Taste Corner

Sprouted Mung Bean Curry

2010-03-26T14:35:00.013-05:00

Soaking beans and sprouting them requires a bit of patience or a bit more patience to get it right. I had tough time sprouting my mung beans because of the quality of beans. From one cup of beans, I got only a half cup's worth of fully soaked and sprouted beans ie about 2 cups of sprouted beans. Well the rest of the beans went right into the trash. Anyway a very good recipe that inspired me to make this curry is from the very popular online cooking show 'ShowmetheCurry'. I have modified this recipe according to the ingredients in my pantry and the result was a very yummy,delicious and a tasty curry that I am going to experiment with other sprouted beans varieties too.

Ingredients

sprouted mung beans - 2 cups

curry leaves - 4 leaves

salt - to taste

Masala paste

step1

mustard -1/4 tsp

fenugreek- 5 or 6

pepper corns - 6 or 7

red chillies-3

tomato -1

In a frying pan add little oil and heat it. Now add the above ingredients in the given order. Add to the blender when they are all well fried. Proceed to step 2.

step 2

hing- a pinch

turmeric-1/4 tsp

sweet onion - 1 med

Wipe the frying pan clean and now add little oil.Heat the oil. Add hing,turmeric and the chopped sweet onion.Saute well and combine this 'step 2' mixture and 'step 1' mixture in the blender. Add 70z (I used half of 13.5oz can which is 6.75 oz )of coconut milk to the blender and blend the ingredients to a fine paste. Keep the masala paste aside.

Method

Cook sprouted mung in the pressure cooker for 2 whistles. While cooking, add half a cup of water to the sprouts. Dont add more, since it will make the sprouts mushy. When the sprouts are done, add the paste ,water(about 2 cups approx), few curry leaves and salt to taste. Simmer the curry for about 5 to 7 min. Delicious curry is ready to serve along with rice or chappathis.

I am so happy that this post will be eligible for Susan's MLLA (My Legume Love Affair)Event, hosted this month by Sowjanya of Ruchikacooks.

Navarathna Kurma

2010-03-15T20:17:00.019-05:00

This is a kurma that I make quite often at home. My hubby likes this kurma with rice very much and a combination which I totally detest. I can consume this kurma with almost any tiffin item like puri,dosa or chappathi but I just can't imagine eating with rice. But one thing that completely excites me is that Iam sending this post to Nupur's Blog bites event. This is an event that challenges bloggers to use pressure cookers,rice cookers and slow cookers and attempt recipes from another blog. Here is my humble attempt at doing just that. I have followed the recipe from Solai Chidambaram madam's blog.(Pls click the link to go to the recipe) She has a huge collection of veg and non-veg Chettinad recipes and a huge fan base too. My hubby found this website and asked me if I could make this kurma for him and after reading this recipe I wanted to do this immediately because of the easy way she explains this recipe. And here goes the recipe....

Masala Paste

Coconut grated-4 to 5 table spoons or half coconut
Cashews-6
Chutney dhal-1 tablespoon
Poppy seeds-1 teaspoon (optional)
Garlic-6 pods
Ginger-a small piece
Cinnamon-1 small piece
Clove-1
Cardamom-1
Fennel seeds-1 teaspoon
Green chilli-6(according to taste)
Keep the kadai in the stove. In a teaspoon of oil add the cinnamon, cardamom, clove and fennel seeds. Then add all other items one by one and coconut at the end. Fry in medium fire for 3 minutes. Grind it to a smooth paste.
Method

In a pressure cooker heat some oil. Season oil with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, clove and fennel seed. Add chopped onion(1) and tomato(1) pieces.Saute well.Add vegetables of your choice.Do not add more than 1 1/2 cups of veggies. Pour some water along with some salt and a tsp of chilli powder. Close the pressure cooker and cook until the steam escapes or until the veggies are cooked well. It is time to add the ground paste with a cup of water along with remaining salt.Add cauliflower and cooked peas now.Cook for 5 min and if you feel the curry is thick add water to dilute it or just leave it as such. This is such an easy dish that can be prepared less than 30 min.

BBJ (Blue Berry Jam) Toast

2010-02-25T15:11:00.006-06:00

These are the same blueberries I was talking about a few days back while making my Blueberry crumble cake. I got them on sale and now I can buy them whenever they are on sale because I can make two perfect items from these bluey blueberries. One is the crumble cake and another is this glossy jam which uses a whole lot of blueberries. I am waiting to find a good recipe for blueberry muffins too but still havent formulated one or even browsed for one. If you guys come across one good recipe please do pass me the link.. My toddler son just loves muffins..especially banana nut muffins.Those are his favorite. Whenever I make it, I dont have to give it to him,he helps himself by opening the fridge and taking it. I have to just nuke a little.So friends, if you find a good recipe for blueberry muffins please do pass it on to me.

Ingredients

blueberries - 1 pint

sugar - 1 cup

juice of half a lemon

Method

Grind blueberries to an almost smooth paste.
Heat a stockpot. Add blueberries and sugar to the stock pot.
Now let the mixture heat up and bubble slowly for about 15 min making sure the temp is med. The reason for keeping medium temp is taking care not to burn the jam.
Now add the lemon juice and let it bubble for another 20 - 25 min.
Remove from heat and after few min the jam will be set.
While making bread toast, apply a layer of butter on the bread,then spread the blueberry jam for a nice,delicious taste.

Peanut Laddus(Senikai Unta)

2010-02-15T19:20:00.007-06:00

The recipe for this laddu was given to me by my sister and it is the simplest recipe because it uses only two ingredients namely peanuts and jaggery. There is no syrup making in this recipe like most of the laddu recipes. The main reason I prefer this snack is because it is very healthy.

Peanuts are a powerhouse of protein and roasting them just boosts the level of antioxidants by a healthy 22% and according to Wikipedia these roasted peanuts even rivals the antioxidant content of the very famous berries. Well jaggery is also a harmless,natural, unrefined form of sugar that is very good for the body. It does not enter the bloodstream as rapidly as regular white sugar. People suggest taking jaggery alone for throat infections but after some research I found that it is indeed used in Ayurvedha for lung and throat infections.

My mom uses microwave to roast peanuts. She arranges the peanuts in a microwaveable tray and roasts them for about 3 min maximum, checking every minute taking care not to burn them. Roasting peanuts in a frypan is also fun. It takes a little more time than microwave but you can get the perfect texture.Iam using the conventional oven for the second time and this time I set my temperature to the lowest but took the longest to finish roasting...Next time I will stick to a higher temp like 425F and bake for just half the time...!

Anyway guys here goes the laddu recipe..........

Ingredients

Peanuts - 1 cup(skinless)

Jaggery - 1 cup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F

2.Arrange peanuts on the tray. Roast for about 35 to 40 min.Once roasted powder these peanuts to about a semi fine powder.

3. Powder the jaggery to a fine powder.

4. Combine the powdered jaggery and peanuts.

5. Make balls and thus peanut laddus are ready.

Blueberry Crumble Cake

2010-02-04T18:35:00.003-06:00

I have been buying these blueberries on and off. The very first time I bought blueberries I made a syrup to go with pancakes. I did not want to pop rest of these tart blueberries in my mouth. For the same reason I did not buy these for a long time.

But after watching much television and reading many a blogs, I have come to appreciate what this tiny,mighty and powerful fruit has to offer.So with all this in mind and with the unseasonal sale, I bought these blueberries . I got two boxes for the price of one. This time I certainly had few ideas in mind before buying them like muffins and pancakes but never thought about a cake, that too a crumble cake version. I got this recipe from Food Network by Chef Ina Garten. She has a video demonstration of this cake, but unfortunately I did not look at it until I was done with the cake.

For Streusel

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 pound(1 stick) unsalted butter,melted

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

For Cake

Wet Ingredients

6 tblsp butter(3/4 stick) room temp

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

2/3 cup sour cream

Dry ingredients

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup blue berries

Method

For streusel : Mix all the ingredients and keep aside.

For cake : Preheat oven to 350 degree F. Butter and flour a 9 inch round cake pan. Prepare the dry and wet ingredients.Now add the dry to the wet ingredients and fold in the blue berries. Spoon the batter to the cake pan and spread it neatly. Now crumble the streusel topping evenly over the cake batter. Bake for 40 to 50 min.

Nippatu

2010-01-19T15:04:00.019-06:00

Ingredients
Rice flour - 4 cups
udhi pindi powder or roasted urad flour- 1 1/2 handfuls
chilli powder - 3 tsp
salt - 3 tsp
black pepper + jeera - 1 1/2 tsp + 1 1/2 tsp = 3 tsp(crushed into fine coarse pdr)
hot oil - 1 big ladle

sesame seeds - a big handful
chutney dhal/senipapu - 1 1/2 cups(full/half/powdered)
peanuts - 1 1/2 cups(full/half/powdered)

Method
Mix all the above ingredients. Now this whole mixture makes about 80- 90 nipattus. This whole mixture makes about 1 kilo of nippatu powder. So divide it in half and freeze in a Ziplock bag to use later(This powder can last in freezer for about 6 to 8 months). In order to make this nipattu, take some powder (not all of it)like 2 or 3 handfuls of powder. Mix with water to make into a smooth(not wet or runny) mixture. Make balls and then press them down into thin patties on an oiled wax paper and deep fry in hot oil to a golden brown(not reddish brown ).

