Chow Chow/Chayote Poriyal

Today's post is a simple recipe with Chayote aka chow chow,in our households we make sambhar and kootu with chow chow.But this poriyal was new to me when I had in Saravana Bhavan lunch Thali.It tasted good and my son liked it a lot,so tried my version and came out delicious.Now off to the recipe................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 15 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Chayote/chow chow	11/2 cups(chopped)
Channadhal/kadalparuppu	2tbs
Green chilly/pachamilagai	2
Coconut(grated)	2tbs
Shallots/chinna vengayam	4(chopped)
Salt	3/4tsp
Oil	2tsp

For the tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1/2 tsp
Urad dhal/uluthamparuppu	1tsp
Red chilly/varamlagai	1(broken)
Asafoeitda/perungayam	a pinch
Curry leaves/karivepillai	few leaves

Method

• Pressure cook the channa dhal for whistle in a pressure cooker and keep it aside.
• In a pan add the chopped chayote and green chilly.Sprinkle some water and pinch of salt,cook it till it becomes tender.Drain if any excess water.
• In a separate pan heat the oil and do the tempering with the ingredients,saute the shallots for a minute,add the grated coconut and cooked channa dhal along with the salt.
• Add the cooked chayote and mix it well and keep it for a minute in the flame.
• Simple chayote poriyal is ready.

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

• Instead channa dhal,moong dhal can be used.
• Here I cooked the channa dhal for a whistle in a cooker,instead you can soak it for 10 minutes and cook in the microwave.

This recipe is off to Vegan Thursday event started by Priya of Priya's Versatile Recipes.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Badam Burfi/Almond Fudge/Almond Burfi

Under the travel food theme for Blogging Marathon #36 Today I am sharing you all a dessert recipe.Back in India my mom makes most of the times a sweet either coconut burfi or maida burfi for travel.So I wanted to make a burfi,this recipe I got it from one of my friend and uses cashew to make this burfi.I exactly follwed the same recipe and made it with almonds,it came out so delicious with perfect sweetnessThis burfi doesn't need much ghee and you can make it with a mix of both almonds and cashews.Lets move on to the recipe...................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 20-25 minutes
Makes 8-10

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Almonds/badam	1/2 cup
Sugar/sakkarai	1cup
Milk/paal	1/4-1/3cup
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/2tsp
Saffron/kungumapoo	few strands
Ghee/nei	3-4tbs

Method

Put the almonds in water and rinse it for couple of times,then soak it in hot water for 10 minutes.Remove the skin and grease a plate with ghee,keep it aside.
Heat a pan and add the sugar along with 1/4 cup of water,let the sugar dissolves completely.Meanwhile grind the almonds along with the milk to a fine paste.

Now add the fine paste to the sugar syrup and mix it well.Keep stirring continuously to avoid the lumps.Add the ghee at regular intervals and keep stirring.Add the cardamom powder and saffron to the mixture.
Continue stirring till the mixture becomes thick and leaves the sides of the pan.

Pour it on the greased plate or tray.Let it cool down for 5 minutes,now with a sharp knife cut it to a desired shape and remove it gently.

Badam burfi is ready.

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

• The consistency is very important,once it becomes thick keep an eye on it and immediately pour it on the greased plate. 
• Cook the mixture in a medium flame.
• The amount of sugar given is for a perfect sweetness,it can be increased or decreased according to personal preference.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #36.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Paruppu Thogayal/Lentiil Dip/பருப்பு தொகையல் - Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday

Paruppu thogayal is an authentic dish which can be mixed with rice along with a dollop of ghee.Also  it is eaten as side for milagu rasam,poondu kulambhu and milagu kulambhu also.
Back in my grandparents place the leftover rice will turned to a rice ball mixed with this chutney.
My grandmother made this chutney in the stone mortar,mixed it with rice and used to make a lemon sized ball and gave us.
But after coming to U.S this one has become in our lunch menu on a lazy day or wanted to eat something comfort.Here is the recipe.................................

Basic Information

Preparation time 3 minutes
Cooking Time 5 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Toordhal/thuvaram pauppu	1/3cup
Coconut(grated)	3tbs
Dried Red chilly	2-3
Garlic/poondu	1clove
Black Pepper/milagu	1/8tsp
Salt	1tsp
Oil	11/2tsp

Method

Heat pan with oil fry the red chilly and remove it.Now add the toor dhal roast it in a medium flame till golden,finally add the pepper corns and put of the flame.Let it cool down.

