Karadaiyan Nombu salted and sweet adai/Uppu and Vella adai

Karadaiyan Nombu Uppu and Vella adai.

Karadaiyan Nombu salted and sweet adai.

For salted adai

Raw rice powder - 1 cup(roasted)
Lobiya bean soaked and cooked - 2 tbsp
Coconut sliced into small pieces - 1 tbsp
Salt a required
Oil a teaspoon
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Urad dhal 1/2 tsp
Green chilli one chopped
Curry leaves a few

Method of Preparation

In a heated pan pour oil, mustard seeds, urad dhal. Allow mustard to crackle. Add curry leaves and green chili. Pour two cups of water and allow it to boil. Add roasted rice powder, lobiya bean and coconut. Mix well. Make sure no lumps are formed. Add salt. Once the dough is soft off the stove.

Wash and grease with oil banana leaves. Take a small lemon sized ball of the prepared dough and make small thin disk. Make a hole in the middle. Gently place it on the leaves. Prepare the rest of the adai and steam it in idly vessel or cooker for 12 minutes.  Once done remove from the leaves and arrange in hot casserole. Serve it with unsalted butter.

Sweet adai

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup(roasted)
Jaggery - 1/2 cup( melted)
Coconut sliced into small pieces - 1 tbsp
Lobiya bean cooked - 2 tbsp

Method of Preparation

Boil two cups of water add raw rice, coconut and lobiya bean. Mix well. Add melted jaggery and mix well and cook for a while till the dough is soft. Let it cool. In the meanwhile grease banana leaves. Make small ball and gently press it into a small disk. Continue making adai with the rest of the dough. Place a hole in the middle. Steam the adai for about 12 minutes. Serve it with unsalted butter.

The two types of delicious adai is made during savithri vrat in the south. Its known as Karadaiyan Nombu.

Tomato pickle from garden fresh tomatoes

Today was harvest day from my terrace garden. A handful of freshly plucked tomatoes.

Tomato pickle

Fresh tomatoes 1/2 kg
Red chilli a handful
Badige chilli - 3
Coriander seeds -1 tsp
Jeera -1 tsp
Methi -1/4 tsp
Hing a large piece
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Urad deal - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Salt as required
Ginger a large piece
Green chilli -2
Oil 4 tbsp

Method of preparation

Wash chop tomato, ginger and green chili. Dry roast red chilli, coriander seeds, jeera, mustard seeds, hing,methi. Crush to powder.

Pour oil in a heated pan add mustard, chana deal and urad dal. Allow mustard to crakle. Add chopped tomato, ginger and green chili. Saute and allow to cook till soft. Add turmeric powder, crushed masala powder. Mix well adjust salt. Simmer and cook for about 5 more minutes till all masalas are well mixed and tomatoes are tender and soft. By now you will see oil is separated from the pickle. Off stove and cool down. Serve as a side dish with curd rice. 

Pan Cake with Maple Syrup

Pan cake

Ingredients

Baking powder -1 tsp

Egg -2

Whole wheat flour - 200 grams

Sugar - 2 tbsp(powder)

Salt as required

Butter milk - 1 1/2 cup

Method of preparation

Beat egg. In a deep bowl add wheat flour, salt, sugar power,

butter milk and eggs. Gently mix. Now add butter milk. Mix 

everything and make a thick batter. Leave it for 20 minutes.

In a heated pan add butter and place one ladleful of batter. In

medium flame cook both sides till golden brown. Serve with 

maple syrup.

For variation chop and add a handful of cranberry/banana/ choco chips

Stuffed Bitter gourd

One of the most loved and disliked vegetable. Bitter gourd.  Its bitter and no matter what ever masala we add and cook a small amount of bitterness will be there in this vegetable.  I got very small variety of bitter gourd(Pavakkai) I  stuffed it with a very simple masala and shallow fry.

Stuffed Bitter Gourd 

Ingredients

Bitter gourd - 1/2 kg

potato - 1

onion - 1

mango - a small piece

ginger a small piece

green chilly - 2

coriander powder - 1 tsp

hing a little

jeera powder - 1 tsp

red chilly powder - 1/2 tsp

salt as required

Method of Preparation

wash slit and de seed bitter gourd. Peel and finely chop onion, potato, ginger and chilly. Pour a litter oil in a heated pan fry onion, ginger and chilly till onion is translucent add potato and allow it to cook till soft in low flame. Now add other dry masala like jeera, coriander and red chilli powder. Add chopped mango and sauté for another few more minutes. Adjust salt. Off the stove. Carefully stuff this masala into bitter gourd. Use a thin thread to tie each bitter gourd. In a tawa add a little oil place the stuffed bitter gourd and allow it to shallow fry in slow fire. 

