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Apr 28, 2009

Cha Ma-Naw (Lime Iced Tea)

Cha Ma-Naw (Lime Iced Tea)
A refreshing Thai Beverage

This is a refreshing drink for a hot day! I made this today to contribute for the “It's a vegan world - Thai” event hosted by Priya of Akshayapaatram. It’s a vegan world is originally started by Vaishali of Earth Vegan.

I got the original recipe from this site. Actually I bookmarked many vegan Thai recipes for the event, but settled for this delicious tea recipe. It was so easy and we like tea! 
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Apr 26, 2009

Cilantro-Chickpea Fritters (Kottimeera Vadalu) (Not Deep-Fried)

Cilantro Fritters | Kottimeera Vadalu
Delicious Cilantro Fritters nested in aromatic Cilantro leaves

These are some yummy fritters I tried recently on one evening. They are instant (no grinding as I used canned chickpeas) and are ready in minutes. And the good thing is they aren’t deep-fried. Inspired by them, her and her I made these using the appam pan and it was a success. It took very little oil and turned out perfectly yummy. 
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Apr 22, 2009

Upma Pakoda

Upma Pakoda
Yummy pakodas with leftover upma

Before I go to the recipe, I want to thank you all for the warm wishes for my daughter’s b’day. She felt so happy to see so many lovely wishes for her b’day and asked me to covey her thanks to you all! And regarding the “10” shaped picture of Carrot Kesari, I am glad you all liked it. The credit should go to my hubby who always helps me in clicking and presenting the food.

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Apr 19, 2009

Carrot Kesari

This is just regular kesari which I made little healthy by adding carrot to it. I made this for my daughter’s 10th birthday, which she recently celebrated. It came out so delicious and perfect.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of grated Carrots
  • 1 cup Semolina (Upma Rava, Sooji)
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • A few Almonds (chopped), Cardamom Seeds and Raisins
  • 2 or 3 strands of Saffron
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1 cup Water
  • 1 tsp Ghee (clarified butter)


Preparation:

Dry roast semolina until golden brown in color and keep aside.

Heat ghee and add cardamom seeds + almonds. Stir well. Add grated carrot and water. Cover and let the carrots get cooked and become soft.

Then add semolina along with sugar and milk and mix well. Add saffron too! Finally add raisins and mix well.

Cover and leave the pan on low flame for some time. When the mixture becomes thick, switch off the flame and transfer the contents to a greased plate.

Spread the kesari on the plate and let it cool for some time. Cut into to desired shapes and enjoy the yummy kesari any time of the day! This is very good as Neivedyam during festivals.


This is my contribution to Srivalli's "Mithai Mela" event.

On a Different Note:

Have you heard of “Head Lice”? Of course, you might have! Almost every one of us might have been the victims of these lice during our school days, don’t we? I know how irritation these could cause! Check out my new post on “Head Lice and Prevention/Cure” in my other blog, where I discussed about this topic. Hope you like it! :)

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Apr 17, 2009

Cauliflower Dry Curry

This is a simple and delicious curry made with cauliflower that goes well with rice. My kids like to eat cauliflower this way!

Ingredients:

  • 1 head of Cauliflower
  • ½ tsp red Chili Powder
  • 1 or 2 tsp dry Coconut Powder
  • A pinch of Turmeric Powder
  • Salt

For Tempering/Seasoning:

  • 1 or 2 tsp Oil
  • 1 or 2 broken Red Chilies
  • ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
  • ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
  • ½ tsp Black Gram (Minappappu, Urad Dal)
  • A few Curry Leaves

Preparation:

Thoroughly wash cauliflower, remove the stem and leaves and chop very finely. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds along with chana and urad dals and sauté until they turn golden brown in color. Add broken red chilies and fry for some time.

Then add curry leaves and chopped cauliflower along with turmeric and mix well. Cover and leave the pan for some time on low flame until cauliflower gets cooked and loses the raw smell. Keep stirring now and then. Sprinkle some water if needed.

When the raw smell from cauliflower goes away, add coconut powder, chili powder (if using) and salt and mix well. Leave the pan for some more time again. Be sure to keep the flame on low as this curry tends to get burnt easily.

When it’s done, switch off the flame and transfer the curry into a serving bowl and enjoy with rice. Isn’t it so simple?

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Apr 13, 2009

Yellow Chili Pickle

Looks like I haven’t posted anything since last Tuesday. I was completely down with cold and cough and I couldn’t sit near the computer to type anything. My hubby and daughter took charge of the house and treated me like a small baby! Today I feel little better (still coughing while typing this!) so thought of posting a simple chutney from my archives.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups Yellow Chilies, chopped
  • 3 tsp Oil
  • ¼ cup Coriander Seeds (Dhaniyalu, Dhaniya)
  • ½ tsp Turmeric
  • ¼ tsp Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
  • ¼ tsp Fenugreek Seeds (Menthulu, Methi)
  • ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • A handful of Cilantro (Kottimeera)
  • ½ tsp Tamarind
  • Salt

Method:

Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan; add the chilies + turmeric and sauté well for some time. Transfer the chilies to a plate and keep aside to cool.

Add rest of the oil (1 tsp) to the pan and add cumin seeds + coriander seeds + asafetida + fenugreek seeds and sauté well for some time. Finally add cilantro and mix well. Transfer the contents to a plate and let them cool for some time.

Later grind all the ingredients into a smooth paste along with tamarind and salt. Add little water if needed. Don’t make it too watery. Adjust salt.

