Khaman Dhokla

Ingredients:
Bengal gram/Chana dal/Kadalai paruppu - 3/4 cup
Split green gram/Moong dal/Paasi paruppu - 1/4 cup
Salt (to taste)
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp.
Oil - 1 tbsp.
Fruit salt (eno) - 1 tsp.
Sugar - 1 tsp.

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Sesame seeds (white) - 1 tsp. (I didn't add)
Green chillies - 2 (slit and chopped into 2)
Curry leaves - few
Oil

For garnishing:
Grated coconut - few
Coriander leaves - few

Method:
Soak the Bengal gram and split green gram for 4 to 5 hours.
Drain all the water and grind the grams into paste by pouring little water.
To the paste add salt, turmeric powder, lemon juice, sugar and oil and mix well.
Heat the steamer in the stove.
Grease the steamer vessel or dhokla plate with oil.
Add the fruit salt to the paste and mix.
Pour the paste into the greased vessel or plate.
Place it in the steamer immediately.
Steam for 20 minutes.
(Insert a toothpick and check whether the dhokla is cooked or not. If not, then cook for another 5 minutes)
Cool the dhoklas for a few minutes and invert them on a plate.
Cut them into pieces.
Temper the given ingredients and sprinkle over the dhokla pieces.
Finally garnish with grated coconut and coriander leaves.

Note:
Before adding Eno, the batter should be the same as idli batter.
If you want restaurant-like dhokla, pour a cup of water in the tempering when the mustard seeds crackle and green chilles are sautéed well. Bring the water to boil and pour on the top of dhokla pieces.
After 10 minutes, consume.
My dhoklas were very spongy so I didn't feel the need to pour water.

Recipe: adapted from a magazine.

Sent off to Priya's CWS-Chanadal event.

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Yennai Kathirikkai Kuzhambu/Eggplants in Tamarind Sauce

Day before yesterday I prepared this kuzhambu for lunch with crispy yam fry and microwaved appalams. It's my parents' favourite kuzhambu.

Ingredients:
Brinjal/eggplants (medium-sized) - 10
Shallots (peeled) - 12 (sliced)
Garlic (peeled) - 6 cloves (crushed)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Fenugreek seeds - 1 pinch
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Tamarind - lemon sized
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Sesame oil - 6 tbsp.

To roast and grind:
White whole black gram - 1 tbsp.
Bengal gram - 1 tbsp.
Red chillies - 6 (or as per taste)
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida - a pinch
Fenugreek seeds - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp.

Method:
Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water.
Stir-fry all ingredients in 1 tsp. of oil except asafoetida, red chillies and grated coconut.
When the spices are 75% roasted, add the remaining ingredients (asafoetida, red chillies and grated coconut).
Fry till the spices and grams turn golden in colour. Remove and place them on a plate. Let them cool.
Grind them into a powder.
Make an 'X' incision on the base of eggplants till 3/4th.
Stuff the powder inside each eggplant. Set aside.
Crush the tamarind and squeeze out the pulp.
Heat 6 tbsp. of oil and add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When the mustard seeds crackle, add garlic, shallots and curry leaves.
When the onions become light golden colour, add tomatoes and required salt.
When the tomatoes become pulpy, add stuffed eggplants and sauté now and then without breaking them.
Once the eggplants change colour and become half tender, add the remaining powder and mix.
Now pour the tamarind extract. Pour the required water (I poured 2 cups of water).
Sprinkle the turmeric powder and mix.
Cover and cook till the eggplants become fully tender. Stir in between.
When the oil releases from the tamarind sauce, remove the kadai from fire. Tamarind sauce will be thick at this stage.
Enjoy with hot steaming white rice.
Goes well with soft dosai also.

Note:
When the kuzhambhu cools down, it becomes very thick.

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Chicken Lollipop/Drums of Heaven

Whenever I plan to cook chicken, my only job is to end up cooking it afterwards. Most of the time, my hubby does all the chopping and cleaning. Today my daughter asked me to make some chicken lollipops for lunch. So I had to clean, cut and pull the flesh up to the end of the wing bone. It took me half an hour to finish pulling up the flesh of all the wings.

My daughter and son enjoyed them. No left over pieces were there. My daughter's lunch was only chicken lollipops. :)

UPDATE:
I referred to the vah chef and panlasang pinoy on youtube for the lollipop shaping procedure.

Now on to the recipe.

Ingredients:
Chicken wings - 550 gms (skinless)
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 2 1/2 tsp. (or as per taste)
Food colour - 2 big pinches
Ground pepper - 1/4 tsp.
Lime juice - from a small lime
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp.
Soy sauce - 1 tsp.
Red chilli sauce - 1 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Egg - 1 (beaten)
Plain flour/Maida - 2 tsp.
Corn flour/corn starch - 2 tbsp.
Oil (to deep fry)

Method:
Clean the chicken wings with turmeric powder. Wash well.
Drain water.
Cut the wings into two and pull the flesh to the end of bone (you can get this well instructed from videos on youtube).
Wash once and drain all the water.
In a big bowl mix all the ingredients except the chicken and oil.
Now add the chicken and mix well.
Cover and marinate for an hour.
Heat the oil for deep frying.
When the oil is medium hot, drop six pieces of chicken and fry till reddish brown colour.
Place the chicken pieces on tissue paper to drain the oil.
Continue with the remaining chicken pieces in batches.
Enjoy with szechuan sauce!

