Plain paratha

Ingredients:
Wheat flour - 2 cups
Salt - as required for your taste
Water - Needed quantity to knead


Method:
Mix flour, salt and water.
Knead into a soft dough.
Take key lime size of dough.
Roll into about 5 inch wide disc. Sprinkle dry flour while rolling to prevent from sticking.
Fold the disc into half.
Again fold to quarter.
Sprinkle dry flour and roll over the four folded dough.
Roll till it reaches desired thickness.
In the heated pan, lay the rolled dough.
Sprinkle little oil on the surface. Keep the burner on medium flame.
When one side is done, flip and sprinkle oil.
Remove when both sides are done.

Read More

Egg Salad

Ingredients:
Egg -4
Pepper - 1/4 Tsp(crushed )
Onion pieces - 1 tsp
Tomato pieces - 1 tsp
Coriander leaves
Salt

Method:
Immerse the eggs in water.
Let the water gets boiled.
Boil the eggs.
Keep for 5 minutes.
Switch off the gas burner.
Cover and keep aside for 10 minutes.
Drop the eggs in cold water till the eggs get cold.
Remove the shells.
Cut the eggs into half.
Season with salt, pepper, onion, coriander leaves and tomato.

Read More

Onion pakoda

Ingredients:
Gram flour - 2 cups (கடலை மாவு)
Rice flour - 1 cup
Corn flour - 1/4 cup (optional)
Red onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
Ginger - 2 inch (julienned)
Green chilli -1 (discard the seeds & chop)
Red chilli powder - 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves - 10 (chopped)
Coriander leaves - chopped
Salt
Warm oil - 1 tablespoon
Oil for deep frying.
Baking soda -1/4 tsp

Method:
Mix gram flour, rice flour, corn flour (optional) , red chilli powder, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
Add warm oil to the mixture and mix.
Add onion, ginger, curry leaves, coriander leaves, green chillies and mix.
Sprinkle little water and mix.
Do not make the mix more wet. It should barely stick together. (மாவு ரொம்ப ஒட்டிக் கொண்டு இருக்காமல், உதிரி உதிரியாக இருக்க வேண்டும்)
Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying.
Take one handful of mix and keep pinching and drop about 1 inch of mix in the oil. (ஒரு கை நிறைய மாவு எடுத்துக்கொண்டு, அதிலிருந்து தேவையான அளவுக்கு கிள்ளி எடுத்து எண்ணையில் போட வேண்டும்.)
Remove when fried.

Read More

Pudina chutney

Ingredients:

Pudina (mint leaves) - 1 bunch
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup (துருவிய தேங்காய்)
Urad dal -1 tea spoon (வெள்ளை உளுத்தம்பருப்பு)
Green chillies (big) - 2
Tamarind - small piece
Salt
Oil
Mustard seeds (கடுகு)
Cumin seeds (சீரகம்)
Curry leaves


Method:
Heat oil in a small kadai.
Add urad dal and fry.
Add the tamarind piece and saute it for one minute.
Remove the dal and tamarind .
Again add little oil and saute the pudina leaves till the leaves shrink.
Grind the grated coconut, green chillies, fried urad dal, tamarind piece, pudina leaves and salt.
Season the chutney with mustard seeds,cumin seeds and curry leaves.

Read More

Idli using Uncle Ben's rice

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 2 cups (Sona masoori from any Indian grocery store)
Uncle Ben's Parboiled rice - 2 cups
Urad dal - 1 cup (உளுந்து)
Cooked rice - one handful
Salt
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon (வெந்தயம்)

Method:
Soak raw rice and parboiled rice for 8 hrs.
Soak urad dal and fenugreek seeds for 4 hrs.
First grind the cooked rice and add the urad dal to it and grind.
Urad dal should be soft and fluffy.
Then grind raw rice and parboiled rice coarsely like rava.
Mix all the batter and ferment for 10 hrs .
After fermentation add salt to the batter and mix.
Grease the idli plates with little oil and pour the idli batter. Cover it.
Steam for 10 minutes.
After 4 to 6 minutes remove idlis from the plate.

p.s. I tried other local brands of parboiled rice. Uncle Ben's rice gave good results. It is available in local grocers (publix, meijers, heb, wal-mart,... that's all I know)

Read More

Banana flower curry

வாழைப்பூ துவட்டல்

Ingredients:
Banana flower (vaazhai poo)- 1
Buttermilk - 2 cups
Whole red chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tea spoon
Bengal gram - 1/4 tea spoon
Raw rice - 1 tea spoon
Grated coconut - 2 tea spoon
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tea spoon
Salt
Oil

Method:
Remove unwanted stuff from banana flower. To do this take the florets under the outer cover. From each floret discard the longest and thick stem. Also discard the bottom portion of the floret. The remaining stuff should be used for cooking.
Cut the selected portion of florets into pieces. Immediatelyafter cutting immerse in buttermilk.
Heat oil in a kadai.
Add bengal gram and fry.
Add raw rice and fry.
Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and whole red chillies in the kadai.
Drain the butter milk and add the cut florets into kadai.
Add water(if required), salt, turmeric powder and let it cook.
Add grated coconut just before removing from stove.


p.s. This is nutritious food. Use gloves while working with the flower. Otherwise it will leave stains on the fingers.

Read More