Milagu Kulambhu - Version 2

I have already posted a version of milagu kulambhu with no onion and garlic but today's version is slightly different.This recipe I noted down couple of weeks back in a T.V cooking show by Mrs.Revathy Shanmugam.This recipe used poppy seeds,fennel seeds and cashews to make the spice paste which was quiet new for me.
As her recipe is always a hit and not complicated,so without any second thought I tried this for our weekend lunch.The original recipe calls for a tbs of  poppy seeds,as I ran out it used only half of it.The kulambhu came out so delicious and creamy,I paired up with beans poriyal and pappads.Lts move on to the recipe.................................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 25 minutes
Serves 3-4

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Shallots (chopped)	10-12
Tomato	1(medium size)
Garlic/poondu	10-12cloves
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1tsp
Tamarind /puli	small lemon size
Curry leaves/karivepillai	1 sprig
Salt	1tsp
Oil	4tbs

To roast and Grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Black pepper/milagu	2 tbs
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1 tbs
Poppy seeds/kasa kasaa	11/2tsp
Coriander seeds/dhaniya	1 tbs
Fennel seeds/sombu	1tsp
Cashews/mundidri	2
Coconut(grated)	2 tbs

For the tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1/2tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	1/8tsp
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1/2tsp

Method

In a pan add a tsp of oil and add the given ingredients to roast except coconut,fry it till a nice aroma comes out and becomes golden.Finally add the grated coconut and fry it for a minute,put off the flame.After cooling grind it to a fine paste.

Meanwhile soak the tamarind in a cup of water and extract the juice and set it aside.
Start by heating the pan with remaining oil,splutter the mustard seeds,cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.Add in the shallots and curry leaves,saute it until pink.Then add the garlic and fry it for a minute,then goes in the chopped tomato.Cook it until mushy with a pinch of salt.

Now add in the chilly powder and tamarind water,ground paste.Add around a cup of water and salt,let it boil for 10-12 minutes or till the raw smell goes off in a medium flame.

Milagu kulambhu is ready.

Serve it with rice.

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

• The garlic cloves I used is slightly fat cloves,if it it a smaller variety use around 15-17 cloves.
• There may be a chance of getting a slight bitter taste while boiling but after the flavors gets incorporated the bitter taste will go off.

This recipe is off to  Cook Book Challenge # 5 Febuary week 2 and Let's Brunch on Sundays event.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Beans Poriyal With Moong Dhal

After sharing the Kitchen Basics for 3 days todayI am sharing you a simple beans poriyal with moong dhal.
Poriyal can be made in so many ways with or with no dhal,with coconut and this recipe is with both dhal and coconut.
I have already shared a version of beans poriyal with green peas but today's version can be made with both beans and carrot or only beans. Lets move on to the recipe................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 15 minutes
Cooking Time 20 minutes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Beans(finely chopped)	11/2 cups
Moong dhal/paasiparuppu	2tbs
Red chilly/varamilagai	1
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

Cook the moong dhal in a boiling water till it becomes soft not mushy.Pulse the grated coconut and red chilly in a blender without adding any water and set it aside.
Heat a pan with oil and do the tempering,add the chopped shallots/onion and curry leaves for a minute.Then add the chopped beans and saute it for couple of minutes.Add the salt.

Now add around 1/4 cup of water and cook it covered in a medium flame till the beans become tender.At this stage add the cooked dhal and coconut and mix it well,keep it in a low flame for a minute.Put off the flame.

Simple beans poriyal is ready ,serve it with rice and kulambhu or sambar as an accompaniment.

