Lachha Paratha

Today's recipe for BM#24 for day 2 under the theme restaurant menu card is Indian bread,for this I chose to make Lachha paratha.
Lachha Paratha is a layered flat bread made in griddle with wheat flour which is similar to the parottas available in South India.This paratha goes very well with any curry or simply with dal and raitha or plain curd,pickle.I served it with the Channa kurma and here is the recipe...........................

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour	21/2cups+1/4 cup for dusting
Ghee/clarified butter	3tbs
Salt	11/2tsp
Milk	1/2cup
Water	as needed
Wheat flour	1/4 (for dusting)
Ghee	3tbs(for brushing and frying)

Method

 In a bowl take the wheat flour and salt,add the ghee.Mix it till it is crumbly,now make a well in the center of the flour and add the milk+water..Knead it well to a smooth and soft dough.Cover it with a damp cloth leave it aside for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Now take the dough and knead it well for a minute and divide to 6 equal portions.Make into a smooth ball and roll into a circle of 8-10 inch diameter.Apply some ghee and sprinkle some flour to the rolled circle.

Now make pleats from one end to the other(like saree pleats),roll the pleated dough from one end to make a ball(as shown).Dust the surface and roll it carefully without giving too much pressure to a 6-7 inch diameter.

Heat the griddle and add 1/2tsp of ghee,put the rolled paratha on the griddle and cook it.Flip it to the other side and gently press the parathas with the spatula to get crisp.Apply some ghee and cook it both sides get crisp and golden.Take the paratha in a plate and crush it between the palms gently to separate the layers.

Delicious Lachha paratha is ready.

Serve it with curry of your choice.
Enjoy................................................................

• Be generous with the ghee while frying the parathas to get a delicious and soft parathas.
• The ghee can be substituted with oil or vegetable shortening but my personal preference is ghee.
• Cook the parathas in a medium flame to get cooked evenly.

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Channa Chaat

Another session of Blogging Marathon has started and for this week I chose to cook the Indian restaurant menu card as theme and the menu is from Akbar restaurant.We need to cook a starter,Chinese menu and Rice/Indian bread for each day from the menu.
As I am a fan of chaat items,after seeing the menu I decided to make Channa Chaat which is a healthy and guilt free starter.Now to the recipe............  

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Chick Peas/channa(cooked)	1cup
Onion(finely chopped)	3tbs
Tomato(finely chopped)	2tbs
Potato(boiled,cubed)	1/4cup
Green chutney	11/2tsp
Sweet and sour chutney	11/2tsp
Green Chilly(chopped)	2nos.
Coriander leaves(chopped)	2tbs
Papdis(crushed)	3-4nos.
Thin sev	2tsp
Chaat masal powder	3/4tsp
Salt	1/8tsp

For Sweet and Sour Chutney/Katta mitta chutney/Imli chutney

Ingredient	Quantity
Thick Tamarind paste	1/4cup
Jaggery/brown sugar	3-4tbs
Red chilly powder	1/2tsp
Roasted cumin powder	1/2tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2tsp
Garam masala powder	1/4tsp
Dates/pericchai(finely choppedl)	2nos. (optional)
Salt	1/8tsp

For the Green Chutney 

Ingredient	Quantity
Coriander leaves(washed)	1cup(tightly packed)
Mint leaves	1/4cup
Green chilly	6nos.
Lemon juice	1tsp
Ginger/inji	1/2 inch piece
Salt	1/8tsp

Method 

For the sweet  and sour chutney 

• Mix all the ingredients in a pan and cook it in a medium flame until it reaches the thick consistency.
• Cool the chutney and store it in the refrigerator.

For the green chutney

• Put the ingredients given in a blender or mixie and grind it to fine paste with little water.
• Green chutney is ready.

Channa Chaat

• In a bowl put the chick peas,onion,tomato,potato,green chilly,chaat masala powder,green chutney,red chutney,salt and mix it well.
• Finally add the coriander leaves and papdis to it and give it a mix.
• Put it in a serving bowl and garnish it with thin sev.
• Serve it immediately.

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

• The chutney can be made in the microwave oven also,put everything in a microwave safe bowl and cook it for 7 minutes.
• The sweet and sour chutney has a long shelf life and stored in the refrigerator for 3 months.
• Sprinkle the sev just before serving.
• Adjust the amount of chutney according to personal preference.
• Pomegranate kernels and chopped raw mango can also used for extra tangy and rich taste.

