Tomato, carrot and parsley soup

Winter vegetables like carrot and  tomato is best for making delicious soup.  Choose ripe tomatoes for making soup.


Tomato, carrot and parsley  leaves soup.

Ingredients

Tomato -  10 medium sized

Carrot -  1

Ginger a large piece

Ajwain leaves a few

Parsley y leaves a few

Basil a few

Crushed pepper a few

Salt as required

Method of preparation

Wash and slit tomatoes and carrots, grate ginger,  wash basil,  ajwain and parsley  leaves,  put everything together in a large pressure cooker. Add about 5 cups of water.  Add salt and pepper. Close the lid of pressure cooker and cook for two whistles.  Once it cools down open the lid and use a strainer to remove only cooked vegetables.  Preserve the vegetable stock. Allow it to cool. Grind it in a mixer. Add vegetable stock and little more hot water if the soup is too thick. Adjust salt and pepper.  Serve with bread toast. It's very healthy and nutritious.

Raw banana (vazhakkai) and potato bajji

Evening snacks are my children's favourite .  Both love crispy pakodas and yummy Indian snacks .  Today I made raw banana bajji(pakoda)  with just one raw banana and potato the whole family can munch on delicious snack.

Vazhakkai and Aloo bajji

Ingredients

Raw banana - 1 cut into thin slices.
Potato  - 1cut into thin slices.
Red chilli powder  - 1 tsp
Garam masala  - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain a little
Hing a pinch
Salt as required
Jeera and coriander powder a little each
A few pudina and palak leaves finely chopped .
Ginger powder a little
Basan one large cup

Method of preparation

In a large bowl add besan , salt, red chilli powder , ajwain , ginger powder , jeera coriander powder , hing and garam masala powder .  Mix well by adding  water and make a thick batter out of it.  Add chopped pudina and palak leaves.  Mix well.  Keep oil for deep frying in an iron pan.  When the oil is medium hot dip each pieces of raw banana into the prepared batter and slowly drop it into oil.  Fry till raw banana/potato bajji turns into golden brown . Once done remove the backing using perforated ladle into kitchen absorbent towel spread on a bowl or plate.  Enjoy the delicious snack with green chutney or tomato ketchup . 

Cauliflower masala in coconut milk

Winter season slowly setting and we are getting fresh cauliflower, peas and french beans .  I tried a simple dish today with cauliflower , green peas, bell pepper and tomatoes .

Gobi masala in coconut milk

Ingredients

Cauliflower (gobi)  -  1 large , remove florets

Tomatoes - 4 small home grown slit into pieces .

Bell pepper - Tricolour ,  green , yellow and red chopped into small cubes.

Green peas - a few

Chopped coriander leaves a little

Green chilli 1

Ginger  a small  piece

Potato 1 cut into small cubes
Coconut milk - 1 cup

Turmeric , garam masala,  Red chilli , coriander and jeera powder -1/2 tsp each

Method of preparation

* wash and remove florets from cauliflower .  Immerse the florets in warm water with a pinch of salt .

* Peel and chop potato into large cubes.

* cut tomatoes into small pieces . I just slit them into four as they were too tiny.

Heat a pan pour a little oil,  add cauliflower and potato .  Cook in high flame by tossing it occasionally .  Once both the vegetables are soft add turmeric red chilli, coriander and jeera powder .  Mix well .  Add peas and  bell pepper .  Mix gently .  Now add coconut milk.  Simmer the stove.  Adjust salt,  add garam masala .  Mix well and finally garnish with coriander leaves,  green chilli and  ginger jullian.   Serve hot with phulka or enjoy this delicious gravy with rice.

Kaju, Badam and rolled oats burfi

Wishing all my readers A very happy Diwali .  Today I tried a new version of Kaju burfi.  I have added a few new ingredients to the original recipe .  The results are good .



Kaju, Badam and rolled oats burfi

Ingredients

Whole Kaju - 1 cup ( make sure the Kaju is in room temperature . Coarsely powder it in mixer)

Badam  - 1 cup (soak in hot  water , peel and grind in mixer. If needed add a little milk and make a coarse paste)

Rolled oats - 1/2 cup

Crushed cardamom - a little

Milk - 2 tbsp

Condensed Milk - 1 tin

Sugar  - 1 cup

Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method of preparation

* Make coarse powder or paste out of Kaju,  Badam and  rolled oats. Keep it ready.
* crush cardamom.