Enjoy with hot rice and ghee.

Note: These chillies are mild. So if you want more spicy, add some chillies or chilli powder.

Update: Oopsy! I confused you all with my silly little note! Actually these chilies are so hot and spicy in taste. If you want to lessen the spiciness, just deseed the chilies and use in chutney. I just wrote the other way, don't know why! Please ignore the note. I stroke it off!

Thanks for correcting me Asha and Vibaas! :)

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Apr 7, 2009

Honeydew Melon Sambhar

This is the yummiest sambhar I ever made. This is a little sweet and sour in taste. I usually prepare such sambhars with ripe mangoes, sweet potatoes, apples etc. I thought why not try to make this with honeydew melon and I tried it. Everyone liked the taste so much and enjoyed it heartily.

Ingredients:

  • 3 fistfuls of Toor Dal (Kandi Pappu)
  • 1 cup of honeydew melon peeled and cut into pieces (approx.)
  • 1 or 2 Tomatoes, chopped into pieces
  • A few Curry Leaves
  • A handful of Cilantro
  • ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
  • ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1 tsp Oil
  • A pinch of Turmeric
  • A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
  • 1 tsp Sambhar Powder
  • 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp (or as required)
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp Chili Powder (I didn’t add this as my kids wanted it non-spicy)
  • Salt

Preparation:

Pressure cook toor dal until it’s done. Keep aside.

In a bowl heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add cumin seeds and fry for 2 seconds.

Then add curry leaves + tomatoes + melon pieces + turmeric + sambhar powder + asafetida to the bowl and stir well. Add the chili powder too if using. Add a small amount of water just to soak the melon pieces, cover and leave the bowl for some time on medium flame.

After some time check if the melon pieces are soft (don’t let it turn too soft and mushy). If they are soft, add the cooked dal along with tamarind pulp and sugar and stir well. Add some more water and let the sambhar cook for some time more until it comes to a boiling point. Add salt and cilantro and mix well.

You can feel the aroma while this yummy sambhar is cooking. It fills the whole house with hunger with its aroma!

Switch off the flame and enjoy hot sambhar with steaming rice and some ghee (optional). I bet you can’t stop yourself with one serving of this yummy sambhar!


This is my contribution to “WYF: Side Dish” event hosted by EasyCrafts.

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Apr 5, 2009

Oats Chutney – Zero Oil

We all know the goodness of oats, don’t we? Oats are very good for the heart! It lowers the cholesterol levels and the antioxidants in the oats help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It also enhances our immune system against infections.

I am trying to incorporate these healthy oats in the daily food as much as possible. As I am a spicy lover, I wanted to make chutney out of oats. But I didn’t tell my hubby about it when I served him this chutney with dosas. I was looking at his face for the reaction, but he was quietly eating the dosas with the chutney. So I was little bit relieved. He is the biggest critic of all my experiments. I asked him if he liked the chutney and he said it was good, and discovered that it was not made with nuts (I usually make peanut chutney or dalia chutney for dosas). I revealed the truth to him and he agreed it was yummy.

And moreover no frying involved and it is as simple as ABC. Did I mention no oil?

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup rolled Oats
  • 1 ½ tsp dry red Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp Coconut Powder, dry
  • ½ tsp Rasam Powder
  • A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
  • A pinch of Turmeric Powder
  • A few Curry Leaves
  • Salt to taste

Preparation:

Just add all these ingredients in a blender and grind into a smooth paste by adding little water. Adjust salt. That's it! We had this chutney with dosas. It tasted yummy and created a good feeling that it is healthy!

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Apr 2, 2009

Tahari

This is an easy and delicious rice item mostly found in Awadhi cuisine. As I was searching for Lucknow recipes for Lavi’s "RCI - Lucknow Cuisine” event, I stumbled upon this recipe. According to Lavi, if it is difficult to find vegetarian Lucknowi recipes, we can look for Awadhi cuisine's veg recipes too. I found this recipe here and was attracted towards its simplicity. It tasted just like vegetable biryani.

Ingredients:

  • 1 ½ cups Rice, uncooked
  • 3-4 Potatoes, peeled and cut into halves
  • 1 tsp Garlic Paste
  • 1 tsp Ginger Paste
  • 6 Cloves
  • ¼ tsp Cardamom Powder
  • ½ tsp Cinnamon Powder
  • ½ tsp Turmeric Powder
  • 1 Large Tomato
  • 2-3 Green Chilies
  • 1 Medium sized Onion
  • 3-4 tbsp Oil
  • ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 6 Black Peppercorns
  • Salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a pressure pan and add onions and fry for some time. Then add all the spices, green chilies, chopped tomato, and potato pieces and stir well.

Finally add pre-soaked rice to this mixture and mix well. Pour water in 1:1.5 ratios. Add salt to taste.

Cover and leave the pan on medium flame until 3 whistles. Switch off and let all the pressure go away before opening the lid.

Enjoy steaming hot tahari with some plain yogurt or any chutney.

This is my contribution to “RCI - Lucknow Cuisine” event, hosted by Lavi. RCI is originally started by Lakshmi.

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Apr 1, 2009

Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies
Great tasting Cookies

I made these for the monthly challenge of “Sweet and Simple Bakes” event hosted by Maria and Rosie. This is the first time I am participating in this challenge as I was so much attracted by the simplicity of the baking recipes they provide and also to improve my baking skills. Thanks for hosting such a nice event Maria and Rosie! The cookies have come out well and were delicious. 
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