(In order to know if your oil is ready, just add the sample dough to the hot oil and if it springs back to the surface, the oil is ready) . Fry all the patties in the same manner. This is a very nutty,crunchy and delicious snack at tea time.

Easy Okra Curry

2010-01-09T18:55:00.011-06:00

The recipe for Okra Curry given here is the reverse of what we follow in other curries and gravies ie in other curries, we do the seasonings first, then comes the onions and tomatoes and the vegetables, but here we start with the vegetable like okra first and then end with tomatoes. This is a simple variation of the regular curries that goes well with rotis and especially rice mixed with dhal and ghee.

Ingredients

okra - about 16 oz

onion - big handful

tomato- 1 diced

cumin - 1 tsp

curry powder - 1 tsp

chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Method

Heat oil in a pan.Season with cumin. Add cut okra. Saute well. Add curry powder,chilli powder and salt to taste. Add finely chopped onions. Saute for some time and then add neatly diced tomatoes. Finally garnish with coriander.This curry is good with rotis and dhal rice mixed with ghee.

Veg Biryani

2009-11-19T14:27:00.017-06:00

Ok ...Readers of my blog....Please don't stop your mind if it thinks Huh.....Another Veg Biryani.... because the same thought would occur in my mind if I came across this title even randomly. Well, let there be hundreds of biryani recipes out there made up of different kinds of vegetables ,but today I want to share my experience of making this delectable biryani. It took about 2 hours to prepare this biryani along with raitha and the end result was simply awesome. I wish all the readers definitely give this biryani a try.

Well this recipe is inspired by my MIL. Whenever I want to make this recipe, Iam always short of atleast one or more items, so I scrub it off my mind and move on to another recipe. But today suprisingly, I had everything the recipe wanted and I was very jubilant about it. Anyway that said , here goes the recipe.

Recipe

Heat oil + ghee in a pan. Season the oil lightly with spices like cinammon,cardamom,fennel,cloves and star anise. Just one or two of these spices should be suffice to give good fragrance to the oil. Now saute the fragrant oil with sliced onions(half of big).Now stir in the ground paste. For the paste I made a smooth blend of the following ingredients.
coriander - 1/2 bunch
mint -1 bunch
garlic - 10 cloves
ginger- 1 inch
cloves- 12
cinnamon - 4 small sticks
cardamom - 2
fennel - 2 tsp
After stirring in the paste, fry for few minutes(over frying not necessary) and then add 4 chopped tomatoes and fry for another few min till the tomatoes shrink. Now its time to drop in the veggies.
carrot & peas combo - 2 cups
corn - 1 cup
chopped potatoes - 1/2 cup
cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
Once you stir in the veggies , add 4 cups of water, 2 cups of rice , 1 -2 tsp chilli paste and add salt. Taste now. Once taste is perfect, transfer the aluminium dish to the electric cooker and cook until done. If you are using a pressure pan, cook for 2 whistles or accordingly.

Red Cabbage ,Carrot and Potato Curry

2009-10-02T11:18:00.001-05:00

I have made this curry over and over again to go with Rasam and each time it has turned out great. This curry is mild. For people who prefer spicy can add curry powder or any other spice powder while frying the onions. This curry goes well with chappathis too. This recipe is a common recipe in the Internet but I have made few changes to suit our tastes. Curries of

Ingredients

Red Cabbage - 2 cups(finely chopped)
potato - 1 small
carrot - 2
onion - 2 tblsp (finely cut)
garlic - 1 clove(finely chopped)
Seasoning::mustard, curry leaves, red chillies(2)

Method

Steam all your veggies together in pressure pan for 2 whistles.Heat oil in a pan. Season with mustard, curry leaves and broken red chillies. Now add finely chopped onion and garlic. Saute till they sweat a little. Add potato first. Fry till they turn a little crisp. Then add carrots and fry for about 2 min.Finally add red cabbage and stir. The red cabbage turns brown in few minutes. So now taste for salt and switch off. Curry is ready.

Bitter Gourd Gravy( Pulusu)

2009-09-11T10:47:00.023-05:00

I wouldn't call this a pulusu actually. But it is more like a rich gravy kind of thing. It happens to be one of my mother-in-law's recipe. She uses the bitter gourd just like a regular veggie and she doesn't remove the bitterness from the vegetable unlike my mom who has a separate procedure to remove the bitterness from the vegetable. But I like to use my MIL's recipe as it is quite healthy eaten in this way without the bitterness taken.

There are many benefits from eating a bitter gourd. They have therapeutic properties like they are known to be an effective blood purifier, improves digestion and packed with minerals and vitamins.For people with diabetes it is associated with lowering blood sugar levels. Anyway if you readers have your own insight about bitter gourd please feel free to share it.

Whenever shopping for bitter gourd look for young immature ones ie it holds a dark green skin color, have firm skin, ripe ones have soft skin,when you cut it inside they should have white seeds and not orange or red color. When they are this color they are all the more bitter and very ripe. Try not to fry your bitter gourd too much as it kills all the nutrients in it.

Ingredients
onion - 2 tblsp
Bitter gourd - 2
tomato - 1

Paste
Heat a little oil. Fry in the given order. Make it into a paste.Keep ready.
cumin - 10 seeds
dhania - 1 tsp
garlic - 4
ginger - 1 tsp grated
red chillies - 3
coconut - 4 tsp

Method
Heat little oil. Pop mustard seeds, add curry leaves and fry onions.Now add thinly sliced bitter gourd pieces. Fry for a bit.Mix tamarind paste(1/2 tsp to 1 tsp).Now add 1 cup of water and stir.Close and cook till done.
Fry the ground masala paste till it changes color and becomes lil thick .
Now add tomatoes, fry for few min till they turn soft.
Now combine the (tomato+fried paste) to the bitter gourd gravy and add water to make it a rich gravy. Boil this gravy till bubbly and garnish with coriander.

2009-08-28T14:13:00.023-05:00

Idly Podi- A yummy snack

Ingredients

seasoning:: mustard,urad dhal,channa dhal,hing,curry leaves
Idli - 7
onion - half or 4 to 5 tblsp
green chilli - 2

Method

Crumble idly and mix with little oil and keep aside. In a pan heat oil, add the seasoning one by one ,and then add finely cut onion along with thinly sliced green chillies.Fry for a while,add some turmeric powder and then add idly crumbles along with salt. Finally add a dash of lemon juice. Now it's ready to serve and relish.

Mint Chappathi

2009-08-11T18:46:00.007-05:00

Ingredients

mint - 20 to 25 leaves

coriander - 10 stems or so

spinach - a handful

cumin seeds - about a tsp

curry pdr - 2 pinches

salt - per taste

Method

Grind the above ingredients into a thin sauce and combine this with atta(1 1/2 cups). Knead into a smooth dough. Apply oil to the kneaded dough and let it rest for 20 to 30 in a closed bowl. Then make chappathis and fry them on a hot stove.

Mini Cherry Pizzas

2009-07-19T19:05:00.029-05:00

How many of you have heard of Rainier cherries? Not me!! When my son and I had been shopping last week at Sam's ,the store lady was giving out these Rainier cherries to sample. She simply put two fleshy cherries in a tooth pick and handed over to us. The cherries felt soft to the touch. The cherries were mostly red and partly golden yellow. More than me, my son was quite excited to taste them. OK we did taste.They tasted plenty sweet , little bit tart but majorly sweet. So we purchased a 2lb box for $5.88 which is quite cheap when compared to retail , where it costs 5 to 6 dollars a pound. But they are worth every single penny. It's July and it is indeed RAINIER CHERRY season!!!! Common Guys you gotta give this a try!!!

Ingredients

English muffins -3
tomato sauce - 6oz
shredded cheese - a handful for each slice.
cherries- 6( I used rainier cherries)
spring onion -1 (thinly sliced)
salt/pepper - to taste

Method

Slice muffins in half.
Apply about a tablespoon of tomato sauce or pizza sauce onto each slice.
Top with loads of shredded cheese. I used a mixed variety.
Garnish with spring onions and cut cherries. If you like,you can also top with onions and green peppers for a simple taste,but addition of cherries gives a sweet twist to the pizza.
Season with lots of salt and pepper.
Bake in a 350 F oven for 20 min or until done.

Cracked Wheat Upma or Godhuma Ravai Upma

2009-07-04T15:40:00.023-05:00

Cracked wheat or Godhumai Ravai ( Tamil) is a product made from crushing raw whole wheat kernels. These kernels are also known as wheat berries or just call them the seeds of the wheat plant. There are 6 classes and 30,000 varieties of wheat. There are 3 parts that make up the wheat. They are the endosperm, the bran and the wheat germ. The endosperm is the largest part of the kernel . It takes up like 80% of the kernel's mass and it is a large storage area of starch from which wheat flour is made up of. The bran is the outer coat of the kernel .There is a good source of fiber in it. It comprises like 14.5% of kernel's mass. The wheat bran is included in whole wheat flour and healthy breakfast cereals in the form of wheat flakes.The wheat germ is the embryo of the wheat plant from which springs new life.It makes about 2.5% of the kernel and it is also included in the whole wheat flour.

