Carrot Chutney

Ingredients

Carrot - 2 shredded
Onion - 1 chopped
Tomato - 1 chopped
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 1 or 2 pods
Dry Red Chillies - 2
Channa Dal - 2 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil, Salt and hing as required

To Temper

Oil, Mustard Seeds, Curry leaves, Urad dal

Method

• Heat oil in a pan. Fry cumin seeds, channa dal, urad dal, red chillies, garlic and ginger
• Add in the onions and saute till transparent and then add the tomatoes
• Stir for couple of minutes and then add the grated carrots
• Cook for 2-3 minutes and switch off the stove
• Let it cool and grind to a smooth paste
• Do the tempering and add it to the chutney
• Goes well with idly, dosa, pongal, chapathi or even curd rice

Adai Dosa

I have tasted adai only in my college hostel. But I haven't liked the taste much. But VJ loves it. So I learned this recipe for him and started liking it, both for its actual taste and its nutritious contents. It is a protein packed wholesome breakfast which keeps you energetic throughout the day.

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1/2 cup  
Idli Rice - 1/2 cup  
Channa dal - 1/4 cup  
Urad dal - 1/8 cup  
Toor dal - 1/8 cup
Moong dal - 1/8 cup
Red chillies - 3  
Ginger, garlic, onion, green chillies, salt, hing, curry leaves, coriander leaves as per taste
(Garlic and onion are optional)

Method

1. Wash and soak the rice,dals and red chillies together for 2-3 hours. Grind along with ginger and garlic into a coarse and thick batter. The batter need not be as smooth as the dosa batter.
2. Add chopped onions, green chillies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, salt and hing and mix well.
3. Heat a skillet, take a laddle of batter and prepare dosa's. Drizzle few drops of oil and cook on both sides. Healthy adai dosa is ready. 

Goes well with any kind of chutney or Tomato Pickle. But the best combination for this dosa, as I am told is Avial.You can also grind the onion along with the batter instead of chopping and adding them. 

Nutritional Information

Adai is a savory pancake made with lentils and rice. Lentils are considered wholesome as they include all the beneficial nutrients like  fiber, protein, minerals (potassium, calcium, zinc, niacin) and vitamins, and are still low in calories and contain virtually no fat.

Oats Uthappam

Oats are considered a very healthy food. So how about a healthy and fiber rich oats dosa for breakfast?

Ingredients

Oats - 1/4 cup
Rava - 1/4 cup
Curd - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Onion - 1, chopped finely
Green chilli - 1, chopped finely
Grated carrots - 2 tbsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp, approximately
Curry leaves - one full strand, chopped finely
Coriander leaves - a handful, chopped finely
Salt and hing as per taste

Optionally you can also add fried cashew nuts to the batter as you do for rawa dosa.

Method

1. Powder the oats finely. Alternately, you can dry roast the oats, cool down and grind it to a coarse powder for added flavor.
2. In a bowl mix oats, rawa, curd, cumin seeds and salt and set aside for half an hour. After half an hour add the other ingredients (onion, green chilli, grated carrots, ginger, curry leaves and coriander leaves) and mix well. Add water to make it to an adai batter consistency.
3. Heat a tawa, once it is hot enough, take a laddle full of batter and spread it to a thick circle as you would do for uthappams. Drizzle some drops of oil, cook on both sides and enjoy with any tangy, spicy chutney or coconut chutney. Handle the uthappams very carefully while flipping on sides as they may break apart.

Nutritional Information

Researches reveals that including oats in your regular diet provides you a wide range of important health benefits.Oats have a high fiber content, well-balanced protein and essential fatty acids. They are also a good source of essential vitamins such as thiamin, folic acid, biotin, pantothenic acid,vitamin E and minerals like zinc, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and magnesium. Oats helps reduce hypertension or high blood pressure and have been linked with longevity and general good health. So EatMoreOats!

Pesarattu or Moong Dal Dosa

Pesarattu or moong dal dosa is a popular breakfast recipe of Andhra Pradesh. Pesarattu is prepared by soaking and grinding the green moong dal. Green moong is packed with proteins which makes it wholesome and a filling breakfast. You can make the batter thick or thin depending on your taste buds. Both ways the dosas tastes good.

