Trendy Relish

Oct 26, 2009

Broccoli Chayote Pickle

This is a simple and healthy pickle. As we all knew broccoli is a healthy vegetable that has plenty of nutrients. If interested to know more about the health benefits of broccoli, read here.

Ingredients:

1 head Broccoli, chopped (discard the stem)
1 cup Chayote Squash pieces (Seema Vankaya)
5-6 Red Chilies
½ tsp Mustard Seeds
½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senagapappu, Chana Dal)
½ tsp Black Gram (Minapapappu, Urad Dal)
¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
½ tsp Tamarind pulp
A pinch of Turmeric Powder
A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
Handful of Cilantro
1 tbsp Oil
Salt

Preparation:

Heat half of the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + chana dal + urad dal + red chilies and fry till the dals turn golden brown. Then transfer them to a plate.

In the same pan pour rest of the oil and add broccoli + chayote pieces. Sauté well until they become little soft. Also add turmeric + asafetida + cilantro and mix well. When the veggies become little tender, turn off the flame and transfer the contents into a plate.

Let them cool for some time and then grind all the ingredients (both dals mixture + veggies mixture) into a soft paste along with tamarind and salt. Add little water if needed.

Enjoy this yummy pickle with rice and little ghee. Mix this pickle with plain yogurt to eat with chapathis. It tastes great!!

Oct 25, 2009

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Pouring Again….

Yes, I again got drenched in the shower of awards from dear friends. I’ve been postponing to do this due to laziness :)

Babli, Ambika, Prasu, Sireesha have generously passed the following awards. Thank you so much for these awards dear friends!!

Over the top award comes with a meme. Here it goes:

Where is ur cell phone: Charging
Ur hair: Black
Ur mother: Best friend and guide
Ur father:Best Father
Ur fav food: Pasta
Ur dream last night: Don’t remember
Ur fav drink: Mango Juice
Ur dream: To see a peaceful world
Ur hobby: Reading, stitching, singing
Ur fear: Darkness, Dogs
Where do u want to be in 6 yrs: On Top
Where were u last night: Near Computer
Where did u grow up: Andhra Pradesh
Last thing u did: Filled out the top portion of this meme
Ur t.v: Taking rest
Ur pets: None
Ur friends: So Friendly
Ur life: Peaceful, Crazy, Happy
Ur mood: Calm
Missing some one: My Mother
Vehicle: Chrysler Town & Country
Something u r not wearing: Shoes
Ur fav store: Not just one!!
Ur fav color: Green, Hot Pink
When was the last time u laughed: Hmmmm……
Last time u cried: Again hmmm…….
Ur best friend: My entire family
One place I go over and over: My Home
One person who emails me regularly: Not just one!!
Fav place to eat: Home

This award and MeMe must be passed on 6 other blogs. But I am passing to 8 friends.

Usha Nandini, Tina, Prathibha, Sadhana - Muskaan, Home Cooked, Chitra, Jayasree, Cham

CONGRATS TO YOU ALL!!

Oct 22, 2009

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Pappu (Uppu) Chekkalu

This is a traditional and delicious snack. I prepared these during Deepavali along with the Payasam. These are very simple and easy to prepare.

Oct 18, 2009

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Honeydew Melon Paayasam (Kheer)

Hope you all had a wonderful Deepavali!! As usual, my mind started tickling me to do something different from the routine cooking. Don’t be scared, I didn’t make any dangerous experiments on the festive cooking :) I added just a little something to the regular payasam to make it more pleasing and yummy. I wanted to sneak in healthy fruits in the payasam that kids like very much. And I was successful. Everyone liked it so much and said it was more delicious than regular payasam. YAY! My experiment didn’t fail. I think we can also add other fruits like apple, other melons, pears, bananas etc. to the payasam just to make it more delicious and healthy.

Ingredients:

1 cup grated Honeydew Melon (after the skin is removed)
1 ½ cup Vermicelli (Semiya)
1 cup Water
3 cups Milk
1 ½ cups Sugar
2 tsp Clarified Butter (Neyyi, Ghee)
Some Cashews, Raisins, Cardamom and Saffron

Preparation:

Dry roast vermicelli until light brown and keep aside.

Heat 1 tsp of ghee in a pan and add grated melon. Sauté for some time until the water from melon starts to ooze out. Then add fried semiya and mix well. Pour a cup of water so that semiya can cook well and become soft.

Later add sugar and finally milk, mix well and leave the pan on medium flame until milk comes to a boil and payasam thickens a little bit.

In a different pan heat rest of the ghee and add cashews + raisins + cardamom seeds and fry well until cashes turn golden brown and raisins puff up. Pour this on top of the cooking payasam. Mix well.

Finally stir in saffron, mix well and turn off the flame. Let the payasam cool down for some time and enjoy.

This is my contribution to the following events:

Sweet Series, hosted by Sireesha.

Diwali Dhamaka, hosted by Purva.

FIL: Ghee, hosted by Sanghi.

Oct 15, 2009

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Putnala Laddu (Dalia/Roasted Chickpeas Balls) – Diwali Special

With Diwali around the corner, we all would definitely think about making some sweets/snacks to celebrate the occasion. Here is one such sweet I made today for the coming Diwali. This is a very easy and yummy laddu made with Putnaala Pappu/Dalia/ Roasted Chickpeas. I still have some other yummy things in mind for Diwali. I want to prepare them on the day of Diwali. I will post them after that!!