Info Source

http://www.library.thinkquest.org/

Ingredients

cracked wheat - 1 1/2 cups

onion - 1 big

g.chillies - 5

frozen tamarind paste - 1 tblsp( this looks like crushed tamarind ice)

water - 3 cups

Seasoning

mustard - 1 tsp

urad dhal - 1 1/2 tsp

channa dhal - 1 1/2 tsp

hing - little

curry leaves - a sprig

Garnish

grated fresh coconut - 1 tblsp

Method

In a stock pot add some oil. Once hot, add the seasonings one by one. Then add chillies and the finely cut onions. Add some turmeric powder and a tsp of salt. Fry well. Now add the slushy, icy tamarind and just saute for a bit till the raw smell is gone. Time to pour the water. Cover and boil for 10 min. Once the water is bubbling hot, add the cracked wheat and mix nicely. In about 5 minutes, the Upma will be ready. Now garnish with fresh coconut. While serving, add a spoon of ghee(clarified butter) to the steaming hot Upma for that special taste. Serve along with coconut chutney!!

I would love to SUBMIT this recipe to the "Show me your breakfast" event.

!!!!!Happy Independence Day to all my Readers!!!!!

Spinach and BlackBean Gravy

2009-07-01T09:21:00.012-05:00

This recipe has been inspired by Nupur of OneHotStove.

It is quite a terrific recipe. Except for the canned tomatoes ,

VERY much tempting Goldie's Channa masala and famous black channa, I have used all of your other ingredients. I may have adjusted the method a bit too. Thanks a tonne!!!! I just can't wait to try other recipes of yours.

Gravy
Saute the onions and garlic till golden brown.

Blanch the juicy tomatoes (6 roma) in the microwave until skin peels off for about 6 to 7 min. Now blend all these 3 in the mixie to a thick paste after they cool.

Curry
In another pot, add the onions saute till golden brown.Now add salt( a tsp),turmeric and a spoon of spicy meat masala powder.

Fry for a min , add spinach and saute until spinach is completely wilted.

Now add the tangy onion tomato gravy to the pan.

Let simmer for few min and finally add half a can of smooth and shiny black beans.

Yummy gravy ready to be served with chappathis or curd rice!! Enjoy!!!

2009-06-23T11:06:00.021-05:00

Dhokla - A Healthy version

The Dhokla I have made for this week entree is quite healthy. It has tonnes of protein content in it. Well, when you search for Dhokla recipes online, you have lots of recipes that include besan flour ,rawa,soybean flour and what not?? But this is a recipe, I found in one of my old cookbooks. I have almost used the same ingredients , but I have changed the seasoning to suit the Upma I have made out of this Dhokla...Yes it is Dhokla Upma.....Hmmm........One who reads this might wonder Why? Well the reason is , Dhokla is not my husband's favourite and hence I made an alteration and gave an uplift to the regular Dhokla. Well I have made this upma today and I hope he likes it, and hope whoever reads this also gives it a try. Chao!! Please do give a try to this recipe and leave your sincere comments!!!

A 1/4 cup measurement of all the below items

toor dhal
moong dhal
black gram or channa dhal
dehusked bengal gram or urad dhal
raw rice
par boiled rice

Method

Soak rice and the dhals together for 2 hrs tops.
Grind to rawa consistency.
Allow to ferment well. Keep thin type of Idli and steam.
Once dhokla cools powder it without big lumps.
Heat oil and add mustard,cumin,green chillies(3),turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt. Now add powdered dhokla pieces and mix.
Garnish with coriander and fresh coconut .

Mushroom Curry

2009-06-14T20:04:00.032-05:00

I have been out of touch with my blog for quite some time. But there are amazing bloggers out there who are doing a wonderful job with their blog. I would love to give a big shout out to all the bloggers who have motivated me to come back and start posting . Thank You Guys!!!!

Anyway for this week entree, I have made a simple curry that would suit mushrooms or any other vegetable . This is a recipe that my husband came across the Internet and it's definitely a keeper.

Sorry for not posting a picture of this creation ,but my future posts will certainly have its share of pics. Anyway please do try this recipe and post your comments.

Ingredients
Onion-1(cut finely)
Tomato-1(cut finely)
Green chilli-1(cut finely)
ginger /garlic paste- 1 inch piece/2 cloves
button mushrooms- 225 gms
fennel - a tsp

Dry Powder
cashewnuts- 7
turmeric pdr-1/4 tsp
red chilly pdr - 1/2 tsp
dhania pdr-1 1/2 tsp
garam masala pdr - 1/2 tsp

Method

Cook mushrooms separately without water and add little salt.
Heat oil in a pan. Add fennel seeds.
Add onions.Fry till golden brown.
Add gg paste and finely cut green chilli. Fry nicely.
Now add tomatoes and fry till oil comes out.
Now add the ground powder and fry till raw smell goes.
Add mushrooms along with required salt. Fry well. Curry is ready.

It's a BOY!!!!!!!

2006-12-02T18:34:00.000-06:00

Another sweet smile to brighten our day,
another small hand to hold on the way!
With hearts full of praise and thanks, I joyfully announce the birth of my cute and cuddly baby boy. He was born on November 22,2006.

Thanks to one and all who never failed to express their loving wishes all the way through my pregnancy!!!

To say another Hello!!

2006-10-25T14:08:00.000-05:00

Greetings to all my blog friends!!I would first like to take a moment here and thank each and every one of them who have stopped by my blog,taken a minute, and then posted a message to congratulate me and enquire about my well being.I really appreciate it guys!!

Iam in my third trimester or say my eighth month or say my 33rd week . My second trimester has been good so far and I successfully made a 3 day vacation trip to Myrtle Beach,SC with all my friends in the seventh month.It was a very joyous trip. We mainly went for the beach, soaked in the sun for a long,long time and thorougly enjoyed the time spent.

Well I am so glad to tell everyone that I have been cooking even in my third trimester but not much.Just one item per day and Iam all poof!! I am sure in another few weeks I will return back to my usual self and start blogging with more gusto!!!Till then ChAO!!! to everybody out there!!

Happy Belated Diwali Wishes!!!

Good News!!Friends!!

2006-07-10T08:42:00.000-05:00

I have some very good news that I wish to share with all my blog friends. Hmm...Blush..a little shy, but friends I am so happy to announce that Iam pregnant.It's 5 month of my second trimester.As far as my first trimester, I was really lucky to escape all the nausea and morning sickness.And the second trimester has also been kind to me so far,except for the common symptoms like feeling tired,exhausted and the like.Iam sorry for the late announcement guys......I've been awfully shy about it......Hope you all understand and last but not least I would appreciate any advice or tips for a smooth pregnancy!!

Spinach Milagootal

2006-06-27T10:56:00.000-05:00

Spinach Milagootal could be a pretty new name to few. "Milagu" in Tamil means black pepper and "ootal" is nothing but kootu,so in other words it is known as "Spinach Milagu Kootu" or simply combined together to read as "Spinach Milagootal". I dont have to explain kootu but for info sake, kootu is a gravy kind of thing usualy prepared with lentils and combination of any vegetable and cooked to a stew(Mouth watering STEW!!!) like consistency with varied spices and the essential ingredient being coconut.A kootu does not incorporates tomatoes ,onions or tamarind as far as I know and if it does well dont call it a kootu.....!!Anyway this is the simplest and tastiest recipe which could be done probably in 20 - 30 min just like that..NO LYING here..it's true..if you dont beleive me please read the recipe and check it out for yourself guys!! Well how can I forget my sweet and close friend S who gave me this recipe. Thanks a tonne!! for passing this recipe to me Dear!! I hope you will pass more wonderful simple recipes like this for me to cherish!!

Ingredients

Spinach- 340 g/0.75 lb/1/2 of big frozen packet
Toor Dhal- 1/2 cup

Dry Roast together

urad dhal- 1 tsp
cumin- 1 tsp
red chilli-1
black pepper- 1 tsp

coconut- 1 1/2 tblsp- dry roast separately

Method

Roughly chop spinach.
In a pressure pan add 3 cups of water add lil turmeric powder and salt add the chopped spinach,dhal and cook for 3 whistles.
Now add the dry roasted ingredients in a mixie and grind to a smooth paste with water.
Add the ground paste to spinach,dhal mixture and boil till it reaches a stew like consistency and thus a delicious milagootal is ready to gobble up with rice.

I would love to contribute my recipe to Sailu's Jihva For Ingredients(JFI) with Lentils as the main ingredient and Iam very pleased in announcing that I have chosen Toor Dhal as the main ingredient.Hope you all like this dish.If you do, the credit goes to my good friend S.

Onion & Brinjal Sambar(Ulli Vankai Pulusu)

2006-06-21T11:25:00.000-05:00

This dish combines a bit of sweet from jaggery and heat from the sambhar powder and makes it a sweet-savory dish. This dish does not incorporate any dhal as in the regular sambhar or pulusu. I have learnt this dish from my mother who makes it really awesome. I have tried this pulusu with eggplants and today with brinjals ,and both have turned out to be great. In the eggplant version I just used two medium sized eggplants and the rest of the recipe is just the same. This dish should be a balance of both sweet and hot and if one becomes more it tends to be too sweet or too hot.So try to keep a check on both.Other than that it's a good-to-go recipe.

