Tomato Rava Bath

Ingredients:
Rava/Sooji/Semolina - 1 cup
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Ginger (peeled)- 1 tsp. (chopped)
Green chillies (long) - 2 (each cut into 2 and slit)
Tomatoes - 2 (chopped)
Curry leaves - 1 sprig (chopped)
Coriander leaves - few (chopped)
Cashew nuts - 10 (roasted in ghee)
Salt (to taste)
Oil -  1 tbsp.
Ghee - 1 tsp.

To temper:
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Bengal gram - 1/2 tsp.
Black gram (white) - 1/2 tsp.


Method:

Dry roast rava in a pan till light golden colour. Spread the roasted rava onto a plate.

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the tempering ingredients and allow the mustard seeds to crackle. When the grams become golden colour, add chopped onion, green chillies, ginger and curry leaves and sauté.

Sauté till the onion becomes translucent.

 

 



Add tomatoes, salt and sauté. Sauté till the tomatoes become mushy and release oil.

 

 

 

 

 

Pour 2 cups of water and bring it to boil. Meanwhile collect the rava in a cup from the plate. It is easier to pour the rava from a cup rather than from a plate.

 

 

 

 

When the water starts to boil, pour the rava and stir simultaneously.

 

 

 

 

Continue till the rava is finished.

 

 

 

 

Mix the rava without any lumps. Reduce the flame to low.

 

 

Continue mixing till the water is absorbed by the rava completely. At this stage add roasted cashew nuts and coriander leaves.

 

 

Mix well. The rava will start to leave the sides of the pan and form a big mass. Spread it.

Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Serve with coconut chutney and sambar.

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Mushroom With Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients:
Mushrooms (Button) - 250 gm
Eggs - 3
Onion (peeled) - 1 (chopped)
Ginger paste - 1 tsp.
Garlic paste - 1 tsp.
Whole red chilli - 1
Kashmiri red chilli powder - 1 tsp.
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp.
Curry leaves - few
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp.
Fennel seeds (sombu) - 1 tsp.
Cinnamon sticks - 4 (small)
Cloves - 3
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp. (crushed)
Coriander leaves - few
Salt (to taste)
Oil (sesame) - 2 tbsp.

Method:

Heat the oil in a wide pan and add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon and cloves. When they sizzle, add onions.

Sauté till they change colour. Add curry leaves. Break the red chilli into halves and add. Continue sautéing.

Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell fades away.

Add turmeric, red chilli and coriander powders and sauté for few seconds.

Add the chopped mushrooms and mix well.

Sauté the mushrooms till they release water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the lid and add required salt. Mix well. Bring the mushrooms to the center of the pan and cover and cook. Stir in between to avoid burning. Meanwhile beat the eggs and keep them ready.

When the mushrooms are cooked, pour the beaten egg.

Continue stirring.

When the eggs are cooked, add the crushed pepper powder and mix well. Finally add the chopped coriander leaves.

Mix well. Remove from heat.

Serve as a side dish for roti or rice.

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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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