Tomato Rice

This rice is common in all kongunadu kitchens. Either the will cook like this way or else they will separately cook the tomaotes and rice and will mix the two.

Ingredients:

Basmathi rice - 1 cup

Tomato - 3 large - chop fine.

Onions - 2 small - chop lengthwise

Green chillies - 3

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Coconut milk - 1/2 cup(optional) if not available substitute with water.


Salt

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

To temper:

Oil - 2 tbsp

Bay leaf - 1

Star anise - 1


Method:

1. Wash and soak rice in 1 1/2 cup water or in the ratio of 1:1/2 of water and coconut milk for 20 min.

2. Heat a pressure pan and temper with the given ingredients.

3. Add onions and fry till golden brown.

4. Add green chillies and fry.

5. Add ginger garlic paste, garam masala and fry till raw smell goes off.

6. Add tomatoes and cook until mushy.

7. Add rice.

8. Add turmeric powder and salt.

9. When boils close the cooker and keep weight.

10. At once, simmer the flame and cook for 15 minutes.

11. Cool, Open and then serve.

          

Coconut milk Pulao

Coconut milk Pulao is a  high calorie pulao and it can be given to kids as it has no cholesterol and it contains high saturated fat.
Source: calories in coconut milk















 
Ingredients:

Basmathi rice -  1 cup

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Pudhina leaves - handful (optional)

Water - 1/2 cup

To temper:

Ghee - 2 tbsp ( I used oil)

Bay leaf - 1

Star anise - 1

Cardamom - 1

Onion - 2 small - chop fine lengthwise

Green chillies - 3

Curry leaves - few

Garlic - 10 flakes - chop fine

Ginger - 1" - chop fine


Method:

1. Take coconut milk and water in the ratio 1: 1/2 for 1 cup rice.

2. Wash and soak basmathi rice in the above mixture.

3. In a pressure cooker, Heat ghee and temper with the given ingredients in the order of bay leaf, star anise, cardamom, onion, green chillies, garlic and ginger. Fry each one of these and add one by one to fry.

4. Add rice along with the coconut milk mixture.

5. Add salt.

6. Close the cooker and keep weight.

7. At once, lower the flame and cook for 10 minutes.

8. Cool, open and then serve.

Harisseh/ Basbousa - Semolina Cake - New year 2011 special

Basbousa- semolina coconut cake soaked in simple syrup.

It is a middle eastern traditional sweet cake flavored with rose water or cinnamon stick water. 

My kids love this with honey. So I added honey.

Brown sugar I used is turbinado sugar.

Ingredients:

Rava- 2 cup - fine variety

Dessicated coconut powder - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 1cup

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Butter - 3/4 cup - melted

Milk - 250ml

Almonds blanched -20

For syrup:

Brown Sugar - 1 1/2 cup

Water - 1/2 cup

Lemon juice - 2 tbsp

Honey - 2 tbsp

For syrup:

1. Place sugar in a pan and add water so that sugar just immersed in it.

2. Heat in a medium flame till sugar dissolves and the syrup slightly coats the back of the spoon.

3. Switch off and remove from the flame and add lemon juice.

4. When it is lightly warm, add honey and mix well. Then pour it on the baked and slightly cooled cake.

How to make/bake it?

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.

2. Add melted butter and milk and mix well.

3. Pour this in a greased pan (I used 13*9 Pyrex glass pan) and level it with spatula.

4. Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 30-40 mins.

5. Then place half almonds leaving space inbetween and press them lightly.

6. Bake it in a preheated oven 345 F for about 30 mins or until the top is lightly golden.

7. Remove from the oven and Cool for 10 min. Cut into squares now itself to get a nice shape.

8. Pour the warm syrup on the cake and let it sit overnight for better taste.

Dhal Rasam/Paruppu Rasam

This rasam is only with dhals and i didn't use tamarind.Those kids who doesn't eat dhals can be substituted by this dish.

Ingredients:

Tuvar dhal - 1/2 cup

Tomato - 1

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

To grind:

Garlic - 4 flakes

Curry leaves - few

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Coriander - 1 tsp

Red chilli - pick a 1/2 from 1.