Ingredients

Brinjals-13 med
small onions-2 cups chopped(big & small red onions)
tamarind- lemon size thick extract
jaggery - 2 tsp
sambar pdr-2 heaped tsp(MTR or any good homemade)
salt- to taste
curry leaves&coriander leaves-garnish

Seasonings

mustard -1/2 tsp
hing- a dash

Method

Heat some oil and fry the onions till dark brown and keep aside in a plate.
Now again take some oil and fry the brinjals till they completely change color.
Now mix the onions with the brinjals.
Pour just enough water to cover the brinjals along with the tamarind extract,jaggery,salt,sambhar powder and mix nicely.Do not pour extra water at all.
Pressure cook for only one whistle and finally mix in chopped curry leaves and coriander leaves.
Season with mustard and hing and pour over the thick pulusu.

10 Dishes I miss the most

2006-06-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

This is a meme created by dear fellow blogger Garam Masala and she has tagged me with this meme and I love to take part in writing a shortlist of the 10 items I miss of my mum's cooking. Here goes the list

Soft Chappathies which I love to eat plain or sometimes roll'em up with sugar.
Warm phulkas dabbed with ghee.
Her Jasmine like Idlis with spicy Garlic Chutney..OOhhh mouthwatering already thinking of it..
Sambara Vada-Not the regular vada but a flat like disc deep fried in oil
Ghee Biscuits
Snake gourd Curry-Just heavenly with dhal rice.
All her simple yet tasty soups.
Salads-Full of variety and flavour.We have it before lunch as a starter.
Her Dhal Kichdi with Kadhi-Yummy,savory and really a killer combo.
I adore her Dosa along with Bombay Chutney.

Well Iam already salivating thinking about all these dishes and I thank Garam Masala who has given me a chance to share this with you all. I would love to tag Sailu, Lera, RP, Reshma and KrishnaArjuna for this meme....and if I have forgotten anybody else you are most welcome to join this meme...Iam sure this should bring back all those tasty and delicious memories...

Raagi Roti

2006-06-09T13:57:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends!!! Iam so happy to be blogging about Raagi roti. I have seen Indira's Raagi Sankati, VKN's Raagi Dosa, Sailu's Raagi Roti and many other incredible bloggers who have created a wonderful dish out of this flour.Well today I thought let me try to create one such tasty but still simple simple dish from this flour that can be really done in no time.Yes, it is indeed a nice recipe that I would like to contribute to Tony's Curry Mela and share with you all. I personally liked the introduction given by Sailu about Raagi and I do ask everybody to give it a glance.

Ingredients

Ragi- 1 cup
onions- 1/2 (Chop thinly)
tamarind paste - a tad bit
water - 1 1/4 cup
salt - 1 tsp

Seasonings

mustard-1/2 tsp
curry leaves-2 sprigs
g.chillies- 4(thin round slices)

Method

Heat oil in a big sauce pan.Crackle mustard seeds.Add chillies, fry them and then add curry leaves.Now add onions and fry just for 2 min.
Now add 1 1/4 cup of water.Once heated add the tad bit of tamarind paste and mix till color of water changes.Now add salt(1tsp).Close the sauce pan and let the water boil.
Once the water boils reduce the flame completely and add the ragi flour as a heap in the centre and just put a laddle in the center and close the lid and the let the ragi cook for just another 10 min.
Now switch off the flame,mix the ragi flour with the ladle briskly.
Once the dough becomes warm and pliable make into 3 equal balls.
Now pat it onto a med hot pan with oil as base, like a roti and fry equally on both sides with oil.(Tip:Just spray ur hand with water before patting so that it is easy to make a thin dough or else try pressing the dough with a flat spatula to give a thin & round shape)
Now serve this nutritious roti with ghee/ sugar/ pickle or just about anything and it's all your choice.

Carrot Spicy Curry

2006-06-05T11:02:00.000-05:00

CARROTS are a taproot, a type of root which grows downwards into the soil and swells. Carrots come in many sizes and shapes: round, cylindrical, fat, very small, long or thin.The edible part of a carrot is a taproot.The carrot has a thick, fleshy, deeply colored root, which grows underground, and feathery green leaves that emerge above ground. It is known scientifically as Daucus carota, a name that can be traced back to ancient Roman writings. Carrots belong to the Umbelliferae family along with parsnips, fennel caraway, cumin and dill which all have the umbrella-like flower clusters that characterize this family of plants.

Ingredients

Carrots - 5 long
onion-1/4 of large

Seasoning
mustard-1/2 tsp
urad dhal-1/2 tsp
curry leaves-2 sprigs
r.chillies-3
asafoetida-dash

Powders
garlic podi-1 tsp (generally used to mix with rice)
r.chilli pdr-1/2 tsp
coconut podi-1/2 tsp (the spicy version made at home used to mix with rice)
turmeric pdr-1/2 tsp

Method

Dice carrots.Cook them in microwave till 3/4th done.
In a skillet heat 2 tblsps of oil. Season with mustard,urad dhal,r.chillies,curry leaves, asafoetida.
Add chopped onions.Fry till dark brown.Add turmeric pdr.
Now add the 3/4 th cooked carrots,add salt and fry till soft. Now add the rest of the powders.Mix well for sometime and turn off heat.

Kathiri Podi Curry

2006-05-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

"Kathiri" is just the short form of Kathrika which means brinjal in Tamil. I have made this curry a couple of times and this time it came out perfect.I have just two words for this dish ("SIMPLY DELICIOUS").Yes it is and I wish that everybody tries this and enjoys!!! I made this curry today with Priya's Mor Keerai and the combination was really out of the world. My husband was in all praise of the curry and the mor keerai ,which really made all my effort worthwhile.

Ingredients

Brinjals- 10 preferably small(chopped into neat squares- Soak in salted water atleast 15 min)
salt - to taste
oil - for frying

To pulse

r.chilli-5
bengal gram dhal-1/2 tblsp
shredded coconut- 1 tblsp
asafoetida powder - little

Method

Dry roast r.chillies and bengal gram dhal together till it changes color.Dry roast shredded coconut separately till golden brown color.Pulse the above ingredients 3 or 4 times.
Heat about a tblsp of oil and fry the brinjals till it turns dark brown color. Once brinjals turn color completely add required salt and 1 heaped tsp of the powder and mix nicely and switch off immediately.
Serve with hot rice and ghee/Priya's Mor Keerai

AVIAL

2006-05-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

Avial is an important dish of the Kerala Cuisine. Avial is a semi dry preparation of all sorts of veggies.The veggies that can be used for this avial preparation is almost innumerable. They are the well-known beans,carrots,drumsticks,peas,yams,gourds,pumpkins and what-not? Other main ingredients to flavor and season this aviyal is the coconut paste,curry leaves and coconut oil which gives a very unique aroma to this dish. Avial is an essential part of the Onasadhya.A Sadhya is a big feast and could be associated with festivals like Onam, marriages ,birthdays and the like. Onasadhya is the most delicious part of the grand festival called Onam and it is prepared on the last day of Onam, called Thiruonam. Well enough about the history and now let's dig into the actual recipe and enjoy!!!I have learnt this recipe from one of my cookbooks(Classic Lunch Recipes by Mallika Badrinath) and I have made it many many times as it's my husband's and my favorite dish. I have adjusted the recipe according to the vegetables.So go ahead and try the vegetables from your own pantry and keep it simple...

Ingredients

Veggies

carrots - 2 cups
beans- 2 cups
peas - 2 cups
drumsticks-2 cups
whipped curds- 1/2 cup
curry leaves- 2 sprigs
coconut oil - 2 -3 tblsp

Paste

shredded coconut - 1 + 1/4 cup
g.chillies - 12
cumin seeds - 1 1/2 tsp
salt - 2 spoons

Method

Pressure cook the vegetables with 2 cups of water just for 2 whistles.
Gently mix the paste with the vegetables and let it boil on med flame.
Once it boils add whipped curds and mix.While adding curds reduce flame completely.
Now add curry leaves.
Heat coconut oil separately till luke warm and pour over the avial.
Now close the avial immediately to lock the flavor.Serve avial with a side of appalam and tasty mango pickle.Delicious Avial ready in absolutely NO time!!!

I would like to contribute this dish towards Anthony's Curry Mela this weekend.

Green Bell Pepper Curry

2006-05-05T15:50:00.000-05:00

Hello friends!! Iam so happy to be back with my recipes .Hopefully after this recipe I pray that I dont hibernate again... But I guess it happens for everybody...Well sometimes the recipes goes wrong,or some technical difficulties like I had with my camera and the mouse..So if the recipe was ready my camera wasn't ready and if the camera was ready I dint have a good recipe and if everything was ready my mouse wasn't working properly...so finally I just made my mind to put everything together and come up with some neat recipe...Hope you all like it...It's all about bell peppers!!! today....

Bell pepper is a kind of "sweet pepper". Bell pepper is a cultivar or cultivated plant of the species called Capsicum annuum. In some cultivated plants the green peppers ripen to a deep red. In other varieties, green peppers ripen to a golden yellow or bright orange. Bell peppers contain a recessive gene that eliminates the capsaicin content in the fruit. Capsaicin is what puts the heat or pungency in all the peppers. Capsaicin is found in its highest concentrations (about 80% of the total amount) in the ribs of the pepper, and because of their proximity, the seeds are also highly concentrated. Removing the ribs and seeds will reduce the heat of the chili pepper. So that's the reason bell peppers tend to be like a sweet pepper. Actually the heat of these peppers can be tested.They are measured in Scoville Units, with the bell peppers at 0 and the habanero at over 300,000 Scoville Units.The one thing that all chili peppers share is the common name "capsicum". Capsicum, from the Greek word "kapto" means "to bite" is the pepper genus.