Note:
Wrap the aluminium foil at the tip of the bone which was missing at present.

 

 

Sent off to EP-Garlic and Turmeric and Cook Like A Celebrity Chef events.

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Beetroot Poriyal/Stir Fry

A very simple side dish.

Ingredients:
Beetroot (small-sized) - 3 (grated)
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
White whole black gram - 1 tsp.
Bengal gram - 1 tsp.
Dry whole red chilli - 1 (cut into 3)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt (to taste)
Oil
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp.

Method:
Heat the oil and add the seeds and grams.
Allow the mustard seeds to crackle.
Once the grams become golden brown, add the red chilli pieces.
Add the grated beetroot and curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add salt and sauté till the beetroot becomes dry.
Sprinkle the coconut and mix well.
Serve with sambar rice, rasam rice, curd rice and whatever rice.

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Murukku

Today I made this murukku for snack time. I hesitate most of the time to prepare this snack.......What ticks me off more is watching my hubby munching on murukkus the whole day without eating any regular meal. Even now he is munching while writing this post. I prepared this murukku with bengal gram flour and yellow split gram flour/moong dal.
I didn't add any black gram flour.

Ingredients:
Rice flour (home-made) - 2 cups
Bengal gram flour/kadalai maavu - 1/2 cup
Yellow split gram flour/paasi paruppu maavu - 1/2 cup
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Asafoetida powder - 1/4 tsp.
Ajwain/Omam - 1 1/2 tsp.
Butter - 2 tsp.
Salt (to taste)
Oil (to deep fry)

Method:
Lightly melt the butter in micro wave. Keep aside.
In a bowl, add rice flour, Bengal gram flour, yellow gram flour, red chilli powder, asafoetida, ajwain and salt and mix.
Add butter and mix evenly.
Pour water little by little and prepare a soft dough.
Cover the bowl with a lid.
Heat the oil in a thick and wide deep pan in medium flame.
Add the required dough in the murukku presser with the star shaped nozzle.
(I pressed the murukku in spiral shape with the help of a Tupperware lunch box)
When the oil is hot, slowly and carefully drop the murukku and deep fry till golden brown.
Place it on tissue paper.
Continue with the remaining flour.
Once the murukku becomes cool, store them in an air tight container.

Note:
Take half a cup of moong dal and dry roast them till golden colour. Cool. Grind them into powder.
Sieve and then measure the flour to half cup.
Sieve each flour separately.

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Vegetable Semiya Upma

It's officially winter since late November and our closets are filled with winter apparel.
 
These days, it's quite difficult to wake up early since the warmth offered by the blanket tempts us to sleep more. Most of the days, I end up preparing a one pot meal for the lunches. Today for breakfast, I prepared this healthy vegetable upma with coconut mint chutney.
 
The local vegetable markets are loaded with fresh vegetables, fruits and greens. Moreover, there are more varieties of greens available. But then, I still end up scratching my head wondering what to cook for our meals...

Ingredients:
Semiya/vermicelli - 2 cups
Onions (small) - 3 (sliced)
Ginger - 1 inch (chopped)
Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (winter carrots, green peas, capsicum, beans)
Green chillies - 2 (slit)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Coriander leaves (chopped) - few
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
White whole black gram - 1 tsp.
Bengal gram - 1 tsp.
Oil
Salt (to taste)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
 
Method:
Heat the oil in a pan and roast the vermicelli till golden colour. Remove from pan and keep it on a plate.
In the same pan, pour a little oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram and Bengal gram.
Allow the mustard seeds to crackle and Bengal gram and black gram change into golden colour.
Now add the onions, green chillies, curry leaves and ginger.
Sauté till the onions turn translucent.
Now add the mixed vegetables and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add turmeric powder as well.
Now pour 4.25 cups of water and sprinkle salt.
Allow the water to boil in medium flame.
Now add the semiya and mix.
Cover and cook till the vermicelli is soft and the water becomes dry.
Add the coriander leaves and mix well.
Cover and keep aside.
After 4 minutes, serve hot.
 


Coconut mint chutney

Ingredients:
Coconut pieces - 1/2 cup
Mint leaves - a fistful
Green chillies (very small) - 2 to 3 (or as per taste)
Ginger - a small piece
Tamarind - a small piece
Salt (to taste)
Oil

To temper:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Oil
Curry leaves - few
 
Method:
Sauté the mint leaves in a little bit of oil for 3-4 minutes.
When the leaves become warm, grind them along with the coconut pieces, green chillies, ginger, tamarind and salt.
Pour very little water while grinding.
Temper them.
Serve with upma.

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