Potato Fry(Microwave Oven Method)

This is a simple potato fry with the freshly ground masala powder which tastes excellent with simple rasam rice.My mom makes this fry with raw banana on fasting days such as Puratasi Saturday,Pongal,since the powder is freshly made.As I rarely get the Indian variety of raw banana here,made it with the potato in the microwave oven and here is the recipe.....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Potato	3-4nos.(medium size)
Turmeric powder	1/2tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Cumin seeds	1/2tsp
Curry leaves	1sprig
Oil	1tbs
Salt	to taste
Rice flour or gram flour	1tsp(optional)
Garlic(optional)	2 cloves

To roast and grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Channa dhal/kadala paruppu	1tsp
Coriander seeds	11/2tsp
Dried Red Chilly	4-5nos.
Coconut(grated)	1tsp
Black pepper	1/4tsp

Method

                              Bake the potato in the microwave oven and peel the skin and cut into cubes.

• Dry roast the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl till the aroma comes.Cool and grind it in a blender or mortar to a coarse powder,keep aside.

• In a wide microwave safe bowl heat the oil,crackle the cumin seeds,asafoetida and curry leaves.Keep it in the microwave for a minute.Now add the cubed potato,salt and turmeric powder,sprinkle a tsp of water and mix it gently and cook in for 3-4 minutes.Stir in between.

• Sprinkle the spice powder,gram flour to the potato and mix well so that the powder coats evenly to the potato pieces.Cook it for a 6-7 minutes with in between stirring.

• Simple potato fry is ready to serve.

Enjoy..............................

• If you are using garlic,add it along with the cumin seeds.
• I used 2nos. of Kashmiri red chilly and 2nos. of regular red chilly to get a nice red color.

This goes for MEC event happenings in my space started by Srivalli of Cooking4allSeasons and Vegetarian side dish event started by Priya and hosting by Vardhini.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Keerai/Spinach Sambhar

Spinach is one of a favorite vegetable for us and my mom cooks different type of spinach and makes spinach poriyal,sambhar and kottu every other day.Never had any problem in eating spinach and love to have different varieties of the spinach.My kiddo also loves to eat and one of his favorite is spinach sambhar and I make it once in a week.

Spinach sambhar can be made with toor dhal or moong dhal along with black channa and it tastes excellent with rice and some vegetable fry such as potato or cauliflower.Here follows the recipe.....

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Spinach(finely chopped)	2-3 cups
Toor Dhal/Thuvaram paruppu	1/2cup
Black Channa(soaked)	1/2cup
Shallots/Chinna venkayam	10-12 nos.
Tomato	1no.(medium size)
Sambhar Powder	1tsp
Turmeric Powder	1/4tsp
Tamarind Paste	1tsp
Oil	1tsp
Salt	to taste

To temper

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/Kadugu	1/2tsp
Urad Dhal/Ullutham paruppu	1tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2tsp
Red Chilly(broken)	1no.
Asafoetida/Perungayam	a pinch
Curry leaves	1sprig
Ghee	1tsp

Method

                     Pressure cook the toor dhal and channa,chop the spinach,cut the shallots,tomato to fine pieces and keep aside.

• Keep a pan with oil and saute the shallots till transparent and then tomatoes.

• Once the tomato is cooked add the chopped spinach and sambhar powder and saute it for a minute.Add the cooked dhal and black channa to and add a cup of water and salt,turmeric powder to it.Let it cook till the raw smell goes off.

• Now add the tamarind paste and cook it for a boil.In a separate pan temper the ingredients given for tempering with ghee and add it to the sambhar.

• Spinach Sambhar is ready.

Enjoy...........................

• Any type of spinach can be used to make this sambhar
• Use of shallots give a nice flavor and taste.
• Adding the black channa gives an excellent taste and it is purely optional.
• This sambhar is slightly watery than the regular sambhar.
• A garlic clove can be added in the tempering which gives extra flavor.

Sending this to CWF - Spinach event happenings in Kiran's space,guest hosting by Vardhini.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Mangai/Raw Mango Sweet Pachadi

Today's recipe is raw mango pachadi which is a must in our Tamil new year festive menu,made this one for Tamil New Year.This is a simple and easy to make pachadi which has a mixed taste of sweet,salt,tangy and bit spicy which goes very well with curd rice and sambhar rice.Now to the recipe.......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Mango	1no.
Jaggery	1/4-1/2cup
Red chilly powder	1/4tsp
Salt	to taste

To temper

Ingredient	Quantity
Oil	1tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1tsp
Urad dhal/ullutham paruppu	1tsp
Dried red chilly(broken)	1no.

