Extending the Arusuvai Chain with Four Grain Muesli

I am done with the moving and unpacking. Yet to get used to the huge community I live in:)
People do not even return smiles here. I was a little sad thinking of this, because in the US its so easy to make friends.
The best part here is a rent, read and return book store inside the premises. I felt it would kill the boredom I and kids are facing!
There is also a nice bread shop, grocers, parlour etc.

Its a pleasure to be a part of the Arusuvai chain. Aparna of "My Diverse kitchen" sent me some organic dry grapes. Since I was moving I could not think of anything easier than Muesli:)

(Bharathy, Srivalli and Lathamma started this Arusuvai Chain. Now the second season is organised by Sayantani of A Homemaker's Diary) . My Thanks to all the wonderful ladies !
Ingredients

1 cup medium or thick rolled oats/oat flakes
1 cup rolled rye flakes
1 cup rolled wheat flakes
1 cup rolled barley
1 cup corn flakes
1/2 cup dried dates
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, pecans or sliced/slivered almonds
1/4 cup whole flaxseeds or flaxseed meal
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup dried black grapes
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/3 cup raisins

Preparation
Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl. Transfer to an airtight container. If storing for longer periods, consider keeping the cereal in the freezer or refrigerator. 
Hot Muesli Instructions: Add 1/2 cup Muesli to 1/2 cup water, milk or soy milk and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. You can also microwave Muesli in a large bowl on high for 3-5 minutes, stirring once halfway through.  Makes two servings.

Cold Muesli Instructions: Soak 1/4 cup Muesli in 1/2 cup yogurt, milk, soy milk or fruit juice for 5-10 minutes, or soak overnight. Makes 1 serving.

Hot n Sweet Paneer-Veg Sauce with Stir Fried Noodles!

Indo-Chinese food like mushroom munchurian, gobi manchurian, fried rice etc. are some of my favorite, but I think this is the first time I am blogging about it:)

Hot n Sweet Paneer-Veg Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 cup Paneer (cubed)
1/2 cup Soya chunks (Soaked, drained and halved)
1 cup onions, cubed into big dices
2 tbsp grated carrots
2 tbsp cabbage diced
¾ cup bell pepper, cubed into dices
½ cup spring onions/scallions, chopped
1tsp ginger-garlic paste
3-4 green chilies, slit
1 tsp Soya sauce
1 tsp tomato sauce
1 tsp vinegar (optional)
1 1/2 cup/can vegetable stock or water
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp olive oil
spring onions greens for garnish
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
½ tsp crushed pepper
salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar

Preparation

Heat oil in a wok. Add the onions, saute for a minute, to this add the ginger-garlic paste, green chilies and spring onions and sauté again.
Now add the bell pepper, paneer cubes, soya chunks and Stir fry for another minute. Add the Soya sauce, chili sauce, vinegar.
Now add the veg stock or water. Season with salt and pepper.
When the gravy starts boiling, add the corn flour mixed with 1 tbsp of water.
Stir until sauce thickens. Add sugar and sesame seeds, remove from heat.
Garnish with spring onions greens and serve immediately with noodles or fried rice. you can also prepare this with baby corns, carrots and other veggies

Stir Fried Hakka Veg Noodles
Ingredients

1 packet Hakka noodles
1 onion sliced
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 green chillies, finely chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
¼ cup shredded cabbage
¼ cup carrots(sliced or grated)
1 tbsp green bell-pepper chopped
1 tbsp Soya sauce
1 tsp vinegar(optional)
¼ tsp pepper powder
¼ cup spring onion chopped
1 tsp roasted sesame seeds
3-4 tbsp oil

Preparation

Cook the noodles till just done and not to soft. Drain and Drop it in cold water or add about a tsp of oil to the noodles and mix to prevent sticking. Set aside.
Heat a wide wok. Add 4 tbsp of oil. Add the onions, ginger-garlic paste, chillies and sauté over high heat for few seconds. Add the veggies like carrots, cabbage, bell peppers and cook for a minute. Add the noodles,  Soya sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, sesame seeds and mix well.
Add the spring onions.Serve hot with the above prepared sauce.

Sending this to "Only Fusion" Recipes hosted by Priya and  Pari being the brainchild.