Ingredients

Whole Green Moong Dal - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 tbsp (Optional)
Onion - 1
Green Chilli, Curry leaves, Corriander leaves, salt and hing as per taste

Method

1. Wash and soak the moong dal for atleast 4-5 hours. Drain the water and grind it to dosa batter consistency
2. Chop the onions, green chilli, curry leaves and corriander leaves to very small pieces and mix along with the batter. Add in the salt, hing and rice flour if desired. Batter is ready
3. Heat a skillet, take a laddle full of batter, drizzle few drops of oil and cook on both sides. Healthy pesarattu is ready to serve with any kind of chutney!.

Nutritional Information

Green moong dal is a rich source of low-fat protein and fiber which helps one to lower the high cholesterol level in the blood system. Rich in minerals such as calcium,magnesium, potassium, B vitamins and an appreciable amount of Vitamin C. It fills you up, satisfying your appetite. Including this bean regularly in your food helps you stay healthy and resistant to common weaknesses.

Idly Podi

Ingredients

Urad Dal - 1 cup
Gram Dal - 1/2 cup
Sesame Seeds - 2 tsp
Garlic - 8 or 10 cloves
Dry chillies - 3 (adjust as per taste)
Salt and hing as per taste

Method

• Dry roast all the ingredients one by one separately and allow them to cool down completely. Add salt and hing and grind to a coarse powder. Enjoy with Idly or dosa!

Vanilla Ice Cream - How to make Vanilla Ice Cream @ Home - Ice Cream without Ice Cream Maker

IcE CrEAm... without an ice-cream maker? Whoa... thank God I found this recipe. This was the surprise treat for VJ's 2012 bday. I wanted to bake him a heart cake, but he would smell the baked flavor and there would be no surprise. So I had dropped the idea of cake and this Ice-Cream recipe came into my mind. Thankfully, I had the condensed milk and whip cream handy. So silently I made this while he was playing with Prajju and watching some movie :P

Ingredients

Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can (14 oz)
Whip Cream - 600 ml
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Chopped nuts of your choice and chocolate chips/shavings

Method

1. Add the whip cream in a large bowl. Beat on high using a hand mixer until it turns firm. If you don't have a hand mixer use a whisk and whisk well.
2. Add in the condensed milk and vanilla extract and beat for few more minutes.
3. Now, add the chopped nuts and the chocolate chips and give it a good stir. If you are using chocolate shavings, sprinkle them at the time of serving or only when you are done with the stirring process.
4. Transfer to a freezer safe bowl and freeze until done preferably whole night.

** If you don't have a hand mixture and not able to get a firm mixture of all the ingredients, do not worry. Whisk them all together as much as possible and transfer to freezer safe bowl. Freeze it. Take them out every 30 mins and mix them evenly. Do this 3-4 times and then allow to set down completely.

Phirni - How to make Phirni

Phirni is a kashmiri rice dessert which is made with ground basmati rice cooked with milk, sugar and some saffron threads for flavoring. Traditionally this desert is chilled and served in earthen bowls. Though you can have this unchilled, you get the best taste only when refrigerated. When you have some unplanned guests at home you can surprise them with this new dessert. Hardly takes some 20 mins for the whole process and then the refrigerating time. Here is the recipe!

Ingredients

Basmati rice - 2 tbsp

Milk -300 ml
Sugar - 21/2 tbsp (adjust as per taste)
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Sliced almonds - 8 or 10
Crushed Pistachios, Raisins and few strands of saffron for garnish

Method

1. Soak basmati rice for 1/2 an hour in water. Drain the water, blend it to a coarse paste.
2. Soak almonds in hot water for 10 mins and peel of the skin. Slice into thin slices.
3. Boil the milk in a broad bottomed pan, preferably non-stick. Stir in-between so that the milk doesn't stick to the bottom. Adding a teaspoon of water before pouring milk to the pan will help milk not to stick to the pan.
4. Add little bit of water to the rice paste and liquify it. This way you can avoid forming lumps while adding it to the milk. Now add the rice paste and almonds to the boiling milk. Give a nice stir and cook on slow flame for 10-15 mins. You can also reserve few slices of almonds for garnishing at the end. Keep scraping the sides of the pan continuously so that the milk and rice mixture doesn't stict to the sides or bottom.
5. Now, add sugar and cardamom powder, mix well and simmer for another 5-7 minutes while continuing the scraping process. By now it could have thicken. Switch off the flame and allow it to cool. Garnish with crushed nuts and saffron.
6. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour and enjoy chilled.