Ingredients

Capsicum-3 big
oil- 2 tblsp

Paste

shredded coconut- 1 tblsp
g.chillies-3 or 4
poppy seeds - 1/3 tsp
cashewnuts-5

Method

Dice capsicum into cubes.
Heat oil in a skillet and fry capsicum till they are soft.
Add the ground paste and fry till all the moisture is absorbed.
Thus a very simple side dish is ready to go along with rice.

Paruppu Usili with Banana Stem Flower

2006-04-18T13:20:00.000-05:00

Paruppu Usili is such a versatile dish that you can make with almost any vegetable...I got this recipe from my mom who really makes it very tasty. I tried to follow the very same method and the method has not failed me. Well other suggested vegetables for this paruppu usili is cluster beans(goruchikkudi kayilu-telugu , kothavarangai-tamil) and regular beans can be substituted too for this usili.

The deep purplish colored banana flower is used as a vegetable in India,mainly I have seen much of their use in Southern India. They are long, slender, sterile male flowers with a faint sweet fragrance which are protected by large reddish bracts(outer reddish leaves). Higher up the stem are groups of female flowers which develop into fruits(white sticks). We dont need the bracts or the reddish leaves ..we just need the fruits..the white colored sticks for our Usili.

How to prepare this vegetable

Whenever working with this vegetable smear oil on both ur hands because touching them could sometimes be very sticky and dirty.Remove all the outer purplish leaves as they are very very mature and will taste bitter.But as you keep layering one leaf after another ,remove the fruits (white sticks)and keep aside in a bowl of (buttermilk + salt) else they will turn black. If buttermilk is not available use yogurt(4 tblsp).Churn it properly add salt and water and churn again. Once you get to the inner core, you will find leaves which are yellow in color meaning they are young and tender . You can use these leaves too. So now the fruits(the white sticks) , the tender yellow leaves should all have been soaked in buttermilk solution. Now chop these into fine pieces and again keep them soaked in the same solution. Once the chopping is done,wash the veggies thoroughly, transfer the contents to a pot of clean water, add salt and boil it till the vegetable is about 3/4 cooked.Thus preparation part is over!!!

Ingredients

Banana stem flower-1

Paste

coconut - 1 tbsp
jeera-1/2 tsp
hing-1/4 tsp
turmeric-1/2 tsp

Soak

toor dhal-1/2 tblsp
bengal gram dhal-1/2 tblsp
r.chillies-3 to 4

Seasoning

mustard,urad dhal,curry leaves - 1 tsp, 2 tsp,1 sprig

Method

Soak the dhals with the r.chillies for about 1 to 2 hrs till the dhals get little soft.
Once the dhals are soaked grind them with the other ingredients and make it into a coarse paste.
Combine paste with the boiled vegetable and steam it for 15 min to 20 min.
After the steamed mixture is cooled , just crumble it.
Heat oil in a kadai. Add mustard, urad dhal, curry leaves and add the crumbles.
Finally add the coriander and lemon to taste.

A note of appreciation!!

2006-04-18T09:08:00.000-05:00

I would like to appreciate fellow food bloggers who have participated in the VCC Q1-2006 contest held by VKN of MyDhaba. From the pictures I have seen and the recipes i have read from these appetizer entries is truly amazing. It does bring out the passion,the creativity and the competitive spirit amongst each and every food blogger.Well last but not least I would like to appreciate VKN who has done a great job in hosting this event.Hats off to you!!! for conducting such a lovely event.....Hope there are many more events like this to come in the future!!! I request all voters to vote for the best and let the deserving win!!!Thankyou!!

The SPONSOR for the VCC Q1 2006 has been announced.

To know more please visit MyDhaba.

Asian Spring Rolls with Indian Mint Chutney

2006-04-10T16:29:00.000-05:00

Ingredients

Vegetables part
Carrots - 2 (cut into strips)
Cabbage - 1/4 + 1/8 of a whole cabbage(thinly shredded)
Red Pepper- less than 3/4(diced into very small cubes)
Green Pepper-1/4th(diced into very small cubes)

Seasonings
Garlic - 7 cloves
Ginger- 1 inch
Crushed red pepper flakes - from 2 chillies
Green onions- 3 finely cut
salt - to taste
pepper - 1/4 tsp

Sauces
Soy Sauce - 1/4 tsp
Hot chilli paste - 1 tsp
Pure sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Ajinomotto - a pinch
Spring roll pastry- 18 sheets(I used 'Spring Home' brand bought from asian store)

eggwash-1(beat the egg nicely)

Method

Soak carrot strips and cabbage shreds in a bowl of salted hot water just for few min.Dice red bell pepper and green bell pepper into very small cubes.Cut green onions in thin round slices.
In a kadai heat 3 tsps of oil.When the oil is heated add the cloves of garlic and ginger in whole..(Before adding them prick holes in garlic as well as ginger). Let it fry till the garlic and ginger turn golden brown.Now remove the garlic and ginger from the kadai and keep aside(u will need this in the end)
Now add the crushed red pepper flakes to the oil.Fry about a min
Add green onions and fry just about 2 min.
Now add the peppers(red and green) and fry for about another 3 min.
Now add the carrot and cabbage and fry till they get tender.
Now add soy sauce,hot chilli paste,pure sesame oil,ajinomotto and give a good stir.Fry for another 3-4 min.Make a paste of the fried garlic and ginger you kept aside and just add less than half a tsp of this paste to the veggies and fry for a while. Now switch off and let the mixture cool.
Well for the spring rolls, place the cooled down mixture onto one corner of the spring rolls and roll halfway.Now brush the edges with the eggwash and fold the edges and continue rolling the spring roll to enclose completely.
Finally deep fry the spring rolls in hot oil.Let them drain on a paper towel and then transfer them to a container.
Serve with home made spicy mint chutney.

I take immense pride in submitting my original creation to VCC - Q1 2006 by VKN of My Dhaba.

Hooray!!!!My very first meme!!!

2006-04-09T10:45:00.000-05:00

My thanks to KitchenMate && Vineela for tagging me with my very first meme!!!!! Is sure feels great!!

1. Please list three recipes you have recently bookmarked from foodblogs to try:

Sailu's Palakayalu
Nupur's Chavli Amti (Black-eyed Peas)
Vaishali's Mulyachi Koshimbir

2. A foodblog in your vicinity:

I have already tried many many recipes from these food blogs and will definitely try in the future!!! Two of my very inspiring blogs!!!

KitchenMate(Karthi Kannan)
Sugar and Spice(Priya)

3. A foodblog (or more) located far from you:

Food,In the Main(Shyamala) in UK
Anthony's Kitchen in Mumbai
Pushpa's Culinary Studio in Switzerland

4. A foodblog (or several) you have discovered recently (where did you find it?):

It's just that I have left comments and they have too...so Iam not sure which happened first...LOL

Flavors of Indian Rasoi(Lakshmi)
Food Bytes(Veggie)
Happy Burp(Vaishali Kamath)
My Treasure..My Pleasure(Annita)
and many more....

5. Any people or bloggers you want to tag with this meme?

Food Bytes(Veggie)
Fragrance of Life(Anjali)
Myriad Tastes(Lera)

Pepper_Jeera Rasam with Eggplant-Potato Curry

2006-04-04T13:12:00.000-05:00

Today I have a very simple menu for lunch that is packed with full of flavor, taste and aroma that is really soothing and unforgettable to the senses. Rasam is a South Indian dish, very common in Tamil Nadu. The spices that are present in the rasam have a very beneficial effect on your health. Rasam means Chaaru in Telugu and Saaru in Kannada. It is nothing but a soup flavored with tamarind, lentils and spices. There are different kinds of rasam made from different things like tomatoes, lemons, pineapples and spices..Well the list goes on but what I have today is a jumbo combination of spices,tomatoes,garlic,herbs...and wooh!!Lovely isnt't?

For the curry part, I have an unresistable eggplant and potato combination that is very much tempting .Well I love this combination more than plain eggplant.If you are more interested in knowing more about the good things of eggplant you could read the post on my Fennel Roasted Eggplants. Well here goes the recipes for both pepper jeera rasam and eggplant-potato curry.

Pepper Jeera Rasam

Ingredients

Toor Dhal - 1/4 cup
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
rasam powder - 2 tsp
garlic - 5 to 6 cloves
tomato - 1 finely diced
cilantro/coriander - few sprigs
curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Asafoetida -1/4 tsp
tamarind - lemon sized(soaked in water for couple of min)
salt - to taste
jaggery/sugar- 1 tsp
turmeric pdr - a pinch

Method

Cook toor dhal and keep it aside.
Coarsely grind black pepper and jeera keep it aside.
Add 400 ml. of water to Toor dhal, churn fine and heat it in a vessel to boil. Add salt and a pinch of turmeric powder along with extracted juice from tamarind. Boil the above for six to seven minutes till raw smell of tamarind goes off.
Add garlic(crushed) at this stage. Add curry leaves and tomato. Boil the rasam on a medium flame for six to seven minutes.
The water quantity should have reduced considerably.
Add jaggery or sugar and enough salt to taste now.
Temper now with jeera and two broken chillies along with 1/4 tsp of asafoetida.
Add cilantro and close the vessel immediately until you have to serve so that the flavor is retained.