Now let’s have a look at the recipe:

Ingredients:(Makes 10 medium Laddus)

2 cups Putnaala Pappu (Dalia/Roasted Chickpeas)
1 ½ cups Sugar (or more according to your sweet buds)
½ cup Ghee (Neyyi, Clarified Butter)
Some Cashews, halved
Some Raisins
Some Cardamom Seeds/Powder

Preparation:

Mix dalia + sugar together and make into a fine powder using a blender. Keep aside.

In a pan, heat ghee and add cashews + Raisins and fry for some time until cashews turn golden brown and raisins puff up.

Pour this hot ghee on top of powdered dalia + sugar mixture. Add cardamom powder/seeds to the mixture. Using a spoon mix the dalia powder well until it absorbes the hot ghee.

Let it cool down a bit (not too cold) and take small portions of the mixture and shape into balls. Repeat the same process with entire mixture.

Place on a plate to dry for some time and store in an airtight container. These can stay fresh up to a week to 10 days.

Enjoy the delicious laddus with much pleasure.

Check out what I did for last Diwali!!

This is my contribution to the following events:

Sweet Series, hosted by Sireesha.

Diwali Dhamaka, hosted by Purva.

Diwali Contest, hosted by Priya.

FIL: Ghee, hosted by Sanghi.

Oct 12, 2009

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Yellow Squash Rice

Here is another delicious rice item that was prepared using Yellow Squash. One of our friends has given us lot of these yellow squashes. I made daal with it once, curry once and finally this yummy rice item. As we all know, squash is a healthy vegetable that has very low calories. It is rich in many nutrients and vitamins. If interested to know more about the health benefits of squashes, check this site: WH Foods.

Picture Courtesy: http://www.alharrison.com/commodities.php#12

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati Rice
3 cups grated yellow Squash
1 small Onion, cut lengthwise
1 Potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 tsp Garam Masala
½ tsp Cardamom Seeds
3 or 4 whole Cloves
½ tsp Cinnamon, ground
3 Green Chilies, chopped
1 tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
¼ cup Green Peas, fresh or frozen
½ tsp Turmeric
4 Tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp Oil

Preparation:

Peel, cut the end and grate the yellow squash. Keep aside.

Wash and soak rice in plenty of water until all the other things are made ready.

Heat oil in a pan and add all the other ingredients except rice and sauté well for some time. Then remove the water from the soaked rice and slowly add to the pan. Stir well.

If using pressure pan, add water (3 cups) directly to the pan, adjust salt and leave it on the flame until 3 whistles. Then turn off the flame and let the pressure go out. Mix well.

If using electric rice cooker, then add the contents of the pan to it, adjust salt and let it cook. When done, mix the rice well.

Enjoy the steaming hot rice with some potato chips or raita or just plain yogurt.

Oct 7, 2009

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Black Chickpea Sprouts Korma – Oil Free

This is another healthy curry I prepared with sprouts. And this is fat free too!!

I sprouted Black Chickpeas in the same manner I sprouted Yellow peas. Check out my “Sprouted Yellow Peas Curry” to find out how I sprouted these beans.

Ingredients:

2 cups sprouted Black Chickpeas (Kala Chana, Mudi Senagalu)
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tomato, cut into wedges
2 or 3 Green Chilies, chopped fine (can be replaced with red chili powder)
A pinch of Turmeric
A handful of Cilantro
A clove of Garlic, chopped
A small piece of Ginger, chopped
2 or 3 tsp Chickpea Flour (Besan, Senagapindi)
Salt

Preparation:

Add the sprouted black chana in a bowl or pan, pour some water, cover and let it cook for some time. When the chana looks soft and cooked, add all the chopped veggies and mix well. Add turmeric and cilantro and stir well. Pour little water and leave the pan for some time until the onions become soft.

Mix besan with little water to make gravy and pour into chana mixture. This makes the curry into rich gravy. Adjust salt and turn off the flame. That’s all! Delicious, mouth-watering curry is ready!!

This korma goes well with chapathis. Enjoy!!

Oct 5, 2009

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Wheat Rava Dosa

Presenting another instant and healthy dosa from my kitchen!! This so easy to make and contains healthy ingredients. Check it out yourself!!

Ingredients:

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups Cracked Wheat (Godhuma Rava)
Sour Buttermilk to mix (Or some sour yogurt + water)
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder (Adjust according to individual taste)
Salt as required
Oil to pour around dosas

Preparation:

Mix together wheat flour + cracked wheat + black pepper + salt and make into a thin batter by pouring buttermilk as required. Keep aside.
Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of the batter at the center and quickly spread into a circle. Pour little oil around the dosa and leave it for some time to cook.
Then flip the dosa over and let the other side to cook for some time again. Pour some oil around the dosa again. I usually don’t pour oil for the other side of dosa as it will make the dosa too oily for me.
Remove the dosa from the pan and transfer to a serving plate.
Repeat the same process with remaining batter and enjoy with desired chutney.
This is a healthy, light meal for both adults and kids. Yummy!!