Milk Peda - Microwave Recipe - just 3 ingredients, 3 mins!

I am a big fan of milk sweets, milk sweets alone. And that was the story before marriage. Now, I enjoy almost every sweet. But milk sweets holds the first place anytime. When I came through this recipe I wanted to give a try for its simplicity and easiness. Not a big challenge at all. Just 15-20 minutes was that all I needed, includes the time allowed for the mixture to cool down and I had those delicious pedas in hand. WOW! They look great when you decorate them with crushed pistachios. I just forgot to click them when I decorated with pistachios. So here is the version with almonds.

Ingredients

Milk Powder - 2 cups
Sweetened Condensed Milk or Milkmaid - one 14 oz can
Butter - 1 stick or 8 tablespoons
Cardamom powder - a pinch (optional)
Pistachios/Almonds or nuts of your choice. Crushed, for garnish .

Method

1. Take a big microwave safe bowl,add butter and melt it in the microwave. This might take a minute.
2. Now add in the milk powder,condensed milk and cardamom powder. Give a nice mix with a spatula.
3. Microwave for 3 minutes stirring every one minute.
4. Allow the mixture to cool for few mins or until it is able to handle.
5. Make pedas of your desired shape. Greasing your hands with butter will help obtain smooth texture. Garnish with nuts.
6. Allow to cool down, store airtight and enjoy these delicious pedas.

Mango Thokku

Ingredients

Medium Sized Mango - 1 (Grated)
Sesame Oil - 6 + 2 tbsp
Mustard Seeds, Salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, hing - as per taste

To Grind

Mustard and Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp each

Method

1. Dry roast the mustard and fenugreek seeds in a pan and powder it. Keep it aside.
2. Wash the mango and wipe it dry. Peel the skin and grate using a grater.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and hing, when mustard splutters, add the grated mango and turmeric powder and saute nicely for a few minutes.
4. Add chilli powder and salt. Saute well until oil oozes out. Keep the flame low for the entire process, otherwise it may get burnt.
5. Add the mustard+fenugreek powder and mix well. Cook for couple of minutes and turn off the stove. Allow to cool and transfer to an airtight container.                                  

  

Tomato Pickle

Ingredients

Medium Sized Ripe Tomatoes - 6
Sesame Oil - 3-4 tbsp
Mustard Seeds, Salt, turmeric powder, chilli powder, hing - as per taste

To Grind

Mustard and Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp each

Method

1. Dry roast and grind the mustard and fenugreek seeds.
2. Chop the tomatoes.
3. Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds, allow to splutter and then add the hing.
4. Add in the chopped tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder.
5. Cook on medium flame until oil oozes out of the mixture.
6. Add the mustard+fenugreek powder and cook for few more minutes.
7. Turn off the stove, allow to cool and transfer to an airtight jar.

Capsicum Rice

Capsicum rice is one another simple rice that is made the same way we prepare Carrot Rice. The flavor of capsicum makes your rice so delicious. Try adding multi colored capsicums for enhanced taste.

Ingredients

Rice/Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Onion - 1/2 (small size)
Capsicum/Bell Pepper - 1 (you can also use multi colors for a colorful rice)
Salt, Hing, Turmeric Powder as per taste
Corriander leaves to garnish
Optional - Roasted cashews/Peanuts, Cooked corn/peas

To Temper

Oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, channa dal, curry leaves, green chillies (as per taste)

Method

1. Cook the rice and allow it to cool down a bit.
2. Heat oil in a pan, temper with the ingredients given. Add onions and fry till they become translucent. (adding a pinch of salt will make the process quick)
3. Add chopped capsicum, turmeric powder and required salt, saute until capsicum is 3/4 done.
4. Add in the roasted peanuts/cashews or cooked corn/peas. This is totally optional, but they add extra flavor to the rice. Finally add cooked rice and chopped coriander leaves, mix everything well together