Put everything in a blender jar and pulse it for 30 seconds,now add water and grind it to a coarse paste.

Paruppu Thogayal is ready.

Serve it along with rice and ghee.

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

• Grind the chutney to a bit coarse paste and adjust the consistency according to personal preference.
• Roasting the toor dhal in a medium flame is important to get roasted evenly.

This recipe is off to Tamizhar Samayal Tuesday.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Methi Paratha

Under the theme Travel Food I am sharing methi paratha for the main course.Back in India my mom packs,lemon rice,idly with idly podi and chappathi or poori with tomato thokku.
As hubby dear prefers some kind of finger food and mess free food for the road trip,Imake some kind of parathas.This methi paratha is one such thing I make it for travel as it stays fresh and soft,tastes good with pickle or some spread.Letsmove on to the recipe..................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 15 minutes
Resting Time 20 minutes
Cooking Time 15 minutes
Makes 6-7

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour	13/4cups
Methi leaves/vendaya keerai	1cup(tightly packed)
Gram flour/kadala maavu	1/3cups
Green Chilly/pachamilagai	2(chopped)
Chilly powder/milagaipodi	1/2tsp
Garam masala powder	1/4tsp
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4tsp
Amchur powder(optional)	1/2tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2tsp
Asafoetida/perungayam	a pinch
Salt	to taste
Oil	1tbs
Oil (for brushing)	2tbs

Method

• Clean and wash the methi leaves and chop it roughly,keep it aside.
• In a bowl add everything except the oil given for brushing,mix it well.
• Now slowly sprinkle water and knead it to a soft dough,let it rest for 15-20 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 6-7 equal portions and roll it on a floured surface to 6 inch disc.
• Heat the griddle,once the griddle become hot,transfer the rolled parathas and cook it both sides.Brush some oil  and remove it from the griddle.
• Soft delicious paratha is ready.
• Pack it in a aluminium foil after cooling.

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

• Instead of oil,ghee can be used for extra rich taste.
• Clean the methi leaves foe 2 times atleast to remove the soil particles.
• Along with methi leaves,finely chopped coriander leaves can be added.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #36.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Kadala Urundai and Pottukadalai Urundai/Peanut Balls and Roasted Gram Dhal Balls - Microwave Version

For this week of Blogging Marathon #36,I will be sharing Travel food recipes and today's recipe is a evergreen snack kadala Urundai and Pottukadalai Urundai.This snack doesn't need of any introduction and its a favorite for both adults and kids.

Growing up we used to travel a lot with relatives and friends.As my father loves to travel a lot, he organised at least 2 or 3 trips for couple of days  in a year.

The first day food used to be the homemade one along with a variety of homemade snacks such as karasev,murukku, spicy mixture and store bought kadalamittai(peanut chikki).

But after coming to U.S,the peanut brittle which is available in Indian stores are not tasted as good as the one we get it in our place.So I tried to make at home and it was a flop all the time,once the jaggery syrup spilled on my hand and had a severe burn.Then stopped experimenting at home,but after seeing this one in a T.V show in a microwave oven I immediately wanted to try.The result was a great success,since then I make it with microwave oven.

The procedure for both the kadalurundai and pottukadalai urundai is same and the amount of adding pottukadalai is little more than peanuts.The hardest part is making balls,that needs to be when the mixture is hot.Here goes the recipe.....................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 5 minutes

Cooking time 20 minutes

Makes 12-13 balls

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Peanuts/verkadalai	1 cup+1tbs
Powdered jaggery	1/2cup
Water	1/4cup
Ghee/nei	1 tsp

Method

Take a microwave safe plate and spread the peanuts and keep it in a microwave high for 3-5 minutes or till it becomes roasted.In between take it and check its roasted properly or not.Once it becomes warm,crush the peanuts between the palms and remove the skin.

In a glass bowl(preferably glass) add the jaggery and water and keep it in the microwave for 2 minutes till it melts.Pass it through the strainer and transfer it to the glass bowl and keep it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes.