Here are some mango recipes (archived)Ripe Mango Curry

Mango Kulfi

Both the recipes are contributed to Siri's Healing food- Mango hosted by Revathi!

These are some lovely awards given to me by Sojo. So sweet of her to remember me. Thanks Sojo!

Wheat flour Halwa ( Aate ka halwa)

Ingredients

1 cup wheat flour (aata)
1 cup sugar
1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
1 cup water
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut
1 cup of nuts (cashews, almonds, golden raisins)
1 tsp cardamom powder
1 tsp almond powder
2 tbsp Mawa (khoya)(optional)

Preparation

Heat 1tbsp ghee in a heavy bottomed pan on medium flame and fry the dry fruits till golden. Set aside.
In the same pan add the remaining ghee. Once the ghee is warm, add wheat flour and keep stirring on medium flame till the wheat flour turns golden brown and the aroma fills the air. As soon as the flour turns golden, add the water and the sugar together to the flour and simultaneously stir.
Once all the ingredients are nicely mixed, add the nuts,cardamom powder,almond powder, grated coconut (optional)and keep stirring. Once the halwa starts leaving the sides of the pan, turn off the heat and transfer the halwa to a greased plate. If the halwa does not leave the sides add more ghee;) Serve warm like halwa or set to cool, cut to pieces and serve!!
Mawa can be added after adding water for extra richness.

Wish you a very Happy Ugadi/ Gudi Padwa

Hearty Ugadi greetings to all!
After long time celebrating Ugadi in India. I made Ugadi pachadi with fresh Neem flowers, Mango, Tamarind, Jaggery, salt and chilli powder! Recipe here

This is picture of fresh neem flowers!

Enjoy!

Beetroot Halwa for our men in blue!

Yesterday all the blog buddies watched the India/Pakistan match together via FB and it was true fun. It seemed as if I became a kid again:)
This Halwa is to celebrate:)

Ingredients

2 cups boiled and grated beetroot
1 cup sugar
2 tsp raisins
2 tsp cashewnuts
1 tsp cardamom powder
2 tbsp khoya (mawa) optional
2 tbsp ghee

Preparation

Boil 2 medium size beetroots and finely grate it to make 2 cups. Heat a heavy bottomed pan, add 1 tsp ghee. Fry the cashewnuts and raisins till golden and set aside. In the same pan add the remaining ghee, grated beets and saute for 2 minutes. To the beets add sugar and cardamom powder and cook for 10-12 minutes till the moisture evaporates and fragrance fills the kitchen. For additional richness add khoya or milk (its purely optional). Once the halwa leaves the sides of the pan remove from heat. Finally add the dry fruits and serve warm!

My Hearty thanks to Smitha for the lovely gesture, cute magnets and a warm note!

Amaranth leaves-shallots stir fry

Amaranth leaves called as Thotakura in telugu or Mulai keerai in tamil is used in different ways in the southindian kitchen. It can be used to make dals and curries too.

Ingredients

2 cups of Amaranth leaves (cleaned and chopped finely)
1 cup shallots (chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies (slit lengthwise)
salt to taste

For tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp split urad dal
2 tbsp curry leaves
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder

Preparation

Heat a pan, add oil and temper with the given ingredients. Once the tempering is done, add the shallots and saute for a minute. To the shallots add green chillies, chopped amaranth leaves, grated coconut, salt and saute on medium heat. Cover with lid and cook for five minutes till the leaves are soft and moisture has dried up. Serve warm with rice and dal:)

Wheat Flour Laddu for Neivedyam's 4th Birthday!

Four long years of blogging, blog hopping, comments, friends, facebook and many more. I never get bored of doing all this apart from regular nagging by hubby and others in the family, my 2 year old saying stop publising even if she does not know what she is saying:), weight gain and all my jeans going tight:( ......
Neivedyam has given me an identity apart from what I am!! I love doing what I am doing and thanks to all my friends and visitors for making this possible. I know I say it every year but I mean it from my heart!

