Coconut – Celery Chutney

I previously posted a usual way of making Coconut Chutney. This is a different kind of coconut chutney where imagination brought out delicious flavors. This chutney is prepared by DH.

Ingredients:

• ½ shell of a fresh Coconut, cut into small pieces
• Celery, 1 whole stalk, cut into small pieces
• 1 small Onion, cut into small pieces
• A small piece of Green Bell Pepper
• 6 or 7 Green Chilies + Red Chilies
• 2 tsp Coriander seeds
• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
• A pinch of Turmeric
• A pinch of Asafetida (Inguva, Hing)
• Salt
• 1 tbsp Oil

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add all other ingredients except salt and sauté well for some time. Turn off the flame and let the contents cool down for a while.
2. Later grind them into a smooth paste by adding salt. Add little water if needed.
3. Enjoy by mixing with steaming hot rice and a dollop of ghee.
4. It goes well even with chapathis when mixed with little yogurt.

Continue Reading....

Healthy Celery Drink

Last Saturday I prepared this feel good drink but was little skeptical about the taste. I served this to the kids with fingers crossed. I felt so happy when they said it was yummy! It tasted really good. Though we had a little celery aftertaste (acc. to my daughter), it didn’t dominate the overall taste. If your kids don’t like celery, try this drink and I am sure they would love it.

Continue Reading....

Soy Beans – Brown Rice Dosa

Presenting another healthy dosa version! This tasted so delicious like all the other dosas. We all know about the many health benefits of soya and brown rice.

Soybeans provide lots of proteins, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and dietary fiber. They are also excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, and E and folic acid. It helps in reducing LDL (bad cholesterol) levels and in cancer prevention.

Brown rice is considered to be an excellent food for weight loss and lowering cholesterol. It is a rich source of fiber and many vitamins.

Ingredients: 1 cup dried Soy Beans 1 cup Brown Rice A handful of Cilantro A small Ginger piece, peeled Salt Oil Preparation: Wash and soak soya beans and brown rice separately with plenty of water overnight. Grind into a thin batter (dropping consistency) along with cilantro + ginger + salt. Heat a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of batter and quickly spread into a circle. Pour some oil around it and allow cooking for some time. Then flip it over and allow cooking on the other side too. Transfer dosa to a serving plate. Repeat the same process with the remaining batter. Enjoy this healthy and yummy dosa with desired chutney. YUMMY!

Continue Reading....

Easy Chocolate Mousse - For A Belated Birthday

Does anyone forget their own birthday? I did, I mean my blog did!! She completed 2 whole years this 16th and forgot to celebrate it. Can you believe that? Yes, my blog entered terrible twos on January 16th. Belated Happy Birthday to “Trendy Relish or Essence of Andhra (as it was previously called)”. So let me celebrate this happy occasion with a sweet/dessert. :)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla Essence

Preparation:

Heat a non-stick pan. Then add chocolate chips + condensed milk and keep stirring on med-low flame until chocolate chips melt and both contents blend well.

Stir in vanilla and turn off the flame. Spoon in the contents to individual glasses and refrigerate for an hour and serve.

Enjoy the yummy chocolate mousse. You would love it!!

Continue Reading....

Rice Krispies Upma

This is a very easy and quick breakfast that will be ready in a few minutes. This tasted just like Poha Upma and was equally delicious.

Ingredients: (For 2 persons)

• Rice Krispies Cereal – 6 cups
• Tomato – 1 medium
• Onion – 1 small
• Green Peas – ¼ cup
• Green Chilies - 3 or 4
• Curry Leaves – A few
• Turmeric – A pinch
• Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
• Salt as required

For Seasoning/Tempering:

• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ½ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senaga Pappu, Chana Dal)
• ½ tsp Black Gram (Minapappu, Urad Dal)
• A few Cashews (Optional)
• 2 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add cumin seeds + chana dal + urad dal + cashews and fry till the dals turn golden brown.

Then add onions + tomatoes + chilies + curry leaves and fry well until onions become thin and cooked. Add very little water to cook the onions faster.