Take it out and check the consistency and keep it for a minute.Check the consistency now and then till it reaches a soft ball consistency.To check the consistency,take water in a bowl and pour a drop of syrup,if a solid ball is formed then its the correct consistency.Now drop the peanuts to the syrup and mix it well and keep it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.

Remove the bowl and let it cool down slightly.Now grease the palm with ghee and make ball out of it.
Arrange it on a plate.

Store it in an air tight container after cooling

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

• While making the ball if its too hot,then you can wet the hands in water and make it.
• Make a rough ball when its hot and make a smooth shape after it reaches the bearable temperature.
• When the sugar syrup is above to reach the consistency check it every 30 seconds otherwise you cannot achieve the consistency.
• For the pottukadalai urundai use 11/4 cups of roasted gram dhal for the 1/2 cup of jaggery.
• Cardamom powder can be added for extra flavor.
• Use a slightly bigger glass bowl for the jaggery syrup as chances are there to spill while cooking.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #36.

This recipe is off to Cook Book Challenge #4 January week 4. 

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Rava Payasam/Sooji Kheer/Semolina Milk Pudding - Virtual Birthday Treat for Viji

 Hello friends!!Today I am here with a simple,creamy and delicious payasam for a friend's Birthday who is a well known blogger.Its Viji of Viji's Virundhu.
I tried this payasam from her blog and came out so delicious.For added taste I used some vermicelli and ground almonds ,if you want you can add some condensed milk too.Off to the recipe................

Basic Information

Preparation time 5 minutes
Cooking Time 25 minutes
Serves 3-4

 

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Semolina/rava	3tbs
Roasted Vermicelli/Semiya	2tbs
Sugar/sakkarai	1/2 cup+1tbs
Full cream milk/whole milk	2 -21/2cups
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/2tsp
Saffron/kungumapoo	few strands
Cardamom powder/ellakai	1/4tsp
Cashews/mundiri(broken)	2tbs
Almonds/badam	4-5
Pistachios(finely chopped)	for garnishing(optional)
Ghee/nei	2tsp

Method

• Soak the almonds in hot water for 10 minutes and grind it with 2 tbs of milk,soak the saffron in a tsp of milk and set it aside.
• Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan and let it simmer it for 6-7 minutes.Meanwhile heat the pan with a tsp of ghee and fry the cashews and remove it.
• In the same pan add the remaining ghee and roast the semolina in a medium flame without changing the color till nice aroma comes out.Finally add the vermicelli and fry it for a minute.
• Add it to the boiling milk and let it boil till it gets cooked.Now add the sugar and cook it for couple of minutes till the sugar dissolves.
• At this stage add in ground paste and cook for couple of minutes.Finally add the saffron,cardamom power and the fried cashews and put off the flame.
• Serve it warm or chilled.

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

• If you feel the payasam is thicker after cooling add little more milk.
• Roast the semolina in a medium flame otherwise it may change the color.
• Here I used the roasted vermicelli so I added in the end,if you are using unroasted, fry it in the ghee separately.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Biscuit Sablé/Eggless French Shortbread Biscuits

For this month Home Bakers Challenge Priya chose popular French bakes and wanted to try the baguette but due to lots of work I couldn't.
Sables are melt in mouth crispy short bread cookies which is easy to make and its an egg less recipe too.As I had one stick of butter I halved the measurement and made.I used a small square cookie cutter and a round flower shaped,you can use any shape and make the cookies.Now off to the recipe...........................

Basic Information

Preparation time 15 minutes
Baking Time 15-20 minutes
Makes 10-12 (2 inch cookies)

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	11/4 cups
Powdered sugar	1/4 cup+1tbs
Softened Butter/vennai	1/2cup
Salt	a pinch
Vanilla Extract	1/2 tsp
Milk	1 tsp

Method

• Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and fluffy.Add in the vanilla extract,milk or water, beat for few minutes.
• Now add the flour and salt, mix well and make a smooth dough.Divide the dough to two portions and roll each portion of the dough between two ungreased baking sheets and flatten slowly with a rolling pin.
• Using a cookie cutter,cut the cookies from the rolled dough.With the help of a sharp spatula take the cookies and place it on a baking tray.
• Preheat the oven to 350 F and bake it for 15-18 minutes or until its done.
• Cool it on a wire rack and store it in an air tight container.

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

• If the dough is too crumbly then add a tsp of milk and mix it.
• Store it after the cookies completely cool down.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com