Now lets get back to the job.....:)

Ingredients

2 cups wheat flour
1 1/2 cup sugar (finely powdered)
1 cup ghee (melted)
1/4 cup almonds(chopped into small pieces)
1/4 cup cashewnuts(chopped into small pieces)
1 tbsp pistachios (finely chopped)
2 tbsp raisins
1/2 tsp cardamom powder

Preparation

Heat a pan, add 2 tsp ghee, add all the chopped dryfruits and fry till they slightly change colour. Set aside.
In the same pan add 2-3 tbsp ghee and roast the wheat flour on medium heat.
Once the flour changes colour slightly and aroma raises, turn off the flame, add the dryfruits, cardamom powder, remaining melted ghee, sugar and mix well. Transfer the flour from the pan to a plate and make laddus while the mixture is hot and bearable enough to hold in your hands.
Wheat flour laddus are ready. Some people even add edible gum to this laddu to give extra richness.

Capsicum Sesame Curry (Dry) / Capsicum nuvvulu kura

Ingredients

2 cups finely chopped capsicum
1 cup finely chopped onions
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp split urad dal(husked)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste

for tempering
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/3 tsp Asafoetida powder
2 tbsp curry leaves
1 green chilli slit length wise

Preparation
Heat a heavy bottomed pan and dry roast sesame seeds for 2 minutes on medium heat till slightly brown. Set aside. Similarly roast urad dal till golden and set aside to cool. Once the urad dal and sesame seeds have cooled down completely, grind it into a coarse powder and keep aside.
Heat a pan, add oil and temper with all the ingredients in the given order.
Once tempered, add onion and saute for a minute. To this add capsicum and saute on medium flame till capsicum is slightly soft and cooked. Do not overcook. To the capsicum add the prepared sesame powder, salt and coriander powder and mix well. On low heat let the curry cook for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve with rotis or rice!

Shallots Sambar (Vengaya Sambar)

This is a typical south Indian sambar served with Idly/dosa or rice. It is also called as Arachu vitta sambar(sambar made by grinding the ingredients). I have added a new touch by adding vegetables and masalas to this sambar.

Ingredients

1 cup split red gram (thoor dal)
8-10 pearl onions (shallots)
1 drumstick
1/2 cup yellow pumpkin (cut in to cubes along with skin)
1 medium brinjal (cut into large chunks)
3 tbsp Tamarind pulp
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp sambar powder
2 tsp grated Jaggery
2 tsp freshly chopped coriander
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

For paste

5-6 pearl onions
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
3 tbsp grated coconut or 1 tsp raw rice
2 medium tomatoes
3-4 dry red chillies
1-2 tsp oil

for tempering

2 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split urad dal
2 tbsp curry leaves
1/3 tsp asafoetida powder

Preparation

Pressure cook split red gram dal(thoor dal) with 3 cups of water for 3 whistles till soft and well cooked.
In a pan add 1/2 tsp oil and saute fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, dry red chillies and coconut for a minute, till slightly golden, remove and set aside. Instead of coconut, raw rice can be sauted a little and used for the thickness of the sambar. Add the remaining oil and saute the shallots for 2 minutes. When all the ingredients cool down, grind these ingredients along with tomato into paste.
In a heavy bottom pan add 2 tsp oil and saute shallots, drumsticks, brinjal and pumpkin for 2 minutes. This way the drumsticks do not break apart when cooked. Now add turmeric powder, salt and 2 cups of water to cook the vegetables for 10-12 minutes till soft but retain shape. To the vegetables add tamarind pulp, Sambar powder, ground paste and bring the mixture to boil. To this add jaggery, cooked dal and simmer the heat. Once the sambar comes to boil add coriander leaves and turn off the heat. Temper with all the given ingredients and cover with lid as soon as you temper. This way the aroma and flavor of will stay in the sambar.

Since this is my innovative Sambar, sending this to Pari's event hosted by Nivedita- "Only Original Recipes"

Kothmira Karam Podi (Coriander Leaves Powder )

Ingredients

1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
3 tbsp split black gram dal(husked)
3 tbsp bengal gram dal
3 tbsp roasted bengal gram dal
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 medium lime size tamarind
4-5 dry red chillies
3-4 garlic cloves
2 tsp oil
salt to taste

Preparation

Heat a pan and dry roast split black gram till golden, then dry roast bengal gram, coriander seeds and red chillies, separately, one after the other, slightly on low flame for 2 minutes till aroma raises. Remove and set aside. In the pan add 1 tsp oil slightly saute coriander leaves for 2 minute on low heat till the moisture dries up. Remove the coriander leaves and set aside with all the other ingredients to cool. In the same pan add 1 tsp oil and saute the garlic cloves for a minute till the raw smell leaves.
Once all the ingredients cool down, add all the dals, garlic, chillies, tamarind and salt to the mixer and grind into a powder. To the powder add coriander leaves and grind again until coriander leaves blend well.