Check out my fellow bloggers running in Blogging Marathon#24.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Carrot Lemon Rice-Easy Lunch box Recipe

This is a simple yet delicious one pot meal which is a good option for lunch box too.When I saw this rice in Sangeetha's space so much inspired and its a nice twist to add the carrot in the lemon rice.So without second thought add carrot to the lemon rice next day when I made it for hubby's lunch box and clicked.But the pictures were not clear due to poor light and whenever I made this one after that,I couldn't click.Some how today I managed to click some pictures,here goes the recipe for tangy and colorful rice..........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Basmathi/Sona masoori rice	1cup
Lemon juice	1/4cup
Green chilly(chopped)	5nos.
Carrot(grated)	1no.
Dried red chilly	2nos.
Curry leaves	1sprig
Coriander leaves(chopped)	1tbs
Ginger(grated)	1tsp(optional)
Sesame oil/nallennai	2tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	11/2tsp
Salt	11/2tsp

For Tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Oil	1tbs
Mustard seeds	1tsp
Urad dhal	11/2tsp
Channa dhal	11/2tsp
Asafoetida	a pinch
Peanuts(roasted)	1tbs
Cashews(broken)	1tbs

Method 

                           Cook the rice in the pressure cooker or electric cooker along with a pinch of salt,separate the grains and add the sesame oil.Let it cool down completely.

Meanwhile heat a pan with the oil and splutter the mustard seeds,add the urad dhal,channna dhal,cashews,peanuts and asafoetida one by one.Add the green chilly,grated ginger red chilly,curry leaves and toast it for a minute.Now add the grated carrot and  saute it for a minute,add the salt and turmeric powder,mix it well.Put off the stove and add the lemon juice.

Stir it well to get everything blend.Add this mixture to the rice and mix it gently.

Colorful and tangy rice is ready.

Serve it with papad,chips and pickle.

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

• The amount of lemon juice depends the tanginess of the lemon.
• If you are packing it for lunch box add little more(1tsp approximately) lemon juice as the flavor and the tanginess get incorporated.
• Do not boil the lemon juice otherwise it will end up in bitter taste.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Aloo Jeera/Jeera Aloo/Cumin Flavored Potato Fry

 Everybody likes potato in any form,this aloo jeera is a flavorful potato fry which can be made in 5 minutes if the potatoes are boiled.I make this fry whenever we wanted to have a simple and comforting lunch such as rasam or dhal along with rice.This fry goes very well with rotis too,now on to the recipe...................

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Potato	4nos.(medium size)
Green chilly(finely chopped)	1no.
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1tsp
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	3/4tsp
Coriander powder/dhaniya podi	1/2tsp
Cumin powder	1/2tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/2tsp
Coriander leaves(chopped)	2tbs
Salt	to taste
Oil	2tsp

Method

• Boil the potatoes in a pressure cooker for a whistle and peel the skin,cut into small chunks.
• Heat the pan with oil and crackle the cumin seeds and add the green chilly.
• Add the potato cubes and stir it for a while,now add the powders and salt to it.Mix it gently and keep it in a medium flame for 5 minutes with stirring in between to prevent burning.
• Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and turn off the flame.
• Simple yet delicious aloo jeear is ready.
• Serve it with dhal or rotis.

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

• Instead of cumin and coriander powder separately,a tsp of dhania  jeera powder can be used.
• Cook it in a medium flame to prevent burning of the powders,otherwise the color and taste will change.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Spritz Cookies/Vanilla Cookies/Pressed Vanilla Cookies

                                                Wish You All a Happy New Year 2013

Spritz cookies are cute little cookies made by using a cookie press with different shapes and often called as pressed cookies.I got this recipe from the cookie press recipe booklet.
The original recipe is with egg but as I always prefer to make eggless version so used corn starch and baking soda to substitute the egg.The cookies came out delicious and crunchy.
These cookies can be eaten as such or decorate with sprinkles,jelly, royal icing,colored sugar to make it pretty for the holiday season.
I made these cookies for my son's holiday party in his school and packed the Christmas theme shapes such as Christmas tree,candy cane,only 15 cookies were left to take the pictures.
If you want to make the cookies using egg use an egg for the given measurement,here is the recipe.........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Butter/Vennai(at room temperature)	1/2cup(1 stick)
Granulated sugar	1/2cup
All purpose flour/maida	11/4cups
Corn starch	1tbs
Baking soda	1/8tsp
Baking powder	1/8tsp
Salt	1/4tsp
Vanilla extract	1tsp
Cardamom/ellakai powder	1/2tsp
Milk	1/4cup
Colored sugar	as needed(optional)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 375 F,mix the flour,corn starch,baking powder and soda and keep it aside.
• Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl,beat it with a hand blender until light and fluffy.
• Add in the milk,vanilla extract,cardamom powder and salt,mix it well.
• Now slowly add the flour mixture and mix it with a wooden spatula until mixed.
• Pack the dough into the cookie press with the desired disc design.
• Press the dough in the cookie press on an ungreased baking tray or sheet an inch apart.Sprinkle some colored sugar if needed on the cookie.
• Bake it for 10-12 minutes or until golden,transfer to a wire rack to cool.
• Store it in an air tight container.