When all the water gets absorbed and onions become soft add rice crispies and mix well. Add turmeric and salt to the mixture and mix well. Also add lemon juice and mix well.

Sprinkle some water (approx. ¼ cup) on top and let the rice crispies become soft and absorb the essence of the contents.

Cover and leave it on low flame for some time and turn off the flame. Mix well and enjoy the steaming hot upma. It tastes so good. Yummy!!

Continue Reading....

Raisin – Coconut Laddus

Hope you all had wonderful Pongal festivities. We had a good one too!!

Coming to the recipe, this is another crazy combination made by the great Uma (LOL). I made these on Pongal day. They tasted delicious.

On Bhogi day, I prepared SWEET PONGAL, URAD DAL VADAS, PULIHORA and some more dishes.

And to our pleasure, we were also showered with sweets by family in India and by some friends here.

Now to the recipe for Raisin – Coconut Laddus,

I used golden raisins for the recipe. These raisins are so soft and chewy, mainly used in baking. These tasted little sour so I had to add some sugar to make the laddus sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Golden Raisins
• 2 cups Grated Coconut, fresh or dry (I used 1 half of fresh coconut)
• ½ or 1 cup Sugar, depending on individual taste
• 1 tsp Ghee
• ½ tsp Cardamom Powder
• Some extra grated coconut for rolling the laddus

Preparation:

Add raisins to a blender and grind into a soft paste. No need to add water.

In a pan heat ghee and add the raisin paste and sauté for a while.

To this, add grated coconut + sugar and sauté until the sugar melts and the mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. 

Add cardamom powder, mix well and turn off the flame. Let it cool down a bit.

Then take small portions of the mixture and shape into balls. Roll these balls in some grated coconut just to coat them.

Spread on a plate to make them harden. Enjoy the yummy laddus!!

Tip: If the laddus take longer time to harden, place them in refrigerator as it speeds up the hardening process.

Continue Reading....

Happy Pongal 2010

Dear Friends and Readers,

Pongal or Sankranthi is a very popular festival (Pedda Pandaga) for Hindus. It is usually celebrated for 3-4 days. People adorn their houses with rangoli, thoranams etc. And many delicious dishes are prepared during these days.

If interested, read all about this wonderful festival from HERE.

Check out my recipes for some ideas for what to cook during the festival days. I am making a collage of some of the festival recipes.

You can click on the link below it to read these recipes.

Festival Recipes

I added only some pictures to the collage. Check out my recipe index for more.

I will post this year's pongal dishes soon.

Continue Reading....

Chana Dal Chutney (Pachi Senaga Pachadi)

This is very easy chutney that tastes so delicious with rice. And it tastes more like Toor Dal Chutney (Kandi Pachadi) and also has a similar texture. Moreover, it uses exactly same ingredients like Toor Cal Chutney in the exact same measurements. Try it and you’ll definitely like this. Just a little variation!! This time I added a few garlic flakes to the chutney.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Pachi Senaga Pappu (Bengal Gram, Chana Dal)
• 5 or 6 dry Red Chilies
• 1 tsp Tamarind Pulp
• ½ tsp Cumin Seeds
• 2 Garlic Flakes (optional)
• Salt

Preparation:

Heat a pan and dry roast chana dal + red chilies + cumin seeds. Keep aside to cool.

When it becomes cold grind into a fine (a little coarse is ok) paste by adding tamarind pulp + garlic flakes and salt. Add little water as needed.

Enjoy this yummy pachadi with steaming hot rice and a dollop of ghee. Yummy!! Rasam is the best combination with this pachadi.

Continue Reading....

Simple Potato-Radish Stir-fry

When I am not in a mood to cook elaborate meals, I go for simple menu like a simple stir-fry, Rasam etc. This is one such simple curry that can be done in a jiffy. It tastes super-delicious too! I used small red radishes for this curry.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Potato, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup red Radishes, finely chopped (No need to peel)
• ½ tsp red Chili Powder
• Few Curry Leaves
• A pinch of Turmeric Powder

For Tempering/Seasoning:

• ½ tsp Mustard Seeds
• ¼ tsp Cumin Seeds
• ¼ tsp Bengal Gram (Pachi Senaga Pappu, Chana Dal)
• ¼ tsp Black Gram (Minapappu, Urad Dal)
• 1 tsp Oil

Preparation:

Heat oil in a non-stick pan and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add cumin seeds along with both the dals and fry till the dals turn golden brown in color.