Note : To save fuel I have placed the bitter gourd bowl in microwave for about 8 minutes by pouring 2 tbsp oil before placing them on heated tawa. Which ultimately saved a lot of time in making stuffed bitter gourd.

Whole wheat burger stuffed with potato tikki

An Indo western fusion. I am sure children would love this combination.

Whole wheat burger stuffed with potato tikki

Ingredients

Whole wheat burger buns - 2
Potato -1
Lettuce leaves a few
Cucumber - a few pieces
Onion - 1
Onion two thin slices
Jeera powder a pinch
Coriander powder a pinch
Red chilli powder a pinch
Ajwain a little
Saunf a little
Cheese slice - 2
Mayonnaise a little
Crushed pepper - 1/4 tsp

For the potato tikki

Boiled potato - 1 mashed.
Jeera powder, coriander powder, red chilli powder,  ajwain, saunf, - a pinch of each
Mix all the above ingredients add a little salt. Make a soft potato mash. Make small balls. Flatten and in a tawa roast in low flame till golden brown.

Method of preparation

Wash and tear lettuce leaves. Slit whole wheat bun. Spread lettuce leaves place sliced tomato and onion. Place one potato tikki, one cheese slice a dash of mayonnaise. Sprinkle a little crushed pepper. Serve with tomoto ketchup/sweet and sour chilli sauce.

Garlic toast and mixed vegetables soup

A simple supper menu for Sunday. French bread toast with mixed vegetables soup.

Ingredients

French bread - 1
Butter - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 6 to 7 pod

Method of preparation

Peel and chop garlic. In a hand mixer blend butter and chopped garlic. Cut even pieces of French bread. Apply butter garlic paste. Toast till golden brown in roti tawa. Serve hot with freshly prepared soup.


Mixed vegetables soup

Potato - 1
Carrot - 3
Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Ginger a small piece

Herbs and spices

Parsley-1 tsp
Coriander-1tsp
Thyme-1 tsp
Rosemary-1 tsp
Crushed pepper
Leeks chopped - 1 tsp
Salt as required
Method of preparation

Wash peel and chop all vegetables. In a heated pressure pan pour butter saute onion, potato, carrot, ginger and tomato. Add enough water and pressure cook for two whistle. Open and allow vegetables to reach normal temperature. Blend in mixer to a fine smooth paste. Add vegetable stock and mix well. Add a small spoonful of honey. Mix well.

Chop and add the herbs and spices. Bring to boil. Strain and adjust salt. Serve with hot garlic bread.

The best supper on a chilly winter night.

Quesadilla, Pita Bread and Brussels sprouts salad

Quesadilla

Leek  2 sticks

Tomatoes 5

Handful coriander

Pepper

Salt

Olive oil

Green chillies 2

Small onion 1

 Cheese 

Tortillas

Garlic cloves 3

Chop 2 tomatoes, chillies, coriander, onion and put in blender

Add 1 tbsp olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of pepper, chop 1 clove garlic 

Blend everything to paste 

Cut tortillas in half and toast them till they're a little brown

On one half smear salsa and put chopped tomatoes and leak

Smear salsa on other half also and put cheese on it 

Put both halves together and microwave till cheese melts 

Cut into triangles and serve hot 

Note: The same salsa filling can be used for pita bread.

bread.

Pita bread

Brussels sprouts tossed in unsalted butter(brown butter)

Butter unsalted- 1 tbsp

Salt

Pepper pinch 

1 tbsp jeera/ cumin seeds

250 gm Brussels sprouts

Water 

Remove the leaves from eat sprout and leave the cores aside 

In a pot, put water. It should be about 3/4th of the pot 

Add in 2 tbsps of salt and let it boil

Drop in the leaves for blanching for about a minute until they're bright green

In a pan put in 1 tbsp unsalted butter, 1tbsp jeera seeds, pinch of salt & pepper let the butter mixture become light brown 

Drain the Brussels sprouts leaves and toss them into the butter and let it coat the leaves 

Serve warm