To temper:

Oil/ ghee - 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few


To garnish:

Coriander leaves - few.

Method:

1. Pressure cook dhal along with tomato and tumeric powder for 2 whistles or until done.

2. Mash them nicely or grind them. ( I usually grind them too).

3. Heat oil in kadai and temper with the given ingredients.

4. Add the ground paste.

5. Add the mashed dhal and salt.

6. When it is about to froth, switch off the flame and garnish.

Cucumber Pomegranate Raitha/ thayir pachadi

Ingredients:

Cucumber - 1 cup grated ( don't peel skin)

Pomegranate - 1 cup

Curd - 2 cup

Salt

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Method:

Mix all the raw ingredients well and atlast add salt and jeera powder.

Mix well.

Serve with rotis, chapthis and pulao...

Vanilla Cupcakes

Since long back I am in search of cupcake recipes. Yesterday I got this recipe from Joy of Baking. As soon as i get it, I collected the ingredients and baked it today. Woow.. The cake was tasty and yummy. My kid loved it a lot.

Recipe Source: Joy of Baking

Ingredients:

Maida - 1 1/2 cup ( The Original Recipe has All purpose Flour. As I didn't have with me, I substituted Maida ).

Butter -1/2 cup

Eggs - 3

Sugar - 2/3 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Baking Powder - 1 1/2 tsp

Vanilla Essence - 1 tsp

Lemon Zest - 1/2 tsp ( I used Orange Zest)

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1. Sieve in the dry ingredients.

2. Beat butter and sugar until creamy and smooth.

3. Add eggs one by one and beat well.

4. Add Vanilla essence, Lemon zest and beat for 1 min.

5. Now add dry ingredients with wet mixture alternating with milk. Mix well for 2 min.

6. Bake at 180 deg C for 18 - 20 min or until the cake tip is browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean.

7. Cool and Serve.

Makes about 12 cupcakes.

Sorakkai Gotsu/ Bottle Guard Gotsu

This gotsu is very famous in kongu nadu. people will prepare this gotsu as sidedish for idlis, dosas..

Ingredients:

Sorakkai - 1/2 kg

Tomatoes - 3 - cut into pieces.

Tamarind - small lemon size - wash and soak

Turemric powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp

To temper:

Onion - 1 - chop fine

Red chilli - 2 - cut into 2

Curry leaves

Method:

1. Peel outer skin from Sorakkai and cut into small pieces.

2. Heat oil in kadai and temper with the given ingredients.

3. Add sorakkai, tomatoes, turmeric powder and salt.

4. Add 1/4 tumbler water and close the kadai with a lid.

5. Cover and cook until it is cooked.

6. Once cooked, remove from the fire and add tamarind.

7. Cool and grind to coarsely.

8. Serve with dosas, Idlis...

Manathakkali Chutney/ Manathakkali thogayal

This chutney is a special dish in kongunadu places and it is very common here in all kitchens.

Ingredients:

Small onion - 1 cup

Red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - few

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya seeds/ Powder - 2 tbsp

Manathakkali leaves - 2 to 3 cups

Oil - 1 tbsp

Tamarind - small lemon size

Salt

Method:

1. In a kadai, add manathakkali leaves and fry in a slow flame. When all the water evaporates from the leaves, add 1/2 tsp oil at the end and cook it for 2 min.

2. Remove from fire and keep it aside.

3. In the same kadai, add small onions, red chillies and curry leaves and oil 1 tbsp and fry till the onion boils well in slow flame.

4. When onion boiled, add jeera nd coriander powder and cook it in low flame for 2 min.

5. Cool it and add tamarind, salt along with this and grind to a fine paste.

6. Goes well with rice, ghee rice..

Lemon rasam

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 lemon size.

Tomatoes - 1 ( chopped fine)

Dhal water - 1 cup

Lemon - 1

Salt

Oil

To grind to a fine paste:

Garlic - 4

Curry leaves - few

Jeera - 1/2 tsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp

Dhaniya - 1 tsp

To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Hing - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

To Garnish:

Coriander leaves - finely chopped

Method:

1. Wash and soak tamarind in water for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out only pulp using water to about 1 - 1/2 cups.

