways. Instead of thur dal you can use channa dal. Same way garlic for ginger. Even you can substitute red chilli with green chilly. This is how i learnt cooking. When i dont have a few ingredient for a recipe i add somethings which i feel might go with it. Its been four years since my cooking journey begun and this mix matching has never let me down. Actually it sort of cultivated my intrest in cooking also ended in few recipes which were quite tasty and proudly mine.   

mushroom podimas

MUSHROOM PODIMAS

Last week I went to my native place near Pollachi to attend a family function. We ordered food (all three course meals) from "Anandas" a veg restaurant in Coimbatore. Not only did the food taste good the entire course was full of different and unique recipes. The recipe I have put here is "mushroom podimad" which we thought was some porial. None of us had the slightest idea that it was made of mushroom until they informed us. It just tasted like egg podimas. I gave it a try in home and it tasted really good. My hubby said it was excellent. So guys do try this recipe and post your comments.

KELVARAGU PAKKODA

KELVARAGU PAKKODA

Sounds different right. But i am sure most of you know what it is. We all know it as ragi. Ragi is actually the telugu name for kelvaragu. It is the most common millet variety (சிறுதானியம்). In general millets are far more nutritious than the rice/wheat we take. Also, they are are cooked the same way as rice.
Ragi flour is available ready made in almost all department stores. You can have it in many forms. My personal choice is Ragi kool (which used to be my breakfast during school days) and this pakkoda. It is an easy to make recipe. You can have it as a tea time snack and is definetly a healthier option. Now with the rainy season started  having it hot watching the rain hmmmmm.... you just have to experience it.

RADDISH CHUTNEY

முள்ளங்கி சட்னி

This white beauty is a regular in most of our homes. Generally we make sambar with it. Other options like paratha's and salad's are also common. This particular recipe is different, easy to make, goes with rice and is also a substitute to the repeated kuzhambu varieties in our weekly menu. There is yet another variety to this chutney which goes with idly and dosa. Will post that in a while. Happy cooking.

KAMBU DOSAI

கம்பு தோசை

What is celebration without good food. Its Tamil New Year and lets welcome it in a traditional way. I am in my mom's home for the weekend. She made this dosai for breakfast and insisted that i should atleast taste it as i am not a great fan of these items. You wont believe, i ate so much that, i lost track of how much i ate. It was crispy, soft and tasted so good. I would say it was just perfect and melted in my mouth. So, my friends begin your new year with this healthy and tasty kambu dosai.

MOR KUZHAMBU

மோர் குழம்பு 

This gravy is a must in any occasion and i just love it. It is a simple yet, very tasty dish. You can add pumpkin, kasoori methi, ladies finger or paruppu urundai to it. Or you can make it simple only with small onions stil,l it tastes so good. It is a very apt dish for the hot summer.

MASALA DOSAI

MASALA DOSAI

I wanted to post this recipe for a long time. To me MD was all about stuffing dosa with potato masala until my MIL's mom taught me how to make it. Its Bangalore style and the dosa batter plays the magic here. It has a few extra ingredients serving their purposes like, Bengal gram - for the golden colour, Sooji - for crispness, Aval - for softness and so on...Though it consumes time, making this dish is worth its time. It is a perfect weekend breakfast and yes of course, it tastes yummy.

INGREDIENTS:

For batter
Raw rice - 1 cup
Idly rice - 1 cup
Urud dal - 1 cup
Vendhayam - 2 tbsp
Bengal gram - 1/4 cup
Peeled and broken green gram - 1/4 cup
Aval - 1/4 cup
Sooji - 1/4 cup

For chutney to be applied on dosa
Coconut - 1/2 cup
Tamarind - small amla size
Red chilli - 5-6

For potato masala (sagu)
Potato - 3-4 (boiled, peeled and mashed)
Onion - 1 (sliced)
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Coriander leaves - to garnish
Oil - 2 tbsp
To temper
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
bengal gram - 1 tsp
Curry leaf - few
Green chilli - 3-4

METHOD:

For dosa
1. Soak all the batter ingredients at least for 1 hr and grind them together. The consistency should be of the regular dosa batter we make.
2. Let it ferment for 6-8 hrs,
3. Make dosa and sprinkle ghee on the sides. Once it is half cooked spread little chutney and keep the potato sagu. Fold the dosa and serve hot with coconut and pudhina chutney.

For sagu
1. Heat oil in a kadai and add the tempering ingredients.
2. Add onions and turmeric powder. Saute until translucent.
3. Now add the mashed potatoes, salt and mix well. Sprinkle some water if required.
4. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves

SEERAGA SATHAM

சீரக சாதம்

Variety rice!!! What generally comes to your mind when you say, read or write variety rice is lemon rice, tomato rice, tamarind rice, coconut rice and curd rice. This is yet another variety tastes delicious, spicy and has a few health benefits as well. It is easy to make and is actually an Indian fast food except that it is healthy. This rice is generally prepared with the left over rice the next day.

PANEER THOKKU

                                                               PANEER THOKKU

Its holiday season and mom's will have hardtime making different tiffin items for their kids. This recipe is not only easy to prepare but also can be used as a base for a variety of dishes like,

Stuffed dosa

Stuffed idly

Frankie / chapati role (atta/maida)

Sandwich 

Pizza, and so on.

PAL KOZHUKKATTAI

பால் கொழுக்கட்டை (pal kozhukkattai)

                                                                                                                                                  serves:4
                                                                                                                       cooking time:30 minutes

It is a traditional sweet variety. My mom makes this for us on weekends. It tastes so yummy that we literally lick the plate. There are two versions of making this, one with sugar and another with jaggery. I personally love the one with sugar. Making the kozhukkatai takes some time but, its fun when you do it with your family members. That's how we do when we were kids.  All my cousins will assemble in our granny's house for the weekend. Mom will give the prepared "kuzhukkattai mavu" to us to make small round shapes. Half of it goes spoiled since we make toys out of it. It was like alternative clay to us. When ever i make this dish it remembers me the lovely time we all spent together. My most cherished moments!!!

Tomato pachadi

TOMATO PACHADI

This tangy and spicy dish goes with chapathi, dosa and idly. Its easy to make and and can be done in minutes.

AAPAM

AAPAM

Aappam is a dish basically from Kerala yet known to all south Indians. It’s famous for its soft spongy texture and of course the sweet juicy taste of coconut.  There are quite a few ways to attain the required texture. You can add cooked rice or bread slices. You can also add some yeast to ferment.  The aapam comes good even if u don’t add aapa soda which some might not prefer due to health reasons…. Surprisingly I came to know you can also use Sooji. I got this tip from a chettinad chef. So here comes my yummy aapam in chettinad style. You can have it with coconut milk (mixed with sugar and cardamom powder) or tomato chutney or vadakari. If non vegetarian have it with mutton paya.

JAL JEERA

JAL JEERA

With summer on its way, here is a recipe to beat the heat ahead. This drink is quite different from the regular sweet and tangy refreshers we generally take. It is a spicy one with cumin as its main ingredient. Apart from being a healthy drink it is a natural alternative to the instant squashes and ready mix powders that are available in the market.