Oats and Peanut Chikki

Tomato rasam

According to me a meal without rasam or sambar is not a full meal. because most of it is water it fills up the stomach easily and also digests soon. Every household has it's own unique style of rasam taste and preperation. I have my own and I like it.

This is how do it:

Give the tadka with

some mustard seeds,

fenugreek seeds(6 seeds),

dried red chillies(5),

curry leaves,

hing/asafoetida

and then Sweat 1/2 onion chopped.

Then add 2 large tomatoes finely chopped and cook them till they get mashed. Add 2tspp salt to them to cook them faster.

Fill the pan with water(about 750ml) and add 2tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp sugar/jagery, 1tsp pepper powder.

Close the pan with a lid nad bring it to boil.

Then crush apod of garlic and some chop some fresh coriander. add these in to the rasam. close the lid immediately to infuse the flavour and aroma.

Have it with rice accompanied by appadam/vadiyaalu/chips

or just drink it in a mug.

Enjoy.

Bhendi fry (Okra fry)

As far as I have known every one one likes bhendi. Easy to prepare and yummy too.
My mother used to tell us something good abt every vegetable when we were children. I have believed all of them and hated the bittergourd and ate it only when she adds jagerry.
Like.... Eating bhendi impoves mathematical skills, Eating curry leaf in a curry/rasam grows long hair, carrots will avoid spectacles, eggs gives great strength, bitter gaurd/karela kills the worms in the stomach,......................

After tempering/tadka, just stir fry the Okra till it is tender and the raw smell and flavour goes away. add the seasonnings. add some dhaniya/coriander powder , grated coconut and some roasted peanuts if u like. Tastes like home.

Enjoy.

Carrot Chutney

Ingredients:

2 medium size Carrots grated

10 medium hot Green chillies (washed and each broken into two pieces)

marble size Tamarind ball / 1/2 lemon juiced

2 garlic cloves

2tsp Cumin seeds

salt as per taste

oil

for tempering:

mustard seeds

Skinned split black lentils / chaya minapappu/urid dal

curry leaves/coriander leaves

asafoetida/hing

Dried red chilli halved

Method:

1. Mix the grated carrot with the lemon juice. Keep aside while u do the spicing up process. If not using the lemon juice but the tamarind grind the tamarind with the fried chillies.
2. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and throw the chillies in ( protect urself from the hot smell and spluttering chilli seeds).
3. Fry them for 2 mins stirring them or rocking the pan.
4. Now do the tempering/Tadka/Talimpu in the same pan and keep aside.
5. The mortar and pestle work the best here.If u dont have that option go on with ur machinary.
6. Grind the cumin seeds and the garlic cloves with the tamarind with rocksalt into smooth. This rocksalt helps in crushing the tamarind good.
7. Now add the chillies and grind them too but into rough pieces, but not smooth paste. This gives the taste to the chutney.
8. Take some of the grated carrot and grind it roughly.
9. Add this to the remaining carrot. Mix well. Taste it, adjust the seasoning as per ur taste.
10. Now top with the tempering.

Tastes gud with rice. Works with roti ,idli, dosa as well.

Enjoy.

Senagapappu Kobbari (spiced Splitchickpeas with Coconut)

Side dish




Ingredients:


1 cup Split chickpeas/Chanadal/Pachi Senagapappu (wash and soak them in water for 1 hr)
1 large onion chopped
1/4 cup raw Coconut scraped
Spices :
1 clove
1 inch cinnamon
salt
Red chillipowder/4 sliced Green chillies
turmeric
mustard seeds
curry leaves/ coriander leaves
oil 2 Tbspns


Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, spices.
2. When they splutter add the curry leaves then the chopped onion
3. Fry the onions and green chillies till soft and add the soaked split-chickpeas ,turmeric and add some water to them to cook till the split-chickpeas become tender add salt as per ur taste and red chilli powder if u have not added the green chillies.
4. Add the coconut scrape and cokk for 1 minute.
5. Garnish with coriander.

Goes well with rotis as well as rice or u can make have it as it is.

Enjoy.

Lemon Pickle (Nimmakaya pachadi)

Mmmmmm....mouthwatering pickle with wonderful lemon aroma with spicyness of chilli and ginger pieces......

