Oats Pongal

Ingredients:
Oats - 2 cups
Moong dal - 1/3 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch (chopped)
Cumin seeds - 1.5 tsp.
Peppercorns - 3/4 tsp.
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp.
Oil
Salt (to taste)

Method:
Grind the cumin seeds and peppercorns coarsely. Keep aside.
Cook the moong dal till soft and mushy.
Heat the ghee in a non-stick pan and add the oats. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes.
Pour 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
Add the moong dal and turmeric powder and mix.
In another small pan, add the oil, cumin, pepper powder, ginger, curry leaves and asafoetida.
When they sizzle, add them to the oats mixture. Add salt and mix.
Enjoy hot with chutney and sambar.

Sent off to "CWF-Oats" hosted by Priya (started by Kiran) and Kurinji's "Pongal Feast" event.

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Pumpkin Oats Kheer

Ingredients:
Yellow pumpkin - 1 cup (chopped)
Quick cooking oats - 1/2 cup
Milk (boiled) - 1 1/2 cup
Granulated sugar - 1 cup (or as per taste)
Green cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp. (heaped)

Cashew nuts - 10
Golden raisins - 8
Ghee - 1 tsp.

Method:
Pressure cook the pumpkins till 3 whitsles. Cool. B-) Blend.
In a kadai add milk, oats, ground pumpkins and sugar and bring it to a boil while stirring in between.
Reduce the heat to medium-low flame and add the cardamom powder.
Fry cashews and rai'sins in ghee and add to the kheer including the ghee.
Enjoy warm in winter and cold in summer.

Sent off to Sent off to "CWF-Oats" hosted by Priya (started by Kiran) and Kurinji's "Pongal Feast" event.

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Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:
Button mushroom - 200 gm (sliced)
Milk (low-fat) - 1 cup
Bay leaves (big) - 1
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp. (or as per taste)
Salt (to taste)
Garlic - 3 pods
Onion - 1 (sliced)
Olive oil

Method:
Heat oil in a pan and add bay leaf, cloves, cinnamon, onion and garlic.
Saute till the onions turn translucent.
Add sliced mushrooms and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Pour 2 to 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring it to a boil.
Cover and cook for ten minutes.
Remove from heat and cool it slightly.
Discard cinnamon, bay leaf and cloves.
Strain the mushrooms and reserve the liquid.
Blend the mushrooms by adding the liquid little by little.
In a pan, add the blended mushroom, milk and bring it to a boil.
Remove from heat and add salt and pepper.
Enjoy the hot piping soup with any bread of your choice.

Sent off to Joey's "Winter Warmers" event.

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Happy New Year with a Chocolate Cake (Egg-less)

Ingredients:
Plain flour - 1 1/2 cups
Cocoa powder - 3 tbsp.
Powdered sugar - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp.
Baking soda - 1/2 tsp.
Salt - 1/4 tsp.
Water - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp.
Melted butter - 6 tbsp.


A small attempt of frosting and decorating simply embellished with stawberries


Method:
Preheat the oven at 180°C. Grease and dust the round cake pan.
Sieve the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, soda and salt together in a bowl.
Add water, butter and vanilla. Mix well.
Pour the mixture in the cake pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the tester comes out clean (original recipe goes for 25 minutes).
Cool slightly and loosen the sides with a knife, then invert on a rack.
Cool completely. Decorate as required and enjoy.
RB

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Fenugreek Leaves/Vendhaya Keerai Sambar

Ingredients:
Arhar/Toor dal/Split pigeon peas - 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Onions - 2 (chopped)
Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
Fenugreek leaves - 3 cups
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Oil
Tamarind water - 1/2 cup
Dry red chillies - 2
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
My mom's sambar powder - 2 tsp. (or as per taste)

Method:
Soak dal for 30 minutes. Pressure cook the dal with turmeric powder.
Heat oil in a deep sauce pan and add the onion pieces. Saute till they are translucent.
Add the tomato pieces and saute till they are soft.
Reduce the heat and add the sambar powder and mix.
Now pour the dal and if required add a little water.
Add salt to taste.
Bring the dal to a rolling boil. Now add the fenugreek leaves and let it cook for 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tamarind water and cook till the raw smell fades away.
Meanwhile in a small pan add oil, mustard seeds, and dry red chillies. When the mustard seeds crackle, add the asafoetida powder and saute. Now add this tempering to the sambar. Cook for another 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and enjoy with hot steaming rice.

Sent off to "Only-Greens" event hosted by Sara and started by Pari.

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Oats Orange Kesari

Ingredients:
Oats (quick cooking) - 1 cup
Orange juice (fresh) - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp. (or as per taste)
Water - 1/2 cup
Orange essence - a drop
Orange/kesari color - 2 pinches
Cashewnuts - few
Ghee - 2.5 tsp.
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches

Method:
Heat 1 tsp. of ghee in a small pan and fry the cashews till golden colour. Keep aside.
Heat 1 tsp. of ghee and add the oats and saute till a nice aroma wafts out of the pan (3 to 4 minutes).
Add orange juice and mix well. Meanwhile in another small deep sauce pan, add water and sugar. Dissolve the sugar and orange colour and heat it.
Add this water to the oats and cook. When it becomes thick, add orange essence, cardmom powder, cashews along with ghee and mix. Also, add 1/2 tsp. of ghee and mix. When the oats leaves the side of pan, remove from heat and enjoy immediately.

Note:
The orange juice should be sweet and not sour. Add sugar according to taste. You can also skip the orange juice and continue preparing with water as plain oats kesari and increase the amount of sugar.

Sent off to "CWF-Oats" hosted by Priya and started by Kiran.

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