Vellapoondu Vengaya Puli Kulambhu/Vengaya Kara Kulambhu/Shallots and Garlic in a Tangy tamarind Sauce/Simple Lunch Menu

Coming to day 2 of Blogging Marathon#61 under the theme Meal Ideas is a kulambhu recipe with shallots and garlic.
Kara kulambhu can be made in so many ways,but this one is with no veggies.Using shallots and garlic makes this kulmabhu finger licking.Sambar powder gives an added flavor to this kulambhu.This recipe I noted down from my aunt's family cook and wanted try since long.Finally I made it for this theme and in the original recipe no tomato is used,but I used a small tomato.
As we prefer simple and comforting meals I paired up the kulambhu with rice,vendaikkai(okra
) poriyal and keerai(spinach) masiyal,appalam along with tomato rasam.It was so filling and a comforting lunch for a rainy afternoon.Off to the recipe...

                                                                      

                                                            

                                           Vellapoondu Vengaya Puli Kulambhu

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   Basic Information

   Preparation time 10 minutes
   Cooking time 30 minutes

   Serves 4(generously)

   Ingredients

  

Ingredient	Quantity
Shallots/chinna vengayam	10-13(halved)
Garlic/poondu	12-15 cloves
Tamarind/puli	a big gooseberry size
Salt	1.5 tsp
Curry leaves /karivepillai	few leaves
Turmeric powder/manjal podi	1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds/kadugu	1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	1/8 tsp
Oil	2 tbs

 
  To saute and grind

Ingredient	Quantity
Shallots/chinna vengayam	3-4
Garlic/poondu	2-3 cloves
Tomato	1(small size)
Sambar Powder	2 tbs
Curry leaves/karivepillai	1 sprig
Cumin seeds/jeeragam	1 tsp
Fennel seeds/sombu	1 tsp
Black pepper/milagu	1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds/vendhayam	1/8 tsp
Oil	2 tsp

    Method 

• Soak the tamarind in a cup of water and extract the juice and keep it aside .Heat 2 tsp of oil in a pan and add the cumin,fennel seeds and black pepper.Fry it for a minute then add in the shallots and garlic.Saute it till the shallots turned pinkish,then goes in the sambar powder.Give it a mix till everything gets blend well.

• Add in the chopped tomato and curry leaves,saute it till the tomato becomes mushy.If it is too dry sprinkle few drops of water.Put off the flame and grind it to a smooth paste once it becomes cold.Mix the ground paste with the tamarind water and set it aside.

• Heat the pan with oil and crackle the mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds.Add in the shallots and saute it fora minute.Then add the garlic and fry it till translucent.The add the tamarind mixture.

• Add around 1/2 cup of water,salt and turmeric powder.Let it boil for 5 minutes,then simmer it for 10-12 minutes or the oil till the oil floats on the top.

• Serve it along with rice and poriyal.

• Use shallots to get a nice taste..
• Here I used fat cloves of garlic,if you are using the smaller size then use up to 20 cloves.
• The kulambhu tastes even better on the next day. 

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

Check out the blogging marathon page for the other bloggers participating in BM#61.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Vegetable Pulao/Simple Lunch with Vegetable Pulao,Roti,Dal and Soya chunks Curry

We are entering the final week of Blogging Marathon and I opted to share Lunch dishes.Today's recipe is a flavorful vegetable pulao, made in a pressure cooker.
So many variations can be made,but here I deep fried the marinated cauliflowers florets and added to the pulao.This attempt I tried after having chicken 65 biriyani,couple of times in a restaurant.Lets move on to the recipe....