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

• Do not grease the baking tray otherwise the cookies won't stick to the baking tray.
• If the cookies are hard to press add little more milk and adjust the consistency.
• The cookies may be soft right from the oven,upon cooling it becomes crispy and crunchy.
• Press the cookie press once only for a cookie.
• For the mentioned quantity I got 25 cookies,to make it colorful you can add few drops of food color to the dough.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Murukku (version-2)/Chakli

For the final day of BM#23 I made spicy version of murukku with the cooked urad dhal and rice flour.I have already posted the Diwali Muruku or ThenkuzhalPaasiparuppu(moong dhal) murukku .But this is a slightly spicy version of murruku and my mom learnt it from her neighbor.Here goes the recipe for crunchy murukku..........

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Rice flour/arisi maavu	2cups
Whole urad dhal/ullutham paruppu	1/2cup
Chilly powder/milagai podi	1tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1tsp
Asafoetida	1/8tsp
Butter	2tbs
Salt	to taste
Oil	for frying

Method

Pressure cook the urad dhal for 2-3 whistles with 11/2ups of water.Blend the cooked urad dhal in a blender to a fine paste and keep aside.
Take a wide mouth bowl and add rice flour,ground urad dhal,butter,chilly powder,salt,asafoetida,cumin seeds.Mix it well and sprinkle water little by little and make a soft dough.

Mean while heat a pan with oil,fill the murruku press with the prepared dough using the 3 eyed blade and squeeze it in the oil directly or in a small plates and drop it in the oil.Fry it in a medium till it becomes crisp and golden.Drain it on a paper towel and let it cool.

After cooling store it in a air tight container.

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

• The flour doesn't need of much water as the urad dhal has moisture in it.I used only 3tbs of water.
• Butter can be substituted with 3tbs of hot oil.
• Instead of cumin seeds,carom seeds or sesame seeds can be used.
• Star shaped blade can be used.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in BM#23.
Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Chivda/Aval mixture

Today's recipe under traditional dishes for blogging Marathon#23 is Chivda a guilt free snack.This tea time snack is made with rice flakes(aval) which is popular in North India.We make the similar version of chivda with the puffed rice and follwed the same procedure.
This chivda can be made with both thin and thick variety of poha,today I used the thick variety.Now on to the recipe.......

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Thick Poha/rice flakes/aval	1cup
Peanuts/verkadalai	1/4cup
Roasted gram dhal/pottukadalai	1/4cup
Cashews/mundidri paruppu	2tbs(broken)
Fresh Coconut Pieces	2tbs
Green Chilly(finely chopped)	2nos.
Curry leaves/karivepillai	2sprigs
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1/2-1tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4tsp
Sugar	1/2tsp
Salt	1/2tsp
Oil	2tsp

Method

• Dry roast the poha/aval in pan in a medium flame till it becomes crisp and set it aside.
• Heat a wide mouth pan with the oil,fry the coconut pieces,green chilly and curry leaves till it turns brown and crisp.
• Then goes in peanuts,roasted gram dhal and cashews,fry it for a minute.
• Now add the chilly powder,turmeric powder and turn off the stove.
• Finally add the fried poha,salt,sugar and mix it well till everything gets mixed well.
• Store it in an air tight container.

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

• Make sure after adding the red chilly powder and turmeric powder turn off the stove otherwise it will burn and becomes black.
• Originally the recipe has dried coconut(copra),as it is not available here used the fresh coconut pieces and fried.
• The chivda tastes even better the next day,as the flavors get incorporated well.
• Crushed garlic can also be added along with the curry leaves for extra flavor.

Check out my fellow bloggers in Blogging Marathon#23.


Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com