2. Heat oil and temper with the given ingredients.

3. Add finely chopped tomatoes and cook for a while.

4. Add dhal water, grounded paste and tamarind water, salt.

5. When it is about to froth, remove from the stove.

6. Meanwhile, squeeze out juice from half of lemon.

7. Pour into the rasam and garnish.

Tip:

a). Dont add lemon while rasam is about to froth. It will be so sour. Pour lemon after you remove rasam from the stove.

b). If you wont like tomatoes to float in rasam, we can grind tomatoes with the given ingredients itself.

 

Ghee Rice/ Nei soru

Ingredients:

Basmati rice -  1 cup

Coconut -  3/4 cup

Ghee - 3 tbsp

Salt

To temper:

Bay leaf - 1


Cinnamon - 1"

Cloves - 4

Cardamom - 2

Onions - 1 big - chop it fine lengthwise

Green Chillies - 5,6 - slit into 2

Curry leaves - few

Ginger - 1" - cut into julieness

Garlic - 10 pieces - chop fine

Tomato - 1 chop fine


Method:

1. Wash and soak rice for 15 min. Drain water and keep it aside.

2. Add warm water to coconut and take 2 cups of milk. (if you dont get 2 cups, make it 2 cups by adding plain water to it).

3. In a pressure pan, heat ghee and temper the given ingredients.

4. Add onions, green chillies, curry leaves, ginger, garlic and finally tomato one by one and stir fry each till raw smell goes.

5. Now add rice and fry it for few min.

6. Add coconut milk and salt.

7. When boils, i.e., when bubbles arise, close the cooker and keep weight.

8. Lower the flame at once and cook for 10 min.

9. Cool and open.

10. Serve with any thogayal/ non veg kurma.

Manathakkali Vathal Kuzhambhu

This recipe is a special south Indian spicy gravy.
I got this recipe from my neighbour. Very very superb recipe.
Can try it out with sundaikkai vathal too.


Ingredients:

Manathakkali vathal - 3/4 cup

Tamarind - big lemon size

Sambhar powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt

Gingelly oil - 3 tbsp

Grind coarsely:

Tomatoes - 2 medium

Garlic - 1 full piece


To temper:

Small onion - 1 cup

Red chillies - 2

Curry leaves - few

Method:

1. Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out the pulp.

2. Wash vathal in water.

3. Heat oil in a kadai, add vathal and fry in a slow flame.

4. Remove vathal from oil and transfer to a plate.

5. Temper with the given ingredients.

6. Add grounded tomato and garlic and fry for 1 min.

7. Add tamarind pulp, salt, turmeric powder and sambhar powder and cook it covered till raw smell goes off.

8. Add fried vathal and simmer the flame.

9. Cook until oil separates from the kuzhambhu.

10. Serve with appalam, papad...

Mysore Rasam

Ingredients:

Tamarind - lemon size

Tomato - 1

Dhal water - 1 cup

Oil

Salt


Dry roast and grind:

Tuvar dhal - 1 tsp

Red chilli - 1

Dhaniya - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/2 tsp


To temper:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Red Chilli - 1

To garnish:

Coriander leaves - few.


Method:

1. Mash/ Cut tomatoes.

2. Mix water with tamarind and drain the puree and take about 1 cups.

3. In a kadai, boil tamarind water along with tomatoes for 2 minutes.

4. Add dhal water, grounded powder, salt.

5. When it is about to froth, remove.

6. Temper and garnish with coriander leaves.

Variation:

a). You can roast with oil/ ghee and then powder. It gives some different taste.

b). I used Moong dhal water to this rasam.

Microwave Croutons

Ingredients Required:

Bread Cubes - 2 cups

Butter - 3 tbsp

Garlic - 1 tsp chopped

Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method:

1.Melt butter in microwave. MW HI for 1 min.

2. Add chopped garlic and MW HI for 1 min.

3. Toss in rest of the ingredients. Cook on HI for 3 - 4 min.

4. Allow to stand till cool and crisp.