Monday 28 March 2016

SESAME SWEET BALLS/ELLU LADDU

Do you know about Palm jaggery?
Does it find an important place in your regular diet? If then, how do you use it?
Stay with me for a while to know about the nutritional benefits and how to use in sweets!
Palm jaggery adjusts our body health automatically and offers relief from both blistering summers and chilling winters. 

There are amazing properties of palmyra jaggery listed below:

1. Rich iron in palm jaggery increases haemoglobin level and best treatment for anaemia.
2. High antioxidant content helps to protect the body cells from damages caused by free radicals.
3. It is equally rich in calcium, potassium and phosphorus.
4. It activates the digestive enzymes and helps to cleanse the intestinal tracts.
5. It is an energy booster since it has essential minerals so it is called as store-house of many                   vitamins. It helps to wipe  out the toxins from our body leaving you a healthy and fit.
6. Since it contains full of dietary fibers, it treats against constipation and indigestion and stimulates 
    perfect Bowel movement. 
   Palm jaggery is an excellent substitute for white sugar. As compared to white sugar that is devoid      of nutrients, palm jaggery is a natural and nutritious sweetener. It is processed without any  chemicals or artificial ingredients. It is made from palmyra tree and loaded with medicinal    properties.
It heals migraines.
Another startling fact is its higher count of potassium helps in weight loss treatment.
It is used to treat the dry cough and cold. By dissolving the. mucus, it helps to clear the respiratory tract and asthma and diabetes.
So the Kongu people call the palmyra tree as ' karpakatharu'. Almost all the parts of palmyra tree are being helpful and beneficial to the village folks.

Sesame seeds : 

They are not only an excellent source of copper and manganese but also the good source of calcium, magnesium,  iron phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc, selenium and dietary fibres.
When it is combined with palm jaggery, it will enliven the whole nutritious food.
We are going to learn healthy and delicious sesame balls
made up with Roasted sesame seeds and palm jaggery. This is a traditional sweet from our ancient period.

Ingredients:

Roasted sesame seeds one bowl 200. gms
Palm jaggery 200 gm or one bowl.
Roasted cashew nuts four
Almonds roasted four
Cardamom five or four

Procedure:

Dry roast the sesame seeds, cashews and almonds.
Keep aside to cool.
Break the palm jaggery and powder into a coarse texture.
Give them to blend coarsely.
Make balls mixing with little ghee.

So simple..! So easy to make..! Traditional sweet..!!
within ten minutes..! Acquire its high nutritional values..!!!!

Friday 25 March 2016

SNAKEGOURD RINGS



Make a difference..! 

Ingredients:

Snakegourd one
Raw rice flour half cup
Bengal gram flour one full cup
Red chilly powder half spoon
Kashmir chilly powder one spoon
Asafoetida one pinch
Ajwain seeds one spoon
Cooking Soda half spoon
Salt required
Cooking oil to fry

Procedure:

Slice the snake gourd into rings by removing the centre portion.
You may fry the rounds of snake gourd without removing the centre portion.
Mix the rice flour, Bengal gram flour, red chilly powder, Kashmiri chilly powder, cooking soda, salt, asafoetida, ajwain seeds with water.
Batter should be a thick paste.
Dip the snake gourd slices in the batter and drop one by one carefully into the heated cooking oil in a wok.Allow to fry until the bubbles cease.
Flip other side of the rings and rounds.
Take out and transfer the fritters in a serving bowl.
Fried golden brown rings and rounds are ready to serve as an evening snack.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

NUTRITIOUS FINGERMILLET FLOUR BALLS/RAAGI KALI


Finger millet is packed with iron and calcium. It is an important constituent of our diet during the Summer season. We use raagi in multiple recipes and one of those simple and quick-fix methods is Ragi kali.(keppai Kali).
How to make Ragi Kali?

Ingredients:

Finger millet flour one cup
Three cups of water to be measured in the same cup in which flour measured.
half spoon of gingelly oil.

Procedure:

Buy red coloured Ragi seeds 500 gms from any grocery shop.
Check and clean the seeds.
Give them to blend into fine powder in a mixer.
Sieve the flour to get  very fine flour.
Take one cup of Ragi flour and three cups of water in a broad wok.
Stir well to avoid lumps.
Heat the wok in a high flame.
Stir well continuously to avoid lumps.
The flour is being cooked and get thickened.
Dip the palm in water and touch the cooked flour. If it is non sticky, that is the perfect cooked texture.
Switch off the flame set aside to cool.
Finger millet/Ragi kali is ready to serve.
We can make balls and immerse in a bowl of water and allow to overnight.
Bittergourd puli kuzambu, peanut chutny, palak green gravy and thoyyakeerai gravy and thick buttermilk or cow curd are wonderful combinations to this ragi kali.