** you can also use a tablespoon of the Rice Mix Powder to get a nice aroma and taste 

 Nutritional Information

We know that capsicums are available in beautiful colors like green, red and yellow colors. They have various names like capsicum, bell peppers, chilli peppers etc in various countries. Eating capsicum helps in keeping the skin clear, prevents rashes and pimples. Eating capsicum speeds up the metabolism and helps burn more calories aiding weight loss. Capsicum is rich in vitamin A and C. Consumption of the variety of the colored peppers are recommended in order to benefit from all the nutrients.

Veg Manchurian

Veg Manchurian is a very popular Indo-Chinese dish, prepared with deep fried vegetables balls sauted in a soya sauce based gravy. This pairs perfectly with Veg Schezwan Fried Rice. This can be prepared dry or as saucy consistency. It tastes good both ways.

Ingredients

Finely chopped capsicum, cabbage, carrot, beans and spring onion whites - 1 cup

Maida/all-purpose flour - 1 tbsp
Cornflour - 1 tbsp
Rice flour - 1/2 tbsp
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp
Green chillies finely chopped - 2 or 3
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt as per taste and oil for deep frying
Warm water as required (1 or 2 tbsp should be sufficient)

For sauce:

Spring onions green, finely chopped - 1/4 cup
Finely minced garlic - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped green chillies - 1 or 2
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce - 1 tsp
Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
Cornflour 1 tbsp mixed with 1 cup of water and make a paste out of it
salt as required and a pinch of sugar
Sesame oil - 1 tbsp

Preparing the vegetable balls

1. Heat oil for deep frying in a heavy bottomed pan.
2. In a bowl, combine all the chopped vegetables, corn flour, maida, ginger-garlic paste, green chillies, salt and pepper. Mix well just by sprinkling very less water so that you can make small balls out of the mixture.
3. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on absorbant paper and keep aside.

The sauce

1. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan on high flame. Add  garlic, green chillies and ginger one by one and stir fry for few seconds over the high flame.
2. Add the sauces, corn flour  paste, sugar and salt and simmer for few minutes.
3. Just before serving put the vegetable balls in the sauce and bring to a boil. Toss on high flame, the veg balls should remain crunchy.
4. Turn off the heat and garnish with the chopped spring onion greens.

For Manchurian with gravy, add little bit of water to the sauce and follow the same steps above. My favorite combo is Veg Manchurian with Schezwan Fried Rice.

Carrot Rice

I like any kind of variety rice for their ease of preparing and the taste. Carrot rice is one among them. My kid loves this too. He can eat this even daily. I make variations by adding peanuts or channa or sweet corn or even bell peppers. The crunchiness of the carrot along with the crisp nuts or soft beans makes you love this dish. Isn't this a healthy colorful rice that can attract anyone? Now to the simplest recipe ever!

Ingredients:   

Rice - 1 cup
Carrots - 3 or 4, skin peeled and shredded
Onion - 1
Green chilli - 1, slit lengthwise
Cooked peas/channa/corn/roasted peanuts - a handful (Optional)
Hing, turmeric powder, salt as per taste

To Temper

Oil, Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Channa Dal, Urad Dal, Curry Leaves as needed

Method

1. Cook the rice, fluff it with fork and set aside. Make sure it is not sticky.
2. Heat oil in a pan and do the tempering with the tempering ingredients in the specified order. Add the green chilli and the onions one after the other. Once the onions turn translucent add the carrots and give a quick stir. Carrots need not be fully cooked. Add the cooked peas/channa/corn/roasted peanuts, hing, turmeric powder and salt. Turn off the flame and add the cooked rice and mix well.
3. Add some chopped corriander leaves for garnish and flavor.