In a non stick large pan add sugar and a little water .  Melt it to one string pakam. Now  add each ingredient while stirring continuously .  Make sure no lumps are formed .  Since I added a little milk to  Kaju and  badam and made coarse paste no lumps were formed .  Add powdered rolled oats to the mixture .  Cook it in low flame as the Kaju and badam  thickness there is chance of getting burnt if not stirred continuously . Once the mixture is mixed well add condensed milk.  Keep stirring. Add cardamom for the delicious flavour.  Slowly add a little Ghee and stir continuously till the burfi oozes out the Ghee.  By now burfi will be leaving the sides of pan.  Grease two plates with little Ghee and  spread the burfi evenly.  Let it cool and come to room temperature .  Cut into desired shape.  Enjoy the healthy sweet with family and friends .  Happy Diwali to all of you .

White peas sundal(Thenga Manga Pattani sundal)

It's Navrathri time. Festival of dolls or Bommai Golu.  It's an auspicious occasion in Brahmin households to arrange dolls depicting mythological stories from epic Ramayana and Mahabharata. Each day of the festival we make different prasadam to goddesses Durga.  Today I made a  simple sundal with white peas.

Thenga Manga Pattani Sundal

White peas - 250grams (soak for 5 hours and cook it for one whistle)
Coconut pieces a few cut into thin slices.
Mango pieces a few cut into thin slices.
For tadka
Oil one tsp
Mustard 1/4 tsp
Urad dhal 1/2 tsp
Channa dhal 1/2 tsp
Green chilli two cut into small pieces.
Ginger a small piece.

Method of preparation

Wash and soak white peas for 5 hours and pressure cook it for one whistle  with little haldi and salt.  Drain excess water keep aside. Chop coconut, mango, ginger and chilli into fine thin pieces.  Keep aside.  In a heated pan add oil,  mustard, urad and channa dhal.  Let the mustard crackle. Now add cooked white peas.  Mix well. Off the stove.  Add chopped coconut, mango, ginger and  green chilli.  Toss it.  Adjust salt.  Offer this delicious sundal as offering to God and serve it in leaf cups (donnai) as prasadam for Navrathri haldi kumkum. 

Jackfruit kozhakattai in turmeric leaves

Poorana kozhakattai and jackfruit kozhakattai in turmeric leaves.

Jackfruit kozhakattai

I took two lemon sized rice dough and one tsp coconut pooranam. Smash and mix them together. Make small even sized balls it of it. Fill it in  jack fruit petals. Steam by placing it in turmeric leaves for 10 minutes. The delicious aroma of turmeric leaves and jackfruit gives a special flavor to the dish.

Sweet kozhakattai recipe please refer.

 http://jayanthisindianrecipes.blogspot.in/2014/09/sweet-kozhakattaiurad-kozhakattai.html?m=1

Lauki,cluster beans and green moong dhal gravy

Lauki, cluster beans green mong dhal gravy.

Ingredients

Broken green moong dhal 1 cup
Lauki(bottle gourd) 2 cups
Cluster beans a handful (home grown from my terrace garden)
Onion 1
Tomato 1
Green chili 2
Ginger 1 piece
Jeera 1 tsp
Ghee 1 tbsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Red chilli dry 2 broken
Garam masala 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves a few
Salt as required

Method of preparation

Wash and cook green moong dhal in a pan by adding turmeric and salt.

Grind onion,tomato,green chilli,ginger into a fine paste.

Chop lauki into cubes and cluster beans into small pieces.

Pour oil in another heated pan. Add onion tomato paste. Cook it till oil separate from it. Add lauki and cluster beans. Mix well. Coat the vegetables with the reduced gravy. Add a little turmeric and little salt. Allow it to cook in high flame for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetables into cooking green moong dhal. Mix well. Add a tsp of jeera powder. Adjust salt. Add one more cup of water and pressure cook for 1 whistle.

In a small pan add ghee, jeera and red chilli. Let it splutter. Add a little garam masala and red chilli powder. Pour on top of the prepared lauki gravy.  Enjoy this healthy delicious gravy with rice or roti.