This powder can be served with warm rice and ghee, idly/dosa or can also be used as kura podi(masala) for subzis like bhindi/okra, brinjal etc.
Here is a picture of bhindi subzi to which I added this powder and served it with hot rice and ghee:)



Now some contribution for the ongoing events!

This Oats halwa goes to Oats recipes event by Dr Sameena Prathap.



This Maharashtrian Thali goes to Flavors of Maharashtra by PJ and Naina

Hyderabadi Mirchi Ka salan

Hyderabadi Mirchi ka salan is served along with Hyderabadi Biryani and it is a very famous and authentic combination!

Ingredients

8-10 Jalapeno chillies (Bajji mirchi)
4 tbsp peanuts
4 tbsp dry coconut
1 tbsp Sesame seeds
1/2 tsp Onion seeds (Kalonji)
1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
1 tsp Fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp of curry leaves
1 tsp green chilli paste
4 tbsp tamarind paste
3-6 tbsp oil
3 large onions (deep fried till brown and crisp)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
2 cups of water
1/2 tsp garam masala

Preparation

There is a lot of pre- preparation that needs to be done before preparing this gravy like, deep frying the onions, preparing tamarind paste, sliting the chillies and keeping all the ingredients near by!
In a pan saute peanuts on low flame for 2 minutes and then add dry coconut and saute for a minute till they get roasted slightly. To this add sesame seeds and roast slightly for a minute and remove from flame. Set aside to cool. Once it has cooled down, grind these ingredients with a little water into a paste.
Leave the stem of the chillies intact and slit open the chillies only on one side. Also remove the seeds inside the chillies if any. In another pan add 3 tbsp oil and fry the chillies. Fry the chillies for 10 to 12 minutes till soft. Set aside.
In another pan heat 2 tbsp oil and add onion seeds, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds. When the seeds start spluttering, add ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves, green chilli paste and saute for 2 minutes. To this mixture add tamarind paste and cook for a minute. Now add fried brown onions and mix well. Also add cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and finally the ground peanut paste. Now cook the whole mixture till it leaves oil and also leaves the sides of the pan. To this add 2 cups of water and bring the gravy to a boil. Once you see the boil, add the fried chillies and again cook and bring the mixture to boil on low flame. The flavour of the chillies should get incorporated in the gravy. Finally sprinkle garam masala and remove from heat.
Hyderabadi Mirchi ka salan is ready to go with Hyderabadi biryani.

Ridge Gourd Dal (Beerakaya Pesarapappu)

This recipe is from Pedatha's book. Her book always stays in my kitchen bookshelf. I have learned many basics form it. This is a very comforting dal with rice.

Ingredients
3/4 cup green gram (husked)
2 medium ridge gourd (chopped)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 green chillies (slit length wise)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves (chopped)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste

For tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 red chillies
handful of curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder


Preparation

Pressure cook the dal with turmeric in 3 cups of water to a soft consistency. If the cooked dal is very thick you can dilute it by adding half cup of water. Churn well and set aside.
Scrape and chop the ridge gourd into medium sized cubes.
In a pan heat the oil for tempering and add mustard and let them pop. Lower the flame and add the rest of the tempering ingredients.
To this add the chopped gourds, cover and cook for a couple of minutes until tender.
Add the cooked gram, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt and continue to cook for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and add stir in the lemon juice.
Serve warm with rice!