** you can also use the Rice Mix Powder along with this for a nice aroma and taste .

Nutritional Information

Health experts call carrots "The Crunchy Powerfood" as these root vegetables come with wholesome health benefiting compounds such as beta-carotenes, vitamin A, and anti-oxidants in ample amounts. They also compose healthy levels of minerals like copper, calcium, potassium, manganese and phosphorus. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure by countering effects of sodium. In general, carrots are beneficiary for vision health, preventing  lung cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer, anti-aging, preventing heart disease, stroke etc. And did I mention that carrots also grow in attractive white, yellow, red and purple color!

Corn Poha/Aval Upma

I love this corn poha very much. Simple and quick breakfast that can be prepared in minutes. The sweetness of the corn, the spiciness of the green chillies, the aroma of the garlic and onion, the crisp dals and the poha altogether tastes heavenly. You can also add vegetables of your choice like Carrot, beans, Capsicum,  boiled corn/peas/Chick pea, fried peanuts, paneer etc. and make variations to the dish. Cut the vegetables into very small pieces. Just cook until they are half done and add the poha. Crunchiness of the vegetables along with the soft poha gives you an excellent taste!!

Ingredients

Thick Poha - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Green chilly - 1 or 2, cut into thin slices

Boiled corn kernels - 1/4 cup
Salt, Hing and Turmeric Powder as per taste

To Temper

Oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, channa dal, urad dal, curry leaves, red chillies as per taste.

To Garnish

Corriander Leaves and Lemon juice

Method 

1. Wash and soak poha in water for 5 mins. Drain the water and keep aside. 
2. Heat oil in a pan and do the tempering, add the green chillies and onion one after the other. Saute till the onion turns golden brown.
3. Add the cooked corn, poha, salt, turmeric powder and hing and give a good stir.
4. Switch off the stove and add the lemon juice. Garnish with coriander leave. Keep covered and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes so that all the flavors blend together. Poha tastes good with coconut chutney, tomato chutney, or even just with fresh curd and pickle.

Nutritional Information

Poha is a light and easily digestible low calorie breakfast cereal. Poha or Beaten Rice mainly contain carbohydrates and protein, later in small quantity. They are low in lactose, low in fat and hence good for heart and blood sugar. Don't forget to serve it with lemon as it is the vitamin C present in lemons that aids the absorption of iron from the poha.
 

Rice Mix Powder

Ingredients

Bengal gram dhal – 2 tsp
Urad dhal – 2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Whole black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Red chillies –3-4
Coriander seeds – 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick – 1 small piece
Cloves – 1 or 2

Dry fry the ingredients (can use a tsp of oil if required).
Grind it to a fine powder.
You can use this powder when you make capsicum rice, channa rice or any vegetable rice.

**Can also be stored in an airtight container and used 

Besan Laddu Recipe - Diwali Sweets

I am not a very big fan of sweets until married. VJ loves them a lot. So I started learning them just for the sake of him and slowly started liking them too :-) Besan laddu is a delicious sweet made for several special occasions. It is made out of roasted gram flour, ghee, raisin, nuts and sugar The trick for getting this right is to roast the gram flour perfectly. If I am preparing the sweet just for me and my family I will try to minimize the quantity of sugar and buttery products in my recipe. So they may not be in perfect shapes bcos of less ghee, but still will taste good. But if I am preparing for any special occasion or for my friends and relatives, then no compromise in any of the ingredients. You can reduce the quantity of ghee from one and a half cups to 1 cup if you are too health conscious.

Ingredients:

Besan flour - 2 1/2 cups
Sugar          - 1 1/2 cup
Ghee           - 1 1/2 cup approximately
Raisins and Nuts of your choice chopped into fine pieces.

Method:

1. Fry the nuts and raisins in 1 or 2 tsp of ghee and keep aside.
2. Powder the sugar finely and set aside.
3. Roast the besan flour until a nice aroma rises. Do not over roast or under roast the besan flour. Else you will not get the nice taste out of the laddoo's.
4. Let it cool and then add the powdered sugar. Heat the ghee and mix this warm ghee with the besan, sugar mixture.
5. Add the fried nuts/raisins. Make smooth balls of desired size. Grease your palms with little bit of ghee for nice and smooth balls. I used to avoid this as I would think I can cut down atleast that much of ghee from my laddoo's. You could see that in my laddoo's :-)