Eggplant-Potato Curry

Ingredients

eggplants-2
potato - 1 large
onion - 1 big
garlic - 3 cloves
tomato - 1 diced
garam masala powder - 1 tsp
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - 1 tblsp
Method

Saute chopped onion in oil until brown. Meanwhile puree peeled garlic cloves with a few grains of salt and enough fresh lime juice to form a paste. Add garlic and tomato to onions; stir to combine; Add red chilli powder (or flakes), garam masala and salt.
Add eggplant and potato cubes; stir to coat. Add 1/2 cup water; reduce heat. Let it cook, stirring occasionally, until done (about 20 minutes). Serve garnished with cilantro leaves.

TIP: The smaller the cubes, the faster they cook. Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch bites and eggplant into 1-inch bites so that they cook evenly.

I would love to contribute this dish to Anthony's Curry Mela.

Banana Muffins- A Pleasant Breakfast

2006-03-28T12:46:00.000-06:00

(Click the above picture to have a bigger and better view)

Well guys its really a long time since I have blogged.Well I had been working on 2 recipes namely 'Victoria Sponge Cake' from Tarla Dalal's "Pleasures of Vegetarian Cooking' and the 'Thattai Murukku' from Priya's "Sugar and Spice". But both the recipes turned out a big flop for me.

Here goes the thattai murukku story. I was too enthu when I started to make this because the batter when put together tasted so yummy and I dint know that the frying part would pose such a problem.But after batch after batch of deep frying I got totally frustrated because each batch of thattai's came out soft , chewy and only a few came out crispy.I just couldn't think what was wrong.Well the only thing I could come up was the oil temperature.But Priya gave some very good tips too(Thanks Priya I will make sure I follow them next time). While deep frying its always better to use the right vessel. I used an aluminium kadai which was in a slanting position all the time and no wonder the heat from the coil did not pass thru to the kadai.So next time when I try this I want to buy a flat cast iron pot or I would love to hear suggestions from you guys!!

OK..ready for the next sad story(Well if you have forgotten.....iam talking about the cake!!!fellas!! )I made cake acc to the directions and I thought I would get a perfect cake.But the cake wasn't spongy nor hard.It was kinda inbetween.It had bits of baking powder here and there throughout the cake.The reason- I did not mix the dry ingredients properly and hence the above result. My friend Kay had dropped by and asked her to taste the cake and she said that it tasted eggy.Another thing was I did not use the center rack while baking the cake so it was baking all the while close to the bottom heat rods and it turned dark brown on the edges and the inside did not cook thru completely.So the tip here is "Always use center rack while baking cakes or muffins". Another tip learnt here is "Always mix the dry ingredients thoroughly before adding them to the wet ingredients".

Well today I wanted to give a last try for the Banana muffin recipe as it also had a couple of trial runs in my kitchen and I came to a point where I wanted to give up but just thought why not give one more LAST shot and then give up. So I did what I had to do and the result is STUNNING!!! Well before presenting the recipe I would like to say that I have reduced the recipe from original version to make just 7 large banana muffins.(the original recipe calls for 18 muffins)

OK now without much further ado I hereby present the AMAZING recipe that I have learnt from Food Network...

Ingredients

all purpose flr or maida- 3/4 cup
baking soda - 1/4 tsp
baking powder - 1/8 tsp
salt-1/4 tsp
ground cinnamon-1/8 tsp
ground nutmeg-1/8 tsp
sugar - 1/2 cup
safflower oil - 1/4 cup(the recipe calls for vegetable oil)
egg -1
vanilla essence - 1/4 tsp
banana - 1 ripe (mashed nicely)

Method

Whisk all dry ingredients nicely in a med size bowl(flr,baking powder,baking soda,salt,g.nutmeg,g.cinnamon).There shouldn't be any lumps at all.
Whisk (sugar,oil,egg,vanilla essence) in another large bowl just till blended.Now stir in bananas.
Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. I repeat here do not overblend which will tend the batter to become fibrous and will result in a thick muffin.
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Divide the batter among muffin cups(Spray PAM on each paper muffin cup and dab throughout cup with a tissue paper)
Bake the muffins in middle rack about 25 - 27 min.
Now cool the muffins on a cooling rack and apply whatever frosting you prefer and enjoy to your heart's content.

(Note:When using a muffin pan if there are empty muffin cups with no batter to be filled, fill them with water just till halfway of each cup.)

I would love to contribute this recipe to
Sweetnicks ARF 5 a day Tuesday

Fennel Roasted Eggplants

2006-03-15T12:11:00.000-06:00

The Eggplant is native to southern India and Sri Lanka. "Aubergine" is the British name given to this vegetable. The eggplant is a member of the potato family, and it is known worldwide as aubergine, eggplant, brinjal, melanzana, garden egg, and patlican. It is available year-round, with the peak season during the months of August and September. Smaller, immature eggplants are best. Full-size puffy ones may have hard seeds and can be bitter. Choose a firm, smooth-skinned eggplant that is heavy for its size; avoid those with soft or brown spots. Gently push with your thumb or forefinger. If the flesh gives slightly but then bounces back, it is ripe. If the indentation remains, it is overripe and the insides will be mushy. Also make sure an eggplant isn't dry inside, knock on it with your knuckles. If you hear a hollow sound, don't buy it. Eggplants are very perishable and become bitter with age. They should be stored in a cool, dry place and used within a day or two of purchase. To store in the refrigerator, place in a plastic bag. If you plan to cook it the same day you buy it, leave it out at room temperature. When young, the skin of most eggplants are edible; older eggplants should be peeled. Since the flesh discolors rapidly, an eggplant should be cut just before using.There are many varieties which range from dark purple to pale mauve, and from yellow to white.
(Source:wikipedia,whatscookingamerica)

About the recipe I have combined 1 to 2 recipes from Food Network.And I have to say it's a very interesting combination. So guys if you have eggplants at home, you may want to try this easy breezy snack....... (Yes I said it is a snack with an eggplant!) .Well guys I think these baked eggplants dont have a photogenic face to show off but what I love about the eggplants is the complex taste, depth in flavor and the variety of dishes that could be made from this vegetable...... Well ....Well...Happy Snacking Guys!!!

Ingredients

Eggplants - 2(round slices)

Spice Rub
fennel seeds- 1 tblsp
coriander seeds-1/2 tsp
black peppercorn-1/2 tsp
salt - 1/2 tsp
oil - 5 tsp

Method

Cut the eggplant into round slices(not too thin nor too thick).
Now add 1tblsp of oil and toss until it coats evenly on all eggplants.
As for the spice rub , dry roast all the ingredients in a saute pan until you get a fresh aroma on a med heat.
Now cool the spices on a plate and grind to a fine powder along with salt.
Once the spice rub is ready, add the spice rub to the eggplants and toss till the eggplant is well coated.Let sit for 10 min(optional).
Line an ovenproof tray with foil and gently coat with 1 tsp oil.
Now arrange the eggplant slices in the tray.
Preheat oven to 500 degree F. Bake the eggplants for 1o min and not more since it may cause burns on the eggplant.
Now all you gotta do is snack on them guilt free!!

Drumstick Sambhar with Karela Crispies

2006-03-13T08:05:00.000-06:00

First off my salutations to Dr. Hemant Trivedi. If anyone hasn't visited this site (http://www.hemant-trivedis-cookery-corner.com) I request those people to visit and try his mouthwatering 'Drumstick sambhar'.It is truly an amazing recipe. Secondly I want to thank all food bloggers who have shed light on Dr.Hemant Trivedi and his website.

I chose this recipe as I had drumsticks in my freezer yesterday. What impressed me most about this recipe was about the correct method of preparing Drumstick sambhar which I havent followed so far. This recipe calls for Karnataka/Madras sambhar powder. The recipe for this powder can be obtained from here (http://www.hemant-trivedis-cookery-corner.com/powder/karnataka-sambar.html)

After reading the recipe I couldnt wait to try, but the sad thing was I did not have few ingredients to make the sambhar powder, so I used MTR Sambhar powder and the result was indeed mind blowing.Guys if you make the Karnataka sambhar powder pls do let me know how it came. To go along with the drumstick sambhar I made Kay's No Fry Karela Crispies which was simple,healthy and definitely a time saver.

Ingredients
drumsticks- 3 nos
toor dhal- 1 cup
tomato - 1 med diced
curry leaves - 1 sprig
sambhar powder - 3 tsp(heaped) (MTR Sambhar powder)
chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
fresh jeera powder - 1/2 tsp
jaggery - small piece
coriander/cilantro- 1/4 cup
hing - 1/4 tsp

Seasonings
Oil - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 2
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds -1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp

Method

Cut drumsticks into small pieces about 2" in length.
Soak in water about 30 min.
Drain that dirty water and in another or same clean vessel take 150 ml of water add little salt, little sugar, drumsticks and boil in a med flame till the veggies are 3/4 cooked.
Cook the toor dhal along with hing for 3 whistles and once the cooker cools down take out the dhal and churn the dhal till its very very smooth.
In a microwaveable bowl or plastic container transfer the dhal.
Now add half a sprig of curry leaves, tamarind juice(from lemon sized), little salt and microwave for 5 min.
Now add the 3/4 cooked drumsticks along with the water, chilli powder,turmeric powder,fresh jeera powder, remaining salt and let it simmer for another 2 min.
Add another half sprig of curry leaves and let it simmer in the microwave for another 2 min.
Add sambhar powder and let it simmer for 5 min.
Add diced tomato and freshly cut bunch of coriander and jaggery at the last. Mix well and let it simmer for two minutes.
Temper with red Chillies,mustard, fenugreek,and hing in oil. Add hing finally. Temper the sambar and cover it with a lid immediately.