Saturday 12 March 2016

REAP THE AMAZING BENEFITS OF THINAI/FOXTAIL MILLET( UPMA)

Introduction of  Fantastic Foxtail millet:

foxtail millet is one of the desirable whole grain by the Kongu folk. They are cultivated in semi-arid regions. They grow very fast in warm surroundings, sprouting up massive forage rapidly within a limit of two and a half inch of moisture. This is the main reason why it is so famous among farmers who want to grow an insurance crop along with the annual harvest. Due to its easy adaptability and fast-growing time, it serves as an excellent catch crop. Not all whole grains have such a short crop circle like the foxtail millets.

They are curbing the blood sugar level and bringing down the blood glucose by a degree of 70%. Foxtail millets are known to increase the HDL which significantly lowers the level of blood sugar.

It reduces the risk of heart attack. It reduces the chances of coronary blockage that results in cardiac arrest and fatalities. Heart attacks take place since the arterial walls of the heart become blocked and damaged. Low sugar count in the blood reduces such an eventuality. Foxtail millets reduce the level of triglycerides in our body which automatically controls the reigns of heart diseases.

High in antioxidants. It is naturally free of gluten. rich in minerals like protein, iron and calcium. helps in strengthening muscles. best for nerve system.

So this is the best choice for us to reap the benefits of this nutritious and healthy millet in our regular diet.

(Google Source)

There are many versions in the cooking of Foxtail millet. Foxmillet is known by the Tamil Name Thinai.
Lot os sweet versions and spicy versions. Thinai upma is the today's posting. 

Let us move to prepare Thinai Upma:

Ingredients:

Foxtail millet 250 gm
Chopped shallots half cup
Curry leaves
green chillies three
Tomato dices half cup
coriander leaves chopped half cup
Grated  Ginger one tablespoon
Cooking oil one tablespoon
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds
Half a spoon of turmeric powder
Moong dal one spoon

Procedure:

Heat the 5-litre pressure cooker with cooking oil
Add mustard seeds to splutter.
Add moong dal (optional), shallots, green chillies, curry leaves.
Saute for a while.
Let the shallots be turned translucent.
Add Tomato diced and a half spoon of turmeric.
Add foxtail millet with  three cups of water and salt.
Bring to boil and close the cooker and place the weight.
Allow one whistle and simmer.
Switch off the flame after four minutes.
Set aside to cool.
Remove the lid and garnish with coriander leaves.
Yummy Thinai/Foxtail Upma is ready to serve.







Serve as the perfect and healthy breakfast with tomato or lemon pickle.





 


Friday 11 March 2016

PAENI RAVA KESARI

Did you try paeni rava/Ciroti rava kesari ever?

It is more tasteful than any other kesari. The cooking method is very simple and easy..quick too. We can prepare it in few minutes for guests.

Let us know how to make this yummy dessert..

Ingredients:
Ceroti rava one cup
Sugar half cup
Ghee half cup
Cardamom two pods
Cashews three
dry grapes one spoon

Procedure:

Bring two cups of water to boil.
Add ceroti rava little by little.
Stir well in a low flame.
Allow to cook..
Add sugar and stir until melts
Heat a tempering pan with one spoon of ghee.
Add cashews and dry grapes to fry..
Transfer the fried cashews and dry grapes into the. cooked rava.
Add the remaining ghee and stir well.
All tge ingredients combine together and form a non sticky and soft glossy consistency. Switch off the flame.
Transfer the kesari into a serving bowl.

So delicious..so simple ..
Yummiest and glossy Paeni Rava Kesari is in your spoon..

Thursday 10 March 2016

RIDGEGOURD PLUS CHICKPPEA KOTTU

Ridge gourd plus split chick-pea kootu is a yummy side dish, compatible with hot steamed rice, Chapathies and Roties..

Ingredients:

Ridge gourd cubes two cups
Shallots chopped half a cup
Curry leaves half cup
Mustard seeds one spoon
Green chillies three
Cumin seeds one spoon
Coriander leaves chopped half cup
Split chick peas half cup
Salt required
Cooking oil one tablespoon

Procedure:

Wash and peeled off the ridges of ridge gourd.
Cut into cubes
Heat the oil.
Add mustard seeds and allow to. crackle.
Followed by shallots, curryleaves, green chillies.
Saute for a while
Add turmeric and saute until the. shallots turn transparent.
Followed by split chick peas.
Let the chick peas become golden brown.
Add Ridgegourd cubes and saute for a couple of minutes.
Add little water and salt.
Let it be cooked in medium heat.
Rub the cumin seeds with your hands and add.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
The best pair for hot steamed rice.
Enjoy...

Easy to cook..! Instant way..! highly nutritional..! unique kongu traditional cuisine..!!
so simple..!!! do try it..Let me know how it turned out ..!!!!

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