Brinjal Kadayal

 Brinjal kadayal or Brinjal Tomato gravy - very easy side dish for rotti or rice.

INGREDIENTS:

Oil - 2 tablespoon

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Channa dal - 1/2 teaspoon

Urad dal - 1/2 teaspoon

Small onions - 1/3 cup

Dry red chillies - 2 no.s

Tomatoes - 1 medium sized 

Long Brinjal - 3 no.s big sized

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Coriander powder- 1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida - a pinch

Salt - as required

Water - 1/2 cup

Tamarind water - 1/4 cup

METHOD:

1. In a pressure cooker, add oil. Then add mustard seeds, channa dal , urad dal and dry red chillies.

2. Then add small onions, and fry for sometime , till they turn translucent.

3. Now add chopped tomatoes and fry for sometime , till they turn soft.

4. Add chopped brinjal pieces and saute for sometime.

5. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder , asafoetida powder and required salt .

6. Also add 1/2 cup water and 1/4 cup of tamarind extract. Cover the lid. Pressure cook for 3 to 4 whistles.

7. Switch off the stove and let the pressure settle by itself. Then open the lid, mash the contents using a masher or using a ladle. Add fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotti or rice . 

Veg Mexican Rice

 Mexican Rice , also known as red rice, is a spicy rice meal that originated in Mexico. Rice cooked with tomatoes , onion , garlic and spices. Usually, mexican rice is made with chicken broth, making a non vegeterian dish. I have tried this mexican rice in vegeterian way, by adding only veggies, tomato puree, onion and spices. The taste was very good and spicy lovers would definitely like it. 

INGREDIENTS:

Basmati Rice - 1/3 cup

Tomato - 1 medium sized

Onion - 1/2 cup finely chopped

Carrot - 1/2 no chopped fine

Red ,Yellow bell pepper - 3/4 cup chopped fine

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Garlic - 3 to 4 pods

Water - 1 cup 

Salt - as required

Chilli powder - 3/4 teaspoon( Adjust according to your spice level)

Pepper powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoo

Oregano - 1 teaspoon

Oil - 1 teaspoon

Butter - 1 teaspoon

METHOD:

1. Soak basmati rice in cold water for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, Chop all the vegetables finely and set aside.

2. In a pan, take some water. Once it starts boiling, add a whole tomato and let it boil for couple of minutes. You can see, the skin of tomato getting peeled off. Remove the skin, and grind the tomatoes along with red chilli powder in to a puree. 

3. In a flat pan, add oil and butter. Once it gets heated, add garlic and after some time add onions. Saute , till they turn transparent . Then add required salt, pepper, cumin powder and mix well.

4.  Now add the soaked basmatic rice and mix it without breaking the rice. Toast the rice for about 2 minutes on medium flame.

5. Now add the vegetables. Also add the tomato puree , oregano and mix well. Also add 1 cup of water. When it all starts to boil, keep the flame to sim and cover with lid . Let it cook for about 20 minutes in slow flame. 

6. After 20 minutes, the rice cooked well. Now garnish with some coriander leaves. Mexican rice is ready! 

Quinoa Khichdi

 An easy breakfast or lunch , that can be made in few minutes and healthy too !. Try this quinoa khichdi to save your time .

INGREDIENTS:

Quinoa - 1/4 cup

Moong dal - 1/4 cup

Water - 1.25 cups

Carrot - 1/4 cup chopped thin

Brinjal - 1/4 cup chopped 

Small onions - 4 to 5 no.s

Ginger - 1/2 inch sized chopped

Garlic - 2 to 3 pods

Cinnamon - 1/2 inch sized

Cloves - 2 to 3 no.s

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Red chili powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Fresh coriander leaves - for garnishing

Oil/ghee - 1 tablespoon

Salt - as required

METHOD:

1. Chop carrot, brinjal, small onions, ginger and garlic. Soak moong dal in hot water for about 20 minutes.

2. In a mixer, grind ginger, garlic, cinnamon and cloves without adding any water . Now in a pressure cooker, add oil or ghee. Then add small onions and also add the ginger,garlic, cinnamon and cloves paste. Fry for 2 minutes, till the onions turn translucent. 

