Ellu Podi/Sesame Seeds Powder

Ingredients:

Sesame seeds (white) - 1 cup
Urad dal - ¾ cup
Chana dal - ¼ cup
Dry whole red chilies - 14
Curry leaves - 6 sprigs
Asafetida - ¼ tsp.
Salt
Oil

Method:
First, dry-roast the sesame seeds until they make noises.
Immediately remove and spread them on a plate to cool.
Dry roast the dals separately till they turn golden color. Cool.
Wash curry leaves and wipe. Fry till crispy without oil.
Heat oil, then add the whole red chili and fry.
Powder the sesame seeds coarsely.
Then powder the dals, red chilies and curry leaves.
Cool all of them.
In a dry-storage jar, add all the powders, salt and asafetida.
Close the lid and shake well (and dance while shaking!).
Ellu podi is ready.
Enjoy with ghee mixed in hot rice or as a side dish for hot steaming idlis!

Note: Add ½ tsp of jaggery powder and mix. This is optional.

Sent off to Priya's "Cooking with seeds: Sesame seeds".

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Easy Veggie Poriyal

Ingredients:

Beans - 1 ¼ cups (chopped)
Broccoli - 1 cup (grated)
Carrot - ¾ cup (chopped)
Green peas - ½ cup (fresh)
Coconut- ¼ cup (chopped)
Onion - 1 (small-chopped)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Green chilies - 3 (cut into halves)
Curry leaves - 10
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp.
Oil
Salt (to taste)
Coriander leaves - 1 tbsp. (chopped)

Method:
Heat oil and add the mustard seeds.
When mustard seeds crackle add beans, carrot, green peas and salt.
Fry for 2 minutes.
Now pour in required water.
Meanwhile grind coconut, onions, cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chilies coarsely.
When the veggies are cooked, add the grated broccolis and fry.
Add the coarse paste and fry till dry.
Finally add the coriander leaves and remove from heat.
Enjoy with rasam rice.

Easy veggie poriyal with dal:

Ingredients:
Same as above +
Moong dal - ½ cup
Chana dal - ¼ cup

Method:
Let both the dals drown in a bowl of water for half an hour separately.
Cook them separately. The dals shouldn’t be mushy.
Along with coriander leaves, mix the dals to the veggies.

This dish goes to Easy Veggie Dish Event by Oraphan.

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Masala Beans with Fenugreek leaves

Ingredients:
Onions - 1 (medium)
Beans - 1 ½ cup (cut into 1”or 1.5“)
Fenugreek leaves - from a medium bunch
Cumin powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp.
Chili powder - 1 tsp.
Garlic - 2 cloves
Turmeric powder - ½ tsp.
Tomatoes - 1 (quartered)
Salt (to taste)
Oil
Coriander leaves - 4 tbsp. (chopped)
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp.

Method:
Chop the onion.
Place the onions, garlic, sesame seeds, all powders, salt in a blender and make a paste.
Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the spice mixture.
Stir for 5 minutes.
Add the beans and fry.
Add required water and cook.
When beans are cooked ¾, at this stage, add the fenugreek and coriander leaves.
Stir for a minute.
Add the tomatoes and stir fry till leaves are cooked (medium lower flame).
Remove from fire and sprinkle lemon juice.
Eat immediately with any food!
RB


Sent off to Monthly Mingle: Winter Fruits & Vegetables. Origins by Meeta K.

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Walnut & Date Cake (A loaf actually...)

I tried this cake today morning when I saw this cake made by the Aparna of ’My Diverse Kitchen‘. Although, she posted on New Year’s day, I checked out this Monday. In my kitchen pantry, the dates and walnuts were waiting to be cooked . My family loved it very much.

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 2 cups
Dates - 1 cup (pitted & chopped)
Walnut - ½ cup (chopped)
Egg - 1 (lightly beaten)
Boiling hot water - 1 cup
Baking soda - 1 tsp.
Baking powder - 1 ½ tsp.
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp.
Butter - 1 tbsp. (melted)
Sugar (granulated) - 1 cup (firmly packed)

Method:
In a big mixing bowl add the chopped dates. Sprinkle the baking soda over the dates and add the boiling water.
Keep it aside for 30 minutes or till the water cools down. This process is to soften the dates.
Stir in the egg, butter, sugar and vanilla extract.
Sift all purpose flour and baking powder.
Combine this to the date mixture along with walnuts.
Mix gently till all are combined.
Grease and flour the 7“ round cake pan or loaf pan (I used the loaf pan).
Spoon the batter in the pan.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 50 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool in a wire rack.
Slice and enjoy.


Sent off to Divya's "Show Me Your Cake" event and Saraswathi's "Cakes & Cookies" event.

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Vegetables with Almonds

Ingredients:

Zucchini - 2 cups (quartered)
Mushroom - 2 cups (sliced)
Beans - ½ cup (cut into 1" to 1.5" pieces)
Onions - 2 (thinly sliced)
Ginger - 2 inches (shredded)
Mint leaves - 1tbsp. (chopped)
Pepper - 1 tsp. (crushed)
Garam masala - ½ tsp.
Salt
Yogurt - 2 tbsp.
Almonds - ¼ cup (blanched)
Oil
Bay leaves - 2
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Turmeric powder - ¼ tsp.

Method:
In a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the sliced onions with shredded ginger, crushed pepper and bay leaves.
Lower the heat and add turmeric and coriander powder, salt and garam masala. Stir.
Now add mushroom, zucchini, beans, and mint.
Pour in required water and cook till the veggies are done.
Beat the yogurt and add to the veggies. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
Finally add the blanched and halved almonds to the veggies.
Serve warm.
RSRB

Sent off to Monthly Mingle: Winter Fruits & Vegetables hosted by Sudeshna Banerjee. Originally started by Meeta K.

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Orange biscuit

Here it’s extremely cold, foggy, cloudy, rainy, windy, etc. Brrrrrr……. Although, visibility is quite…uh…visible but not even a single ray of sunlight passed through the mist.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The biscuits tasted  good........
 
Ingredients:

APF - 1 cup
Butter - 75 gm
Granulated sugar - ¼ cup
Orange essence - 1 tsp.
Baking powder - ¼ tsp.
Orange juice - ¼ cup

Method:
Sift flour and baking powder.
Cream together sugar and butter till smooth.
Now combine the flour and mix well.
Now add orange juice little by little and form a dough.
Add the orange essence and mix well.
Flatten the dough with a rolling pin.
With a cookie cutter, cut the dough in desired shapes.
Brush with butter.
Bake it in a preheated oven at 180°C for 12 to 16 minutes or until golden color.
Cool them completely on a wire rack and store them in an air-tight container.
~From Recipe Collection

Sent off to Monthly Mingle: Winter Fruits & Vegetables hosted by Sudeshna Banerjee and originally started by Meeta K.

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