Ingredients:

Lemons 6

Chilli powder 3 tsps

Salt 2 tsps (as per ur taste)

GreenChillis 10

Ginger 2 inch piece

Mustard seeds 2 tsps + 1 tsp for tempering

Fenugreek seeds 1 tspn

Oil 4 Tbsps

Asafoetida 1/4 th tspn

Method:

1. Wash the lemons and pat them dry immediately and leave them for 30mins so that they dry completely.
2. Wash the Green chillies and Ginger and dry them with clean dry cloth.
3. Slit the chillies a bit at the center to allow the juices in.
4. Chop the ginger finely into 1/2cm cubes.
5. Cut each lemon into 8 equal pieces and remove all the seeds from them.
6. Put the lemon pieces, Chillies, Ginger pieces into a clean dry jar(it should not be a metal jar) with salt and turmeric and mix them well so that every piece get coated with the salt and turmeric.
7. Now close the jar with the lid and store it in clean and cool dry place for 3 days.
8. On the fourth day you can find juicy tender lemon pieces. Sqeeze the juice from the pieces in to the jar and keep the peices under the Sun for 1 day.
9. Dont worry if u can't keep them out under the Sun. Just oven dry them.
10. I have set the oven to lowest temperature and dried them for 1 hr.
11. Meanwhile u can prepare the sauce for the pickle:
12. Dry roast the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds and powder them.
13. Add this mustard-fenugreek powder and the chilli powder to the juices in the jar.
14. Taste it and if u think of adjusting the seasoning, go on.
15. Add the dried lemon pieces into the jar and mix well.
16. Heat oil and add mustard seeds and allow them to splutter and then asafoetida and curry leaves (if u like).Allow this to cool.
17. Add this to the pickle when cool.

This pickle tastes gud after after 3 days.

Lemon pickle with curd-rice gives a completeness to the meal.

Enjoy.

Corn mixture (chivda)

Ingredients:

3 cups cereal Cornflakes(plain)

1 cup riceflakes/poha/atukulu (optional)

1/4th to 1/2 cup peanuts/groundnuts

1/4th to 1/2 cup broken Cashewnuts

1/8th cup Raisins/kismis (optional)

2 tbspns oil/ghee/butter

2 tsps cumin seeds/jeera

2tsp Saunf seeds(optional)

curry leaves (optional)

seasoning:

salt
turmeric

redchilli powder (optional)

sugar (optional)

Chat masala / lemon juice (optional)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok and fry seeds and curry leaves.
2. And then nuts and raisins fry on a low flame.
3. Then add the seasonings.
4. Then the cornflakes fry them for a minute, and then the riceflakes.
5. Cool the mixture and store in a dry closed container.
6. Serve as it is or with finely chopped onion, tomato and little coriander.

Enjoy.

Pappu mamidikaya / Raw Mango with mashed lentils

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups Toor dal / kandi pappu

2 Sour Raw mangoes medium sized

6 Green chillies

1 large Onion cubed / 4 shallots or sambar onions

For tempering/tadka/talimpu :

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp

cumin seeds 1 tsp

chopped curry leaves/coriander leaves

A pinch of Asafoetida/hing

2 tbsps oil

Method:

1. Pressure cook the toor dal with 1 tsp oil and enough water(4 to 4+ 1/2cups) till soft.
2. Never cook the mango /any sour ingredients with dal.The dall will not cook properly.
3. Mash the dal.
4. Then Cook the dal with the mango,onions,green chillies.
5. Add turmeric and salt to taste.
6. Give the tadka/tempering:
7. That is just heat the oil add mustardseeds when u hear thhe pop sound add fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds and the then the leaves and then asafoetida.transfer this immediately over the prepared dal mixture and clean the remaining oil with the dal.

My yummy Pappu mamidikaaya is ready to have with rice or rotis.

It will be yummy with ghee.

Go on and enjoy.

Vegetable biryani

My Vegetable biryani What's beneath the colored rice?? ofcourse the flavoured vegetables.

Ingredients:

vegetables I have used:

1 medium sized carrot diced
1 medium sized onion sliced
1 tomato chopped
1/2 cup chopped beans
1/4 cup peas
4 thinly chopped green chillies

U can use any vegetables u likebut make sure the vegetables go well with rice and add flavor to the dish.