3. Now add carrot , brinjal .Also add turmeric powder , red chilli powder and coriander powder and mix well.

4. Now add soaked and drained dal . Also add quinoa( no need to wash quinoa as it is prerinsed). Also add 1.25 cups of water and required salt. 

5. Now, cover with lid and pressure cook in high for 1 whistle and simmer for 10 minutes and switch off. Once the pressure settles, open the lid and garnish with coriander leaves. Quinoa khichdi is ready to serve ! It taste better , when served hot !

Quinoa Khichdi, pepper tofu , cauliflower curry

Butter Kara Sev

 

INGREDIENTS:

Besan or Chickpea flour - 1 cup

Rice flour - 1/2 cup

Cumin powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Black pepper powder - 1 teaspoon

Butter - 1 tablespoon

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Water - To make the dough

Oil - For deep frying

METHOD:

1.  In a large bowl, take besan and rice flour. Also add cumin powder, turmeric powder, salt and black pepper powder and mix well. Also add butter and mix well.

2. Now add water and mix them all to a smooth dough. The dough might be slightly sticky, but it is fine.

 3.  Heat oil in a pan. Prepare your murukku maker. Grease the inside of the maker with little oil.

4. Use the mold, that has one big hole. Stuff some dough in to the machine and press them in a circular motion on the hot oil. Make sure they doesnt overlap. Just gently separate them before they get cooked.

5.  Once the sound stopped, it indicates the sev is cooked . Allow them to rest on a tissue paper for the oil to drain . Store in an airtight container. Kara sev can stay good for two weeks.

Almond Ladoo

 Easy almond ladoo in 20 minutes !. Try this recipe for this diwali. You will absolutely love it !

INGREDIENTS:

Almond - 1 cup + 10 almonds

Dessicated coconute powder - 1 cup 

Jaggery  - 1 cup

Cardamom - 2 to 3 no.s

Ghee - 3 tablespoon

Cashews ( optional) - 4 to 5 no.s finely chopped

METHOD:

1. In a heavy bottomed pan, dry roast almonds for 3 to 4 minutes in medium flame. Make sure not to burn the almonds. When you taste the almonds it should be crunchy and you could smell a nutty flavour. Switch off the stove and allow it cool down. Then grind them in mixie along with cardamom seeds ( remove the skin of cardamom and use only the seeds)using pulse mode, to a fine powder. Do not grind for too long , as the powder release oil and gets too sticky. Just use pulse mode, and grind the almonds into a fine powder .

 2.  In the same pan, take a cup of dessicated coconut powder and dry roast them in low flame , until they turn slightly brown. 

3. Grind the dry roasted coconut powder and 1 cup jaggery in the mixie, using pulse mode for couple of times to a coarse powder. 

4. Mix the almond powder, along with coconut , jaggery powder. In a small pan, take 3 tablespoon of ghee. Roast the chopped cashews in the ghee and add it to the mixute. Mix the contents well . Once the ghee is added, it comes well to shape them in to ladoos. If you find the mixture still dry and couldnt hold shape, add some more ghee. Follow the video, below to make ladoos.

5 . Almond ladoo is ready ! Store in air tight container in fridge. Almond ladoo can stay good for over a week.

Sambar Rice (Another Version)

 Sambar rice is one of the tastiest and nutrition rich one pot meal . You get the essential carbohydrates from rice, protein from dal, vitamins and minerals from vegetables, fat from oil/ghee. Earlier I have shared another version of sambar rice recipe, cooking all the ingredients in a single shot in pressure cooker. Please click here for that recipe. This one is slightly a different version. In this, we cook only the rice and dal in the pressure cooker and mix the rice,dal with spices, vegetables . This sambar rice is made with fresh home made sambar masala paste , with minimal ingredients available in your kitchen. Try it, you will like it for sure. It is very filling and you will not feel the hunger for a long time.

