Taste Corner

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)