3 cups Basmati rice soaked for 30 mins.

spices:
2 cloves
2 cinnamon(inch sized)
2 cardamom/elachi

12 cashews
pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbspns hot milk to get the color and flavor.
2 tbspns yoghurt
coriander/mint leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Half cook the rice with 1tbsp oil and little salt(1 tsp) in it.
2. While the rice cooks :
3. Heat a thick bottomed vessel with lid and add 2 tbspns oil/butter/ghee, add the spices then the cashews.
4. Let the cashews be golden brown and add onions and fry them till soft.
5. Then add the remaining vegetables one by one depending on their softness.The soft ones go last. I hope u got me right.
6. Add enough salt and cook them on medium heat till soft. Then add the yoghurt. Cook for two mins and lower the heat to minimum.
7. The rice should be half cooked by now. Drain any excess water from the rice.
8. Place the rice in the vessel over the cooked vegetables or u can layer them as u like.
9. Then add the saffron soaked in milk to the top layer (should be rice). Close with the lid.
10. Let it cook over the lowest heat for 30 mins.
11. Serve it while hot.

Enjoy.

Oats Laddoo

"Muesli" my cereal. I love it. That's why I have bought 1kg packet and started eating it daily in my breakfast. I have been eating it daily and I am bored of it for now....phew...I have not finished even half of it. So I started thinking what else can do with my cereal..... Wow that is not a bad idea. A laddoo......... just like ravaladdoo. With a variation. Jaggery instead of sugar, a healthier option and some fingermillet flour(ragi flour), also some milk for binding the ingredients together.
The healthiest snack I have ever prepared is ready. If you want to pamper yourself just dip them in chocolate and cool them before storing.
Is the word "pamper" correct in this context? I mean spoil urself with chocolate.
Any way I am not pampering myself.

Ingredients:


Muesli /(oats + raisins + your favourite nuts) 3 cups
Jaggery /sugar 1 to 1 +1/2 cup
Fingermillet flour(ragi flour) 1/2 cup
Milk 1/4th cup to 1/2 cup
elachi powder 1/2 tspoon
ghee/butter/oil 2 tbspns


Method:

1. Roast the cereal in the greased pan on a low heat till it smells good.
2. Add the fingermillet flour roast for a minute.
3. Add the jaggery to it.
4. Keep stirring till it melts.
5. If u feel the moisture in it is not enough for making laddoo/ball then u can add enough milk. Make sure u do not add too much milk and making it halwa.
6. Remove from the heat and allow it to cool untill it is hot enough to handle, and make laddoos or patties.

enjoy.

Broccoli Senagapappu

Ingredients:

Broccoli one medium sized cut in florets
Chanadal/Senagapappu 1 cup
1 large Onion finely chopped
salt to taste
Geen chilliies sliced/red chilli powder(as per ur taste)
turmeric
for tempering:
oil 2 tb spoons
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
curry leaves
asafoetida

Method:

1. Clean the chanadal/Senagapappu and cook them.They should neither become too mashy nor undercooked. (They cook faster if they r soaked in the water for 20 to 30 mins. Strain the remaing water after cooking the dal and u can use this water in rasam. It defenitely tastes gud. )
2. Give tadka/tempering in a wok and add the chopped onions, fry them till they r golden brown.
3. Add the cleaned broccoli florets and stir fry for 2 mins. Add turmeric and little salt to make the florets sweat and cook faster.
4. After the florets r tender and gets rid of any raw smells, add the cooked dal and chilli powder and salt to taste. Stir fry for 5 mins. Don't worry if the dal is mashed. It still looks gud with the green broccoli showing off its bright green color.

I have made this from the broccoli paruppu usili from here with some variations I like. I have replaced the tuvar dal (kandi pappu) with the chana dal becoz it tastes better than tuvardal. And we loved it. And I tell u would'nt hate broccoli after having this.

Enjoy.

Just like Junnu (looks like and tastes like)

Junnu is dessert made from cow's lactating milk. It is a telugu word. But where r we going to get the cow's lactating milk(జున్ను పాలు) from?

Don't worry. We can do it without junnu paalu. I am not saying that. Some body who has experimented on it said that. I have read that and tested and tasted that. You may also try that if u r impressed.

Oh sorry my dear pure vegetarians. There is some other recipe for u. But there is some other recipe for u. I have not tried it. It replaces eggs with yoghurt. I think yoghurt is thte correct one for junnu making.

I wonder if yoghurt is prepared inside the cow itself and junnupaalu come out. Any way u can try vegetarian way. Hope it comes out gud.