Banana stem curry(dry) Aratidhoota Koora

Ingredients

2 cups Banana stem (finely chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut
2 green chillies (slit length wise)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

For tempering
2 tbsp oil
1/3 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp split black gram dal/urad dal (husked)
2-3 red chillies
handful of curry leaves
a dash of asafoetida

Preparation

It is a little difficult to clean the banana stem. I learnt it from my mom:) Remove the outer fiberous layer of the banana stem. May be 2 or more layers may be that way. Cut the banana stem in round circular slices. Then cut the slices into smaller pieces. While cutting you can make out the hard pieces to discard.
Drop the soft and crisp banana stem pieces in turmeric water so that they do not turn dark in colour.
Heat a pan, add oil and temper with the given ingredients. To the tempering add green chillies and banana stem pieces after draining the water completely.
Also add turmeric powder, salt, grated coconut and mix well.
Cover with lid and cook for 12-15 minutes on low heat. Check to see if the pieces have cooked completely. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Chilli Cauliflower

Ingredients

2 cups Cauliflower
1 1/2 cup rice flour
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp kitchen king masala
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Preparation

Cut the cauliflower into small florets and wash well. In a pan bring 3 cups of water to boil and add the cauliflower. Half cook the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and set aside. In a bowl add rice flour, chilli powder, ginger-garlic paste, fennel seeds, salt, masala powder and mix well. To this rice flour mixture add the cauliflower florets and sprinkle some water just to wet the whole mixture. Mix well so that the rice flour paste coats all the florets. The mixture should be just as thick as pakodi mix, not watery.
Leave the mixture aside for 10 minutes.
Heat oil for deep frying in a pan. Deep fry the cauliflower florets and serve hot with chutney or ketchup!!

Saffron Vegetable Pulao

When ever there is no time to cook elaborate lunch and kids are almost hungry what we do is, drop some ingredients in the cooker and make a pulao. That's what happens with me too but this time with saffron and nuts!

Ingredients

3 cups Biryani rice (Jeera samba rice)or Basmati rice
2 cups sliced onions
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 green chillies slit into two
2 tbsp ghee
2-3 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
1 big bay leaf
4-5 cloves
1/2 tsp garam masala
10-12 Saffron strands
10-12 mint leaves
2 tbsp cashew nuts
2 tsp raisins
1/2 cup peas
3 tbsp beans finely chopped
2 tbsp chopped vegetables of your choice like carrots or cauliflower
salt to taste
coriander leaves to garnish

Preparation

In a pressure pan heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin seeds and let them splutter, add bayleaf,cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cashew nuts, raisins and fry for 30 seconds or till you smell the aroma. To this add onions,green chillies, ginger-garlic paste and saute well for a minute. To this mixture add mint leaves, peas, beans, other vegetables of your choice, garam masala, salt and saute again. Wash the rice and add it to the pan. I used biryani rice which is found in the name of Jeeraga samba rice. If not basmati rice can be used. Saute the rice on medium flame along with all the vegetables for a minute. Now add 3 and half cups of water for biryani rice. For basmati rice 6 cups of water. Also add 2 tbsp ghee, saffron strands and pressure cook for 3 whistles. When the pressure is off, garnish the Pulao with fresh coriander leaves and serve with raita.



I have tried many recipes from Dear Rak's blog and here are some

Jangiri/ Imarti From Raks Kitchen



Rasmalai from Raks kitchen



Brinjal Chutney



Sending all Raks recipes to Blogger's Marathon event hosted by Jayasri

Ginger Lemonade

Ingredients

2 inches ginger, grated
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
4-5 cups water
2-3 lemon slices
mint leaves
ice cubes
kiwi or any fruit slice to decorate

Preparation

Combine the ginger and sugar with two cups of water in a pan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring continuously until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for three minutes.
Strain the syrup with a tea strainer and set aside to cool.
Combine the syrup with two and a half cups of water. Add the lemon juice and stir well. Pour into individual tall glasses, add the ice cubes, lemon slices, mint leaves. Decorate the glass with kiwi or lemon slices and serve.

Sending this to Siri and Sara's Healing Food-Ginger and Garlic!

Stuffed Spinach Fritters (stuffed Palak Bajjis)

This is a lovely snack for tea time.

Ingredients

10-15 big size palak leaves(spinach)
oil for deep frying

for stuffing
2 Boiled and mashed potatoes
2 finely chopped green chillies
1 onion finely chopped
salt to taste
1/2 tsp garam masala

For batter
1/2 cup Gram flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
water to mix batter

Preparation
Wash the spinach leaves gently so that they do not tear. Wipe with dry cloth so that there is no water on the leaves.
Prepare stuffing by mixing potatoes, onions, salt, garam masala and geen chillies.
Gently spoon the stuffing on the spinach leaves and fold them carefully as shown in the picture.