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

• A pinch of turmeric powder can be added and instead of red chilly,red chilly powder can be used.
• Instead of moong dhal,channa dhal can also be used.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Homemade Ghee from Cream/Homemade Ghee from Scratch

For the 3rd day of blogging marathon#37,I am sharing how to get the butter from the fresh cream and melting the butter to ghee.I always use the homemade ghee only as we like the flavor and freshness of it.I used to get the butter from store and melted it till 2 years back.But one day when I had lot of leftover heavy whipping cream I decided to make the butter.The ghee got from the fresh butter was so flavorful,since then I started using the fresh cream to get the ghee.Lets move on to the recipe.............................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 20-25 minutes
Cooking Time 20 minutes
Makes around 150 ml of ghee

Ingredient

All you need is Heavy Whipping Cream (I used 500 ml)

Other Things

A big Bowl
Electric Hand Blender
A Pan to melt the Butter
Strainer
Glass jar or container to store

Method

Keep the electric blender whisk in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.Now pour in the heavy whipping cream in the bowl and start beating in a medium speed.After couple of minutes it looks creamy,continue beating again another couple of minutes it reaches a stiff peak consistency.

Continue beating the process for next 10 minutes,the creamy mixture looks like curdled.In another 2-3 minutes you will see some buttermilk.

Now slowly reduce the speed to low and beat it for a minute,the butter will be separated from the buttermilk and float.Now with the hand take out the butter and put in a bowl of water.

Heat a pan in a medium flame add the butter to it,the butter starts melting.After the butter melts completely foam starts up coming.

After 3-4 minutes the foam clears up and it will be in pale yellow color.Now reduce the heat to low and continue after 4-5 minutes the pale yellow color changes to a light brown color and the milk solids settled in the bottom.At this stage turn off the fire and keep it aside for 5 minutes.Now strain the ghee.

Store it in a glass jar.

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

• With the residue my mom adds sugar and mix which can be eaten with idly.
• Usually we add a sprig of curry leaves or drumstick leaves before switch off the flame.
• Use a clean dry spoon to take out the ghee and no need of refrigeration.
• If you live in a warmer place,keep the cream bowl in a container filled with ice and beat it with the blender.   

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

How to Freeze Pre-cooked Rotis

For the day of Blogging Marathon#37 under the theme Kitchen Basics, I am sharing you how to freeze the pre-cooked roti for later use.
I am not a person who prefer frozen foods except some veggies for handy.But sometimes I freeze the roti and Puran Poli if I make it excess or need to make it in a bulk for parties.
These days my little one keeps me busy and not letting me do an elaborate cooking I make rotis and cook it for 30 seconds and freeze it in the weekends for the week days dinner or lunch.

Basic Information

Preparation Time 25 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Cooking Time 7-10 minutes
Makes 14-15

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Wheat flour/gothumai maavu	2 cups
Oil	1 tbs
Salt	1 tsp
Water	to knead
Parchment paper	14 sheets
Wheat flour	for dusting

Method

In a wide bowl take the wheat flour,salt,to this add the oil and mix it well.Sprinkle little water at a time and knead it to a soft,stiff dough.Let it rest it rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into equal portions and roll in a floured surface to a thin disc.

Heat the pan and cook it for 30 seconds both the sides and remove it.Continue for the rest of the batter.
After cooling stack the rotis and use the parchment paper in between each roti to prevent sticking.

Put the stacked rotis in a zip lock cover and freeze it.Whenever needed take it from the freezer and thaw it for 15 minutes and heat the pan and cook it both sides and brush it with ghee or oil.

Serve it with curry of your choice.

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

• While making it in bulk keep 10-12 rotis in a separate cover and freeze it.That way no need to thaw all the roti.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #37.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Onion and Tomato Gravy for Curries/How to make Basic Onion Tomato Gravy

We are entering into 3rd week of Blogging Marathon #37 and for this week I will be sharing the kitchen basics.
Today's one is going to be the onion and tomato gravy which is vastly used in Indian cooking to make curries.This gravy is the base for many curries such as paneer butter masala or channa masala.If the paste is handy then your curry will be ready in few minutes.You can freeze this gravy for a month and refrigerate for 15 days.Off to the recipe....................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 40-50 minutes
Makes 4 cups(approximately)

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Onion(finely chopped)	3(medium size)
Tomato(finely chopped)	6-7(medium size)
Garlic/poondu (chopped)	6-7 cloves
Ginger/inji(chopped)	2 inch
Green chilly/pachamilagai	3-4
Red chilly powder/milagai podi	1 1/2 tbs
Coriander Powder/dhaniya podi	21/2  tbs
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder	1 tsp
Salt	2 tsp
Oil	5 tbs

Method

Heat the pan with a tbs of oil and saute the onion till transparent,then add the green chilly,ginger and garlic.Saute it for couple of minutes in a medium flame.Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook it till mushy with a pinch of salt.Put off the flame and let it cool down completely.