Method

              Peel the skin of the mango,slice it to thin pieces and powder the jaggery and keep aside.       

• Put the sliced mangoes in a pan,add 1/2 cup of water,salt,red chilly powder and cook it covered in a medium flame till it becomes soft.Now mash half of the mango pieces.

• Add the jaggery,cook it till the jaggery melts or approximately 3-5 minutes.

• In a separate pan do the tempering and add it to the mango and mix it well.

• Mango Pachadi is ready.

Enjoy..........................................

• Grated coconut can also be added after the jaggery melts.
• If you want the pachadi to be mushy and jam like consistency,grate the mango in a grater and cook it.
• It can be stored in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
• Jaggery can be substituted with sugar and the amount of jaggery or sugar depends on the sourness of the mango.

                             
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Carrot Payasam/Kheer(Microwave Method)

                                            Wishing you a Happy Tamil New Year and Vishu

Carrot payasam is a yet another simple,flavorful and delicious sweet which can be made in microwave oven as well as stove top.Today I am going to share the microwave method which I feel easy and convenient.Here follows the recipe...........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Carrot(grated)	1cup
Sugar	1/2cup
Milk	2cups
Evaporated Milk(optional)	1/2cup
Condensed milk	1/4cup
Cardamom/ellakai Powder	1/2tsp
Ghee	2tsp
Cashews(broken)	1tbs
Pistachios(optional)	for garnishing

Method
         
                            In a microwave safe bowl boil the milk for 8-10 minutes and fry the cashews in 1/2tsp of ghee,keep aside.

• In another microwave safe bowl heat 1/2 tsp of ghee for a minute,then add the grated carrot and cook it for 2minutes.

• Add 1/2 cup of milk and cook it for 2 minutes or till it becomes soft.

• Once the cooked carrot becomes cool put it in a blender and make it to a fine paste.In the same bowl heat a tsp of ghee and cook the ground carrots for 2minutes,stir in between.

•  Then add the sugar and milk,cook it for 3-4 minutes.Now add the evaporated milk,condensed milk,boil it for 2-3minutes.

• Finally add the roasted cashews and cardamom powder.

• Serve it warm or cold.

Enjoy.......................

• Adding evaporated milk is purely optional,if you r not using it can be substituted with regular milk.
• Saffron can also be added for extra flavor.
• If you want the kheer to be creamy and rich,grind 5-6 soaked almonds along with the carrots.
• I used the cheese grater to grate the carrot which cooks faster.
• Use a deep,wide mouth  microwave safe bowl to avoid spilling.

Linking this to MEC event happenings in my space started by Srivalli.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Thakkali Urugai/Tomato Pickle

tomato thokku without any pickle masala version.But today's version is a slightly different one with the pickle masala and bit spicy which I learned from my friend's mom.This is a flavorful and tangy,spicy pickle which goes very well with curd rice,other tiffin varieties such as idly,dosa and upma.Now on to the recipe.......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Tomatoes	2lbs
Tamarind paste	2tsp
Chilly powder	2tbs
Oil	1/2cup
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	1/2tsp
Mustard seeds/kadugu	3/4tsp
Salt	to taste

For tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds	1tsp
Curry leaves	1 sprig
Asafoetida	1/8tsp

Method

                                Chop the tomatoes finely,dry roast the fenugreek seeds,mustard seeds separately and powder it in a mortar or blender,keep aside.
Heat 2tbs of oil in a heavy bottom pan.Once the oil is hot add the chopped tomato and cook it for 5-6 minutes.

Now add the tamarind paste,chilly powder and salt to it,cook it covered in the medium flame till the oil separates or it becomes thick(mine took 23mins.).Stir it in between to avoid  burning.At this stage add the ground powder,stir it well and cook it for a minute.

Heat the remaining oil in a small pan and do the tempering with the ingredients.Add it to the tomato paste and mix it well.Store it in a clean,dry air tight bottle after cooling.

 Tomato pickle is ready.

Enjoy....................

• Be generous in the oil to keep the pickle fresh and for long shelf life.
• Cover the tomato while cooking otherwise it will splash.
• Sliced garlic can also be added in the tempering. 
• Chopping the tomatoes to fine pieces makes the cooking fast otherwise it takes long time to get cook.
• Do not cook for a long time after adding the powder.

This goes for Cooking Concepts#9-Spring Seasonal Food event happening at Sravs Culinary Concepts and Pickles and Preserves Fest at Sizziling tastebuds.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com