The leaf will stick together because of the potato filling.
Prepare bajji(pakoda) batter by mixing all the batter ingredients. Dip the palak fillings in the batter and deep fry in oil till brown and crisp. serve hot with chutney and chai:)



Sending this to "Food Palette series green"

Gobi Masala Naan ( Cauliflower masala stuffed Naan)

This Stuffed Naan came out very well though I tried it for the first time after lot of research on the web:) Kids loved it! I followed the ingredients for making naan from Sailu's blog!

Ingredients
For Naan
2 cups all purpose flour (Maida)
1/2 cup warm milk
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
a dash of baking soda
2 tsp butter

For stuffing

1 cup grated cauliflower
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1/3 cup finely chopped tomato
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
salt to taste
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 tsp oil

Preparation

Sift the flour along with baking powder and baking soda. Make a dough by adding yogurt, milk, salt and sugar. Cover with lid and set aside for 2 hours.

Mean while we can prepare the stuffing. Heat a pan and add oil. Splutter with cumin and fennel seeds. Add onions, ginger-garlic paste and fry for 10-15 seconds. Add grated cauliflower, all the masalas, tomato and salt. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes or till all the ingredients blend well and all the moisture has evaporated. The stuffing should be dry. Switch off the heat and let the stuffing cool down completely.

To make stuffed naans, Knead the dough for a minute, dust the working surface with some flour and take a small portion of the dough and roll it on the dry surface. Take a spoon full of stuffing and fill it inside the dough as we do for Parathas. Seal the dough in an elongated manner very gently. Roll the stuffed dough only towards one direction very gently so that the stuffing does not leak out.
Heat the iron tawa (Cast iron skillet) and transfer the prepared dough to the tawa. On medium heat cook the naan on both the sides. You can add little butter and cook till it is brown on both the sides.
Serve hot with chutney and kids will love it with tomato ketchup.




I am sending this to Pari's "Cooking with bread event".



I am also sending my Amish Friendship Bread and Christmas tree Pizza to this event!!

Ginger Rasam ( Allam Charu)

Rasam is a great comfort food especially during winter. We make rasam powder in large amount at home and its a must have. Rasam powder recipe will be posted later.

Ingredients

3 cups water
2 large tomatoes ( chopped)
1/2 cup tamarind extract
1 tbsp rasam powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ginger
2-3 pods of garlic
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
diluted thoor dal water
salt to taste

for tempering

2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
a dash of asafoetida
handful of curry leaves

Preparation

There are two ways to make this rasam.

First method is to grind all the ingredients like tomato, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and curry leaves in a mixer and mix it all with 3 cups of water. Bring this mixture to boil by adding tamarind water, salt, rasam powder and turmeric powder. At last add water of cooked thoor dal and temper with the given ingredients. We call this rasam/charu medicinal(mandula charu) as it helps in clearing cold and fever.

The second method is to add all the ingredients without grinding. In water we add crushed ginger, chopped tomato, coriander leaves, tamarind water, turmeric powder, rasam powder, salt and bring it to boil. Once the rasam starts boiling add thoor dal water and temper with the given ingredients. In this tempering you can add finely chopped garlic. This will give a nice taste to the rasam!


This rasam is being sent to Siri and Sara's Healing Food-Ginger and Garlic!

I am also sending Allam Pachadi to this event!

Baingan-Mooli ki subzi (eggplant-raddish dry curry)

This is a yummy subzi I learnt while in North India. Many of us reject raddish because of its smell. I usually make only sambar out of it! But this subzi goes great with rotis and tastes great.

Ingredients

2 cups diced raddish
1 cup diced eggplant
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup diced tomato
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
salt to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds
a dash of asafoetida
2 tbsp oil
fresh chopped coriander for garnish

Preparation

Heat a pan and add oil. To the oil add cumin seeds, while they splutter, add asafoetida and onions. Once the onions are sauted for a minute, add raddish, eggplant, salt, chilli powder, coriander powder and at last tomatoes. Mix it all well and cover with lid and cook on low heat for 15 minutes or till the veggies are soft and cooked.
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and serve warm with rotis!!

This chutney is from Rak's kitchen:) I truly enjoyed the Sutta Kathirikkai chutney