Add the chopped veggies to this along with the curry leaves and fry well. Add chili powder + turmeric + salt and mix well.

Cover and keep the flame on medium-low setting. After some time remove the cover and stir the contents well. Sprinkle little water on the curry if needed.

Check for doneness and turn off the flame. That’s all; the curry is ready to be eaten.

Enjoy this delicious curry with steaming hot rice and rasam. Yummy!!

Continue Reading....

Mango Payasam

A very happy New Year to all of you!! How was your New Year’s Day? We had the pleasure of spending the time with our cousin’s family on that day. We all spent the day chitchatting, eating to the fullest, watching movies etc.

I prepared this Mango Payasam as a special treat for the New Year day. A sweet treat for a wonderful start of the Year!! It tasted so delicious and everyone liked it so much.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Mango Pulp
• 1 cup Vermicelli
• ½ cup Sugar
• 1½ cups Water
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 tbsp Ghee
• Few Raisins
• Few Cardamom Seeds
• Few slivered Almonds (Can be replaced with Cashews)

Preparation:

Add some ghee in a pan and roast the almonds + raisins until the almonds turn golden brown and raisins puff up. Then transfer to a plate and keep aside.

In the same pan add rest of the ghee and add vermicelli and fry until it turns golden brown in color. Pour the water and sugar. Mix well, cover and let it cook until vermicelli becomes soft.

Then add milk + cardamom and mix well. When the milk starts to boil add the mango pulp and mix well. Keep this on the flame for 5 minutes and turn off.

Let the payasam cool for some time. Then garnish with some almonds and raisins and serve at room temperature or chilled.

This is a perfect sweet treat for any special occasion. Yummy!!

Continue Reading....

Happy New Year with a New Blog Address

Hi Friends,

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR WISHES FOR THE NEW YEAR!!

Before I go further with my post:

A VERY HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR 2010! HOPE THE NEW YEAR FULFILLS ALL YOUR WISHES AND DREAMS.

I am so excited to share the new developments of my blog. From now on, my blog will be called as “TRENDY RELISH” and the new address will be http://www.trendyrelish.com/

But, you don’t have to worry about changing the links as the old address will redirect you to this new address without any difficulty (I believe). The only thing you might need to change is the blog title from “Essence of Andhra” to “Trendy Relish”. And also it won’t affect any of my readers and subscribers and they will continue to get all the updates from the new address to their inbox just like before.

You might see the change in the address in a day or two as it is still in transition process. You might see the address is still http://teluguruchi.blogspot.com/. But if you point the cursor to the header or Home button you will see the new address.

PLEASE DON’T GET CONFUSED WITH ALL THIS. YOU HAVEN’T COME TO ANY ALIEN SITE. THIS IS STILL ME “UMA” AND THIS IS STILL MY OLD RECIPE SITE. ONLY CHANGE IS THE TITLE AND ADDRESS. I ASSURE YOU ALL THAT I WOULD CONTINUE TO PROVIDE FULL FOOD ENTERTAINMENT IN FUTURE TOO!!

I thought the new address would come into effect from the first day of the New Year, but looks like it needs little more time :)

But as I wanted to give a makeover to my blog for the New Year, I changed the look and also the header with new address. So from now on, my blog will be called as “Trendy Relish”.

Btw, did I tell you my blog is going to celebrate its SECOND BIRTHDAY on the January 16th?

I take this opportunity to thank all my blogger friends, followers, readers and subscribers for their continued support and encouragement. I hope to get the same encouragement in future too. I assure that I will post more yummy and simple recipes in the New Year :)

Enjoy the New Year with full gusto. May the NEW YEAR brings you JOY, PEACE AND PROSPERITY!!

Continue Reading....