Note:

Sambar must be made at least two hours before you are to serve to self or the guests. The real taste of sambar comes only after two hours of cooking. A very good tip that I have learnt from his website.

I would like to contribute this recipe towards SweetNicks ARF 5 a Day Tuesday.

Gherkin Fry

2006-03-08T12:22:00.000-06:00

Here goes the Gherkins story...Well Gherkin is a young cucumber picked when it is 1 to 3 inches and mostly used for pickling. Gherkin may have probably originated in India. Well for the few who are wondering what gherkins in your mother tongue is , it is nothing but
Dondakai in Telugu
Kovakai in Tamil
Tindoora in Hindi
Tendli/Tondli in Marathi and finally
Gherkins in English
Wow!!!!!! I wish I knew how they call this vegetable in other languages?Guys!! if you know please do share it!! I would love to find it out... Ok now about the recipe ,this is a recipe I borrowed from my cousin sis S who happened to declare this as the tastiest recipe and well I wanted to check it out for myself and the result is indeed stunning and now this has become a favorite in our house.

Ingredients

Tindoora- 6 cups (sliced)
red chilli powder - per taste
salt - per taste
oil/ghee- 5 tsp

Method

First slice the tindoora vertically into 2 halves.Then slice each half into vertical slices.
Heat oil nicely in a deep kadai.
Add the tindoora and mix.
Keep a med-high flame.
Once in few min keep mixing the tindoora.
Once the tindoora turns to a deep dark brown add salt and chilli powder.
Wallah!!! your curry is ready...Quick,simple and yet flavorful..

Bean & Lentil Curry(Beans Paruppu Poriyal/Beans Pappu Koora)

2006-03-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

The curry which I have presented today is one of my husband's favorite curry and mine too.We devour it like a snack.Its the most simplest ,easiest and yet tastiest recipe. Well now really I would like the nutritional facts of beans to speak for themselves and here goes my favorite part...

Green beans are quite low in calories(44 calories in a whole cup) and are loaded with plenty of nutrients.They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin A and manganese.They are a good source of dietary fibre,potassium,folate and iron.And, green beans are a good source of magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorous, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. Actually the list ends but definitely not the goodness of this vegetable. The vitamin K provided by green beans - a spectacular 122.0% of the daily value in one cup - is important for maintaining strong bones.

As we all know lentils(dhal) are very popular in India. Lentils are shaped like lens. Lentils are high in protein/carbohydrate content but lower on the nutritional value. Protein content ranges from 22% to 35% .They mostly come in split form which we commonly use, as well as the full form which we generally dont use that much in Indian cooking. A variety of lentils exist with colors that range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown and black. The colours of the seeds when removed from the pods vary, and there are large and small varieties. They are sold in many forms, with or without the pods, whole or split.

Thus the nutrition from the beans, the protein and carbohydrate from the lentil makes this curry a very healthy option to accompany your rice. So here goes my RECIPE.................... TADAH!!!!!

Ingredients

Regular/French beans- 3 cups (chopped)
toor dhal- 1/4 cup(cooked)
seasoning- urad dhal(2 tsp),bengal gram dhal(2 tsp), red chillies(3)
salt - to taste

Method

Chop beans thinly.
Cook the beans in microwave with very less water(like 1/4 cup) till somewhat tender.
By the time beans are ready, heat oil(1 tblsp) in a pan and fry seasoning one bye one in the given order until reddish brown.
Now add the cooked beans and fry till it is cooked completely and gives a nice fried taste.
Finally add the dhal and mix for just 2 min in that heat and switch off.
Thus a delicious curry is ready to go with your rasam or sambhar.

Vegetables in Coconut Milk

2006-02-24T10:09:00.000-06:00

Click the above picture to have an enlarged version

Well first off I would like to say that the above picture is not the best photograph I have ever taken but I can assure the taste is 100% real and no joking about it.

This is one of my creations which turned out real good for the very first time.Well there is always more room for growth.May be the next time I can add a few or subtract a few.We had this side dish with bread yesterday and it was a real good combination. And today Iam gonna make chappathis to go with it.And tomorrow may be dosa if there is any left over from today. Sometimes its really hard to come up with a dish for dinner. I have to think real hard to squeeze something out of my brain. I open the fridge and stare at it twice, once when there are veggies and the once when there are no veggies AT ALL.The latter stare is an angry one and the former being a very happy one knowing that there are tonnes of veggies and I can come up with something new.

I somehow like the idea of vegetable and coconut milk together.It gives a total new definition to the otherwise plain and boring raw vegetables.So I thought why not make something interesting, something creative and something healthy and Wallah!!!!! I came up with this simple and unsophisticated dish.

Ingredients

Vegetables- potatoes(2 med),carrots(1 big),beans(12),
cauliflower(7 med florets), butter beans(1/2 cup), peas-1/2 cup
onion - 1 big(finely cut)
tomato - 3 med(blanched and pureed)
coconut milk - 1 tin(any brand from the Indian grocery stores)
seasonings- mustard,cumin,cardamom(1),cinnamon(1/2 inch)
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
salt & pepper - to taste
oil or ghee- enough for frying

Method

Boil veggies in a separate vessel and keep ready.
In a kadai heat some oil add mustard seeds and once they pop add crushed cumin seeds and let them crackle.Now add cardamom and cinnamon and fry just about a min.
Now add onions and fry till dark brown.
Add turmeric powder and dhania powder and fry again for 2 to 3 min.
Now add the blanched tomatoes and fry nicely till all the oil separates and comes out.
Now add the boiled veggies and give a stir.
Reduce the flame to medium.
Add the coconut milk and mix properly.
Add salt and lots of pepper as there is no heat at all.
Let the veggies and the milk simmer for 15 to 20 min until it forms a thick and bubbly stew.Stir in between so that the milk does not burn.
Finally garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve with dosa/chappathis/puris/bread.

Note: This is a mild version which I ended up with but the next time I may add some g.chillies to enhance the heat and add few cloves of garlic too.

I would like to contribute this recipe to ARF/5 a day Tuesday.

Green Plantain Curry

2006-02-21T21:31:00.000-06:00

Green Plantains are native to India.They are longer and have thicker skin than bananas.They are used as a vegetable in many cuisines.Plantain is relatively high in calories at 125 per cup. It is an excellent source of potassium, a good source of vitamin C, contains no cholesterol and is low in sodium.

Green plantains, which are very hard and starchy, have little banana flavor and no sweetness. They are generally cooked in the same ways as potatoes. They may be boiled or fried . Yellow-ripe plantains are more tender but can be used in these same ways, and will have a creamier texture. They can also be mashed, grilled or baked. Black-ripe plantains are also delicious prepared in any of these methods but have a sweeter flavor and a banana aroma.
(Source:http://sarasota.extension.ufl.edu/fcs/FlaFoodFare/Plantain.htm)

Ingredients

Green Plantain-1 diced into small cubes
tamarind juice - from big lemon sized tamarind
r.chilli powder- 1 tsp
turmeric powder- 1 tsp
jaggery- 1 tblsp
sambhar powder- 1 tsp(any kind)
salt-to taste
Seasoning
mustard
hing
cumin-1/2 tsp
bengal gram dhal - 2 tsp
urad dhal- 2 tsp
curryleaves-(1 to 2 sprigs),
g.chilli-(2) round slices

Method

Prepare tamarind extract from big lemon sized tamarind and mix with water to about 2 qts ie 8 cups
Now take tamarind juice and mix with all dry ingredients except the seasonings.
Now boil the plantain cubes in the tamarind juice until soft.
In a separate saute pan temper the seasonings one by one and keep ready.
Once the plantains are pretty soft add them to the seasoning and just roast them for another 5 to 7 min.
If the plantains dont have any taste to them try adding little more of sambhar powder in the end.
Finally garnish with coriander and serve with rice and dhal.

Celebrating Valentine's Day with Soji Appam

2006-02-16T17:56:00.001-06:00

Today Iam celebrating Valentine's Day with one of my husband's favorite sweet namely Soji Appam.Both my husband and I have a sweet tooth.But as a health factor we try to avoid sweets as much as possible.....Well this time Iam pardoning myself for making this sweet.....It just feels really nice to sit back and enjoy your favorite sweets once in a while.......So here goes the wonderful recipe for my Soji appam.Well I have given more pictures than usual to help understand the recipe.

Well for people who are wondering what Soji Appam is , it can be literally translated to'Rava Pancake'. This pancake mix is made from maida which is available in the Indian grocery stores.This sweet has two parts, one is the stuffing part and the other is the pancake mix which we call the 'Sariga'.Ok here goes the recipe...