Cooking Time: 35 to 40 mintes

Serves : 1 to 2 persons

INGREDIENTS:

FOR SAMBAR MASALA PASTE:

Oil - 2 teaspoon

Channa dal/ kadalai paruppu - 1 tablespoon

Coriander seeds  - 1 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Black whole pepper - 1/2 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 6 no.s ( Reduce the chilli, if you want less spicy)

Coconut powder /fresh grated coconut - 1 tablespoon

Water - 1/2 cup for grinding

OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Rice - 1/2 cup 

Toor dal - 1/ 4 cup

Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon

Water - 2.25 cups

Ghee - 2 teaspoon

Mustard - 1 teaspoon

Dry red chilli - 2 no.s

Onion - 1/2 cup chopped ( Preferrably small onions)

Carrot - 1/2 cup chopped

Chayote / chow chow - 1/2 cup chopped

Green peas - 1/4 cup

Garlic pods - 3 no.s

Tamarind extract - 1/4 cup

Salt - as required

Coriander leaves - For garnishing

Asafoetida powder - a pinch

METHOD:

1.  Wash and soak 1/2 cup of basmati rice and 1/4 cup of toor dal in sufficient water for about 30 minutes. Then drain the water and add 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder , required salt and 2.25 cups of water and pressure cook them in high flame for 1 whistle and then sim for 12 minutes. 

2. In a pan, add 2 teaspoon of oil. Now add 1 tablespoon channa dal, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon whole black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds, 6 no.s of dry red chilli and roast all of them in a low flame, until the colour changes and nice aroma comes. Now swich off the stove and add 1 table spoon of coconut powder to the hot pan and mix well. Now grind them all with 1/2 cup of water to a smooth paste. Your fresh sambar masala paste is ready !

3. Now, in a pan, add 2 teaspoon of ghee. Add 1 teaspoon of mustard, 2 dry red chilli. When it splutters, add 1/2 cup of chopped onion and garlic pods. 

4. Now add 1/2 cup of chopped carrots, 1/2 cup of chopped chayote and 1/4 cup of  green peas. Also a pinch of turmeric and pinch of salt and saute for sometime. Then add tamarind extract water and cover and cook the vegetables , until they are soft. 

5. Once the vegetables are  cooked ,  add the fresh sambar masala paste which you prepared in step 2 and also 1/2 cup of water . Let it boil for 2 to 3 minutes. As the masala paste has been already roasted and grinded, no need to cook the masala paste for longer time, as it will lose its fragrance. 

6. Now add the cooked rice and dal. Also add some water to adjust to your desired consistency. Mix the contents well and boil for a minute or two and switch off. Sprinkle some asafoetida powder and garnish with coriander leaves. Sambar saadham is ready to serve. You can serve it with pickle and papad . Sambar sadham taste better, when served hot !

SEE ALSO: Vegetable sambar rice , Bisi bela bath

Instant Bread Dosa

 Try this instant bread dosa recipe, that requires no fermentation and can be made immediately in a short time. 

Yields - 8 no.s of Dosas. 

INGREDIENTS :

White Bread - 4 no.s

Sooji/Rava - 1 cup

Rice Flour - 1/4 cup 

Curd or Yogurt - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon

Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Salt - 1/2 teaspoon

Water - 1 cup

METHOD:

1. Cut the edges of white bread. Cut them into pieces and take it in a bowl.  Add 1 cup of rava, 1/4 cup rice flour and 1/4 cup curd .  Also add 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar .

2. Now add 1 cup of water to it , combine well and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes, till the bread and rava absorb all water and soaked well.

3.  After 20 minutes, the bread and rava soaked well. Grind them in to a smooth paste by adding another 1/2 cup of water. Adjust water according to dosa batter consistency.

4. Just before making dosa, add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the batter and mix gently. Heat the dosa pan, and start making dosas. Dosas will be crispy and also tasty . Serve with any favourite chutney of your choice.

Bread Dosa with Tomato Thokku

ALSO SEE:  Mint Coriander Chutney, Peanut Chutney. Tomato Onion Chutney