                                                                      

                                                            
                                              Vegetable Pulao/Veggie Pulao

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   Basic Information

   Preparation time 20 minutes
   Soaking time 15 minutes

   Cooking time 40 -45 minutes

   Serves 3(generously)

   

  Ingredients

  

Ingredient	Quantity
Basmathi rice	11/2 cups
Onion(thinly sliced)	2 medium size
Carrot (chopped into 1 inch piece)	1
Beans((chopped into 1 inch piece)	10-13
Green peas/pacha pattani	1/4 cup(fresh or frozen)
Ginger&garlic paste	1.25 tbs
Green chilly/pachamilagai	4-5 (slit lengthy)
Mint leaves/pudina	a fistful(chopped)
Coriander leaves/kothamalli	as needed(finely chopped)
Garm masala powder	1/4 tsp
Lemon juice	2 tsp
Salt	1.5tsp
Oil	2 tbs
Ghee/nei	1 tbs
Hot water	2.5 cups

  For the tempering

Ingredient	Quantity
Clove/lavangam	4-5
Cinnamon/pattai	2 inch piece
Bay leaf	1
Star anise	2
Green cardamom	1
Fennel/sombu	1/4 tsp

  

  For the Cauliflower Fry

Ingredient	Quantity
Cauliflower florets	1.5 cups
Ginger& Garlic paste	1.5 tsp
Gram flour/kadala maavu	2 tbs
Rice Flour/arisi maavu	1 tbs
All purpose flour/maida	1 tbs
Red chilly powder/milagi podi	1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves(finely chopped)	1 tsp
Lemon juice	1 tsp
Salt	1/2 tsp
Oil	for frying

  

  Method 

• Soak the basmathi rice in water,meanwhile heat a pressure pan or cooker with oil and ghee,do the tempering with the given ingredients.Add the sliced onion and green chilly along with a pinch of salt.Saute it for a minute,then goes in the chopped coriander and mint leaves.Continue sauteing until the onion turns transparent. 

• Add in the ginger& garlic paste,fry it till the raw smell disappears.Add the chopped veggies and green peas,mix it well.Add in salt and garam masala powder.Now completely drain the water from the soaked rice and add it.Give it a mix till everything gets blend well.

• Now add the hot water and let it boil.Add the lemon juice and some chopped coriander leaves.Cover it with the lid and cook it for 2 whistles in a medium flame and put off the flame.

• When the pulao is getting cooked,take the ingredients given for cauliflower fry,except cauliflower and oil.Mix it with a tbs of water to a paste.To this add the cauliflower florets and mix it well.

• Heat oil in a pan and once it becomes hot,sprinkle the cauliflower and fry it until golden.Remove it from the oil and add it to the cooked pulao.Mix it well and cover it with the lid for 5 minutes.

• Serve it along with raita and chips or curry of your choice.

• Instead of cauliflower,paneer can be fried and added
• The amount of water depends on the quality of rice.
• Roasted cashews can be also be added for extra rich taste.
• Do not cook for more than two whistles,otherwise the rice will turn out mushy.

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

Check out the blogging marathon page for the other bloggers participating in BM#61.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Kaja/Madatha Kaja

For the final day of Blogging Marathon #61 under the theme Indian Mithai is Madatha kaja.This sweet is popular In Andhra Pradesh.This  sweet is quiet similar to badusha,popular in Tamilnadu.
After a rich creamy dessert for second day of the theme,I wanted to make it simple.

This sweet has been in my to do list since long.I have seen,my friend making this sweet couple of times.But never tried on my own.For the first I tried and taste was good,but not happy with the layers.I felt the layers have come out slightly thicker.So keep an eye to roll the dough to very thin sheet to get a nice crispy kajas.Try this simple and easy to make sweet and enjoy.....

                                                                      

                                                            
                                            Madatha Kaja/Kaja

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   Basic Information

   Preparation time 10 minutes
   Resting time 10 minutes

   Cooking time 30 minutes

   Makes 18-20 small size kajas

   Ingredients

  

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1 cup
Ghee/nei	3 tbs
Baking soda	a pinch
Salt	1/4 tsp
Sugar/sakkarai	3/4 cup
Cardamom powder/ellakai podi	a generous pinch
Water	1/2 cup
Oil	for deep frying

 
  For the paste (to apply)

Ingredient	Quantity
All purpose flour/maida	1 tbs
Ghee/nei	2 tbs

  

    Method 

• In a bowl take the all purpose flour,salt,baking soda and ghee.Mix it well,now it looks crumbly.To this slowly sprinkle a tbs of water and knead it to a stiff dough.Let it rest for 10 minutes.

• Meanwhile in a pan add the sugar along with water and allow it to boil.Slowly reduce the flame and cook it till reaches a single string consistency.Add the cardamom powder and put off the flame.In a small bowl mix the all purpose flour and ghee to paste and set it aside. Now take the dough and roll it to a thin circle.Apply the paste evenly on the rolled thin circle.