Ingredients

For the stuffing

Rava- 1/2 cup
sugar-1/2 cup
coconut -1 cup(frozen or fresh)
whole milk - 1 cup

For the sariga

maida - 1/2 cup
oil - 4 tblsp
salt - a pinch

Method

Add the salt in the maida and mix properly. Add water to make a slimy kind of dough that flows like a waterfall when released from your hand.
Now add 2 tblsp of oil and knead nicely.
Add another 2 tblsp of oil and knead again.
Close the bowl and keep it covered for 30 min atleast.
As for the stuffing combine the rava,sugar,coconut and whole milk and keep it on medium flame and keep stirring till rava is cooked and comes to halwa consistency.
Well the stuffing is ready if you can take the stuffing in hand and if you are able to make it into a ball without that much stickiness.
Now switch off the stove and let it cool for few min.
Make balls and keep them ready.
Now roll the balls in the sariga and pat them on a plastic sheet and fry them each side on a pan with 1/4 tsp of oil for each side until golden brown.
Thus place them in a box and store it in the fridge for a maximum period of 1 week.

Recipe Source: A handover recipe from my grandma.

Well I contribute the above recipe to Meena's Hooked on Heat celebrating Valentine's Day with all love and pure delight.....

Happy Valentine's Day !!!!!

2006-02-14T08:51:00.000-06:00

On behalf of Taste Corner I wish all

food lovers
Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!

Brinjal Curry(Kathrika Rasavaangi)

2006-02-13T09:02:00.000-06:00

Hello Friends..Iam back with yet another appetizing brinjal recipe.Well this is one of the recipe I picked up from Priya's Sugar and Spice.To begin with this is a great mouth-watering recipe which I definitely wanted to try as soon as I saw in Priya's blog and the result is really great.My husband and I emptied almost everything just about a little left for him to take office the next day.Well the curry has a very rich and deep blend of spices that gives the curry its flavor,its aroma and adds every bit of wonderful taste to the curry.Thanks Priya for posting this flavorful recipe!!

OK friends so here goes the recipe......

Ingredients
Brinjal chopped medium -3
Toor dal- 1/2 cup
Pitlai powder-1 1/2 tsps
Tamarind juice- medium lemon sized
Turmeric powder- 1/4tsp
Salt to taste

Tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil -little bit

Pitlai Powder
Coriander seeds- 3 tbsps
Chana dal-1 tbsp
Red chillies- 2 to 3
Asafoetida-4 to 5 pinch's
Grated coconut ( fresh) - 2 tbsps
Oil-1/2 tsp

Method

Chop 3 brinjals into squares and microwave(enough water just to cover brinjals) for 5 min along with salt and turmeric powder.
Soak toor dhal in hot water for 15 min and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
Pitlai Powder Preparation: In a pan heat oil and add asafoetida and after few seconds add red chilli, coriander seeds, chana dal and saute till light brown and then finally add grated coconut and roast till golden brown and grind them coarsely in a mixie .
In a small pan temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and keep aside.
Now combine the cooked dhal, tamarind juice,cooked veggies, pitlai powder, salt and the seasoning in a microwaveable bowl.
Now microwave the contens for about 3 min.Stir the contents once and microwave for another 4 min.
Garnish with coriander and serve along with rice and papads.
YUuuummMy!!! is all I got to say!!

Palak Chappathi

2006-02-08T08:59:00.000-06:00

'Palak' meaning Spinach is a green leafy vegetable is a very rich source of iron.It is exceptionally rich in carotenoids, including beta-carotene and lutein, and also contains quercetin, a phytochemical with antioxidant properties. Spinach is rich in vitamins and minerals, particularly folate (folic acid), vitamin K, magnesium, and manganese; it also contains more protein than most vegetables. (Although the protein is incomplete--spinach and other leafy green vegetables are low in the amino acid methionine--it is complemented by the protein in rice and other grains.) Raw spinach is a healthy addition to salads, but to get the full benefit from this leafy green, eat it cooked at least some of the time. Cooking makes the antioxidant carotenoids responsible for much of spinach's nutritional potency easier for the body to absorb.
(Source:http://www.wholehealthmd.com).Please readers have a look at this website for more additional facts about spinach...

Well here goes the recipe for one of my favorite chappathi....

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour- 2 cups
Palak - 4 cups
cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
g.chillies-3
turmeric pdr-1/2 tsp
dhania pdr-1/2 tsp
red chilli pdr - 1/2 tsp
garam masala pdr-1/2 tsp
salt - to taste
oil - dough+ frying

Method

Chop palak finely.
Heat oil and saute cumin seeds,green chillies and chopped palak by adding just very little water and the palak will shrink down in no time and will become soft.
Once the palak cools down grind it to a smooth paste with enough water(the mixture should not be too watery or too firm)
Now for the dry ingredients mix the flour,the powders, salt and just mix it completely.
Now combine the palak paste with the flour and knead to a smooth dough adding more water for mixing.After making into a smooth dough smear oil(a spoonful) all over the dough to prevent drying up.
Keep closed for atleast an hour for the dough to rise.
Now make chappathis and serve them with your favorite dhal , curry , salad, or sprinkle some sugar ; roll it up and gobble it as I do sometimes.

(Source: Recipe from "Tiffin Varieties from Mrs.S.Mallika Badrinath")

Vaangi Baath Made Simple(MTR Special)

2006-02-06T08:30:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup cooked
turmeric pdr-1/2 tsp
MTR vaangi baath pdr- 3 tsps
oil-5 tsps
onion-1/2 big (cut into small squares)
peas - 1/2 cup cooked
g.chilli-2
r.chilli-1
seasoning-mustard,bengal gram,black gram,curry leaves
coriander leaves-for garnish
Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon

Method

Cook rice separately.It should be flowery in texture.
Spread the rice in a big bowl. Add 2 tsps of oil, 1/4 tsp of turmeric pdr and stir lightly with a fork so that steam escapes almost completely.
In a saute pan heat the rest of the oil and fry seasonings one by one in the given order to a golden brown.
Add onions.Saute for a min or two and add g.chilli and r.chilli.
Now saute till onions r just transluscent.Do not over-saute as you wont taste the onions while eating the rice.Now add peas and saute for another 2 min.
Add vangi baath powder and saute for 2 to 3 min in medheat.
Combine the sauteed ingredients with rice.Ofcourse add salt.
Add lemon juice to give tanginess and mix again.Check for taste and thus a simple dish is ready in less than 30-35 min.Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note:While sauteeing onions you can add cut brinjals to give more of an authentic taste but since my fridge was dry i made this baath a very simple version from the regular one. Add cashewnuts and peanuts to give more crunch.

Yummy Carrot Kheer(Bawarchi Contribution)

2006-02-01T14:25:00.000-06:00

Ingredients

Carrots - 5 medium peeled and sliced lengthwise
Whole Milk - 2 cups(hot)
Sugar - 1/2 cup heaped
Cardamom Powder - 4 pcs powdered fine
Saffron - few strands
Ghee - 2 tblsp

Method
Boil peeled and sliced carrots in the microwave until soft say like 20 min. Once cooled grind the carrots to a smooth paste which should come to a heaped 1 cup paste.Now heat ghee and when quite hot add the paste , cardamom powder and cook the paste until raw smell disappears.Now mix the sugar and cook until the sugar is completely dissolved.Its time to add the hot milk and stir it to integrate the mixture nicely and for more flavor and color add few strands of saffron and let the whole thing boil for 10 to 12 min until a thick consistency is obtained.Garnish with almonds and serve it hot or cold!!Yumm!!

Veggie Sambar with Fried Curd Chilli....HMmm Spicy!!!

2006-01-31T13:47:00.000-06:00

Wow!!!Veggie Sambar with the goodness of different veggies is really a healthy choice to make for a satisfying lunch or dinner.I just love the combination of Sambar with fried curd chilli otherwise known as Mor Molaga in Tamil..The stuff needed for this recipe should be certainly found in your own pantry.

Ingredients needed

Drumsticks-15 nos(cut into 2)
Frozen Peas- 1/4 cup
Frozen Butter Beans-1/4 cup
onion - 1 big(thin but small slices)
tomato - 2 med
indian g.chillies- 5
tamarind - juice about 1 cup
jaggery - 1 tsp
toor dhal- lilttle less than 2/3 cup
MTR sambhar powder - 2 tblsp or more acc. to taste
turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
seasonings- mustard,cumin,hing,curry leaves,ginger-garlic paste
oil - enough for frying
salt - for taste

Method

Heat oil in a pressure pan. Once oil is hot add mustard seeds and let them crack completely and then add cumin and once they pop add hing and 2 sprigs of curry leaves.Now add onions.Let them fry for a while say 5 min and now add ginger-garlic paste(about 2 tsp).Fry nicely till u get a good flavour from the mixture and then add turmeric powder.Now stir it up and add tomatoes and fry nicely and now add veggies ,toordhal,tamarind juice,water,salt,sambhar powder,jaggery and defintely check for taste at this point and add if anything else is required.Now close the pan and pressure cook for 4 whistles or until neccessary. This is one of the easiest and tastiest sambhar you could prepare in just minutes....So for the fried curd chilli I take about a tblsp of oil and heat it until its smoking hot and add the curd chilli and it immediately turns dark brown in color and i rotate it so it completely turns brown like in the picture and i remove them and follow the same for the rest of the curd chilli and Wallah!!!! a delicious sambhar and crunchy curd chilli is ready for you to dish on......I love this recipe and hope you like it too......