After cooling grind it a fine paste without adding any water and keep it aside.Now heat pan with the remaining oil and add the ground paste to and saute it for a minute.Now add all the spice powders and mix it well.Add around two cups of water and cook it covered till the oil separates in a medium flame.

After cooling store it in a zip lock cover and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer.

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

• The amount of red chilly powder and coriander powder can be increased according to the personal preference.
• Freeze  1 cup of paste in individual cover so that no need to thaw everything.
• Instead of zip lock covers it can be stored in the ice tray also.
• The seasonings can be adjusted in the curry.
• Cook it covered otherwise it will splash everywhere.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #37.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Chocolate Covered Strawberry

For the day 3 of Blogging Marathon #37 under the theme desserts with fruits I wanted to share a recipe with strawberry.As Valentine's Day is around the corner thought this dessert would be perfect.
This is a simple yet rich and perfect dessert for a Valentine Day as it  can be made in no time with fewer ingredients.
The strawberry and chocolate combo makes wonder and tastes heavenly after a heavy lunch or dinner.
You can decorate the chocolate coated strawberries with candy melts,chopped nuts,white chocolate or simply with sprinkles.As I don't have candy melts,I used some chopped pistachios and colored sprinkles.Off to the recipe............................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 5 minutes
Cooking Time 10 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Strawberry	10
Semi sweet cooking chocolate	50 gms
Butter/vennai	1 tbs
Pistachios(chopped)	as needed
Colored Sprinkles	as needed
Tooth pick or wooden sticks	10

Method

Wash the strawberries and wipe of the moisture and insert the tooth pick or wooden stick to hold and keep it aside.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler till it completely melts and looks smooth.Now take out the melted chocolate and hold the tooth pick,dip the strawberry in the melted chocolate.

Make sure the strawberry coated well with chocolate till 3/4th.Now sprinkle some chopped nuts or sprinkle and place it on a parchment paper.

Serve it after 10 minutes.

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

Instead of dark chocolate,white chocolate can be used.

Using the tooth pick or wooden stick is optional but it helps for even coating.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #37.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Mango Shrikand/Amarkhand

We are starting the second week of Blogging Marathon #37 and I choose the theme Desserts with Fruits.For the next few days I will posting the dessert recipes made with fruits.
Today's recipe is a exotic,delicious dessert mango shrikand,a simple quiet easy to make dessert with no cooking involved.For this recipe you can use fresh ripe mango pulp,as mangoes are not in season now I used the store bought mango pulp.Off to the recipe..................................

Basic Information

Preparation Time 40-50 minutes
Serves 2

Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Fresh Thick Curd/yogurt/thayir	1 1/4 cups
Mango Puree	3/4 cup
Powdered sugar	2 tbs
Pistachios or almonds(chopped)	2 tsp(for garnishing)
Saffron/kungumapoo	few strands
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	1/8 tsp(optional)

Method

Take a muslin cloth or clean cloth and pour the yogurt and tie the ends and hang over the sink for 30 minutes to drain.

Now take out the hung curd,transfer to a bowl and whisk it for a minute.To this add the mango puree,powdered sugar,cardamom powder and saffron.Mix it till everything gets blend well and refrigerate for 30 minutes if needed.

Transfer to the serving bowls and garnish with chopped nuts.

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

• Here I used the yogurt made with whole milk and so I hang it for 30 minutes to drain,if you are using low fat yogurt hang it for 1-2 hrs.
• The yogurt should be freshly made and not too sour.

Check out my fellow bloggers participating in Blogging Marathon #37.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com