• Roll it from one side to form a tight log.Cut the edges and slice the log to 1/2-3/4 inch thickness pieces.

• Gently press the sliced pieces ,so that it won't separate while frying.Heat the oil in a pan in a medium flame and drop 4-5 kajas at a time and fry it until golden brown.Remove it from the oil.

• After a minutes drop the kajas in the prepared sugar syrup.Let it soak for a minute then remove it and let it dry.

• After it dried completely store it in an airtight container.

• Roll the dough as thin as possible to get crispy kajas
• Apply the ghee-all purpose flour paste evenly.
• After slicing the kajas,press it gently otherwise the layers may get smashed.
• If you are making in large quantities ,then make smaller sized disc and stack 2-3 disc.Apply the paste in each layer.

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

Check out the blogging marathon page for the other bloggers participating in BM#61.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com

Angoori Rasmalai/Angoori Rabdi

Rasmalai/angoori rasmalai,the rich creamy exotic sweet makes everyone drool.I wanted to share this post since long.As soon as Valli announced the theme for this edition,I chose to do the Indian Mithai theme.

Though the process of making this sweet is time consuming,its worth to try for its divine taste.But here I used the condensed milk and evaporated milk to reduce the cooking time to thicken the milk.

Originally in rasmalai,the chenna is flatten to a disc and used.But here the chenna is rolled to a small size balls and added.I had this one in restaurant for couple of time and kids loved those cute balls.Lets move on to the recipe...................................

                                                                      

                                                                   Angoori Rasmalai/Angoori Rabdi

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   Basic Information

   Preparation time 10 minutes
   Resting time 1 hour

   Cooking time 40 minutes

   Serves 3(generously)

    

   Ingredients

  

Ingredient	Quantity
Whole milk/Full fat milk	5 cups
Lemon juice	1 tbs
Sugar	1 cup
Evaporated Milk	1 cups
Sweetened condensed milk	3 tbs
Cashews/mundiri	2 tbs(finely chopped)
Pistachios	2 tbs(finely chopped)
Saffron/kumgumapoo	a generous inch
Cardamom powder/ellakiai podi	1/4 tsp
Water	3 cups

 
  

    Method 

• Take 3.5 cups of milk and boil it well.Once it comes to a nice boil add in the lemon juice and put off the flame.The milk will start curdling,drain the curdled milk.The curdled milk is called chenna.Wash it with tap water to remove the traces of lemon juice.Leave it for an hour to drain any liquid in the curdled milk.

• Meanwhile heat the remaining 1.5 cups of milk and let it boil.Simmer it for 5 minutes and add in the evaporated milk.Let it simmer it for another 10 minutes.Add around 1/4 cup of sugar and cook it for couple of minutes.

• Now add in the sweetened condensed milk,followed by the chopped nuts,cardamom powder and saffron.Mix it well and put off the flame. Keep it aside.This is called rabdi/rabri.

• Now take the chenna and knead it well for 4-5 minutes until it becomes smooth .Take a blueberry size of chenna and roll it to a smooth ball.Continue for the rest of the chenna and keep it.

• Now heat a pressure cooker with 3/4 cup of sugar and 3 cups of water.Once  the sugar dissolved in water add the rolled balls carefully.Close the lid of the pressure cooker and cook it for a whistle.After the pressure subsides remove the lid and carefully take out the cooked balls and add it to the milk mixture.Cook the milk mixture for a minute.Keep it in the refrigerator for an hour and serve it.

• Garnish it with some pistachios if needed.

• Instead of knead the chenna,it can be pulsed in the blender for 30 seconds.
• If you feel the chenna is sticky,add around a tsp of all purpose flour and knead it.
• Do not cook the rolled chenna in the pressure cooker for more than 2 whistles.
• Instead of evaporated milk,you can use another 2 cups of regular milk and cook for some more time to get a thick consistency.
• Addition of condensed milk gives a very nice creamy texture to the rabdi

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

Check out the blogging marathon page for the other bloggers participating in BM#61.

Sumber http://www.naliniscooking.com