Ingredients:

Milk 3 cups

Milk powder 1+1/4th cups

Eggs 2 to 3

Sugar/Jaggery 3/4th cup

Water 1/2 cup

Pepper powder 1 tspoon

Cardamom powder 1 tspoon

Method:

1. Mix water with milk powder.
2. Microwave it for 30seconds to 40seconds.
3. Add powdered jaggery or sugar to the above,and stir well until dissolved.
4. Cool it and keep aside.
5. Beat two eggs well in a bowl.
6. Add milk,and the product of step 1,pepper powder,cardamom powder and mix well.
7. Take the entire mixture into a steel container and steam cook it covered with a lid on medium heat for an hour in a pressure cooker without whistle (.i.e., pour 2cups of water in the pressure cooker,place this steel bowl with lid in the pressure cooker and close the cooker lid and cook on medium flame for 1hour.)
8. After 2-3 minutes open the lid.(If u find the same is still watery consistency,steam cook for some more time until done.)
9. Ready to serve or refrigerate for overnight and serve chillied.

Note:- Please cook it on medium flame only..or else the egg will break and the junnu will be like crumbled texture.

I have experimented it from the actual recipe from here.

This recipe will give junnu for 4 to 5 people. But I have prepared just for me, becoz I am experimenting. Also I have made everything in microwave including steaming. This saved time. The box in the picture with junnu is microwavable.

My microwave version:

1. I have done it with 1 cup milk and remaining ingredients in the same proportion.
2. I have followed the same steps in the above recipe upto step6 but with a microwave safe box as shown in picture. It had a lid aswell though I didnot show it in picture.
3. I have filled 2 cups of water in in another but bigger microwave safe bowl with lid (This bowl should hold the box gud) so as to do the same job as a pressure cooker does. I have placed the box with the mixture (close the box with its lid) in the bigger bowl with water and microwaved on half power for 7mins. If 7 mins doesn't cook junnu for u then continue untill it gets cooked.

Yummy it tasted the same except the feeling that it is not not from junnu paalu.

hey please dont ask me why microwave in half power. I am afraid if I may burn it and also in order to give the steam effect.It is called an experiment now.

Good luck.Enjoy.

Majjiga chaaru / Spiced yoghurt and vegetable stew.

By the title u might have imagined this dish to be spiced creamy sauce with vegetables. You just got it right. If u still have any doubt have a look at the pic.

Ingredients:

sour Yoghurt/curds 2 cups
Gram flour/Besan 2 tbsps


Vegetables:
1 medium sized Carrot sliced
2 shallots/sambar onions
6 Drumstick pieces(cut into 2 inches)
1 medium sized Potato/sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes
4 Green chillis (slit)
1 tomato

For tempering:
Mustard seeds
Cumin
Fenugreek seeds
Dried Red chilli
Curry leaves


Method:

1. Seive the gramflour and add it to the buttermilk (dilute the sour yoghurt with 1 cup water) slowly so that no lumps r formed.Don't worry if any lumps r there just pass it through the seive.


2. Put this buttermilk in a thickbottomed saucepan and simmer it till it raises(ఒక పొంగు రానివ్వాలి ). Keep stirring in between to avoid burning and curdling.


3. While the buttermilk is in its business steam all the vegetables. (I do this in microwave oven by adding a little water and some salt. 5 mins is good enough. )


4. Add the vegetables to the raised/boiled buttermilk.


5. Add salt, turmeric and chilli powder if u like it spicy.


6. Give it tempering.


7. It is ready to serve.

Tastes gud with rice.

Enjoy.

Chicken Pickle

I have translated the recipe from my mother's telugu recipe. I tried my best to capture picture perfetcly, but I couldn't . A reason for this may be the picure couldn't carry the spicy aroma of the pickle with it. The picture may lack its appeal but the pickle definitly is gud with its tempting flavours and aromas.

Ingredients:

( Free Range Chicken breast pieces are good for this pickle)

Chicken 800 gms

Oil 300 gms

Salt 4 tsps (according to your taste)

Red Chilli Powder 6tsps

Turmeric 1 tspn

Ginger Garlic Paste 6tsps

Coriander Powder 6tsps

Masala Powder (Cloves + Cinnamon + Star anise + Cardamon ) - 1/2 tspn

Lime Juice 2 tsps

Tamarind Paste 1 +1/2 tsps

Method :

1. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Wash the chicken, and then boil the chicken in 1 cup water till the chicken becomes dry .
2. Deep Fry the chicken in the oil, for 10 min
3. Add Ginger Garlic Paste to the chcicken fry unitl its raw smell disappears
4. Add the remaining ingrdients, and cook another 10 min.
5. Keep aside and allow it to cool and then store in a clean dry jar.
6. Keep in Cool Dry place . Refrigirator is the best place.

Note:Hey this lasts only for 2 to 3 weeks. As salt is the only preservative, and remember this is chicken. The chicken pieces will be a bit hard to bite. But yummy.

Enjoy.