Monday 5 September 2016

STUFFED SWEET KOZHUKKATTAI..

























Happy Shri Ganesh Chathurthi to everyone ..!


Today is a very special festival 'SHRI GANESH CHATHURTHI'.  Kozhukattai  is the main offering to Lord Ganesh. This is very simple and easy to make. 

Ingredients:

Jaggary 150 gms
Raw rice flour 200 gms
Coconut fresh flakes one cup
Cardamom 8 pods
Hot water two cups 
Sesame oil one spoon
Salt half teaspoon


Procedure:

Bring to boil two cups of water with salt and one teaspoon of sesame oil.
Mix the raw rice flour with boiling water using a spatula.
Keep aside for few minutes to get warm condition.
Knead with hands until the dough gets nonsticky texture.
Set aside.
Bring to boil little water and jaggery.
Allow to boil until the jaggery dissolves completely.
Add Fresh coconut flakes and mix with sugar syrup.
Allow to cook for few more minutes until the mixture gets ball consistency.
Divide the dough into equal portions.
Spread the portion of raw rice in the palm.
Place the jaggery coconut mix in the centre.
Cover by closing all the sides and make a  ball.
Press gently on four sides of the ball so as to get mothak shape.
Make the mothaks with the remaining dough.
Steam it in a wet white cloth using Idli pot for ten minutes.



Stuffed sweet kozhukattais are ready to offer to lord Shri Ganesh First.
Then Serve to all and enjoy..


Sunday 4 September 2016

LONG PEPPER RASAM/ THIPPILI RASAM

Long pepper has been in use from the time immemorial. It is of high medicinal properties. It has certain specific qualities that heal the diseases and keep the body healthy.

It is a perennial climber with dark green leaves. Its latin name is Piper longum. In malayalam, Long pepper is called as Pippali, in Tamil, Arisi Tippili, In Telugu, it is termed as Pipalu, in Hindi, Pipalu, in Kannada, hippali.

It contains alkaloids i.e., piperine and essential oils. It is good for heart health, It cures hiccups, cold, cough, bronchitis, liver related problems, headache, insomnia, constipation and spleen related diseases.

Long pepper is available in all online stores and grocery stores. This medicinal dry long pepper is a must in our kitchen store. 



Long pepper rasam




   
                                                                                                                   
Thippili Rasam is today's posting. The method is the same with the same ingredients but we are going to add one tablespoon of long pepper as the main ingredient. This recipe is the best for our health and keeps the body fit when it is consumed fortnightly twice.

How to make this rasam..?










Ingredients:

Long pepper one tablespoon
Pepper one tablespoon
Cumin seeds one tablespoon
Coriander seeds one tablespoon
Garlic pods peeled off 2 nos
Asafoetida one pinch
Curry leaves 20 nos
Mustard seeds one spoon
Sesame oil one tablespoon
Red chilly one split
Coriander leaves one handful, chopped
Pressure cooked dal (With turmeric and four drops of castor oil and one tomato)
Salt required
Jaggery one marble size
Tamarind one marble size Soaked for half an hour

Procedure:

Get extract from the soaked tamarind and cooked tomato.
Dry roast the long peppers, peppers, cumin seeds and coriander seeds.
Set aside to cool down.
Blend the roasted ingredients with garlic pulses.
Heat a dry wok with sesame oil.
Add mustard seeds to pop up.
Add chilly and curry leaves.
Simmer the flame and add asafoetida.
Followed by the tamarind and tomato extract.
Add salt and jaggery.
Now raise the flame and bring to boil.
Add the ground powder (long peppers, pepper, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and garlic pulses.)
Allow to boil for few minuted till flavour of all of the ingredients to infuse into rasam.
Transfer the dal mixture along with chopped coriander leaves.
Bring to boil.
Switch off the flame.


Thippili Rasam is ready to have with hot steamed rice. This is a perfect meal in cold and rainy seasons. You can have it as a soup.. This rasam has its own unique aroma and delicious taste. Everybody will like to have.. Just introduce this aromatic and tasty Rasam to your kids.. Serve to your elders..They will enjoy it..

Give it a try..

Don't forget the adage " Prevention is better than cure"

:-)















Friday 2 September 2016

PIRANDAI THUVAYAL

Adamant creeper/Devil's back-bone is called as Pirandai in Tamil and Hadjot in Hindi. Its scientific name is  Cissus quadrangularis belonging to the family Vitaceae. It is grown abundantly in the fences of village gardens and it can be grown in pots of the kitchen garden fora  frequent use because it is not available in the city market.

JUST COLLECT THE PIRANDAI NODES FROM ANY NEARBY VILLAGES AND GROW IN A POT. YOU WILL HAVE A FRESH SUPPLY OF THIS HERB, WHENEVER YOU NEED.

It has miraculous medicinal benefits. It is called as the herbal bone setter. It treats indigestion, lack of appetite and gastritis. It helps to treat the fractures and sprains. It is used for treating piles, menstrual cramps and related disorders and is also the best home remedy for ear pain. It is used externally and internally by adding some spices.

 First, you should be aware that  pirandai is of itchy nature. But it can be handled with sesame oil to get rid of itchiness. 

Smear your hands with a bit of sesame oil before handling pirandai. Choose tender pirandai always to use for food. There are multiple ways to consume this pirandai, to attain its medicinal benefits.

Pirandai thuvayal or chutney is popular in our villages. we used to consume pirandai chutney weekly once and it is one of the simplest recipes.

Poultice made of pirandai is used widely for treating sprains in my native place. Our great grand parents were aware that prevention is better than cure. They advised us if we include the medicinal greens and pirandai weekly once or twice in our regular diet, we can lead a healthy life. They practically experienced the method of making the dishes delicious by using the medicinal herbs like pirandai etc and introduced about the wonders of the herbs, so that  their beloved will consume them as food and enjoy the life healthily.

I follow the same method of our elders to the best of my knowledge and dedicate this medicinal and chutney recipe to our respected ancestors.

Hope you will be benefited with this pirandai chutney in your regular diet.

  




Ingredients:

Pirandai one bundle
Coconut grates three tablespoons
Fried Bengal gram two tablespoons ( try the fried Bengal gram to enhance the taste, I always use for thuvayal and chutney)
garlic pod two
peeled shallots one tablespoon
Red chillies three
jaggery a marble size
Tamarind one marble size
Asafoetida half pinch
Salt required

Procedure:

Rinse the pirandai stems and remove the angular ridges and nodes using a peeler.
Cut the stem into small pieces.
Heat the pan with sesame oil.
Saute the pirandai pieces until the colour changes into pale and shrink.
Set aside.
Saute all the ingredients in the same.
Set aside.
Blend all the cooled ingredients with a half cup of water into a coarse paste.

Pirandai chutney or thuvaiyal is ready to taste with hot steamed rice topped with  a spoon of cow ghee.







Eat the meals that heal..! Stay fit...
:-)





















Thursday 1 September 2016

LITTLE MILLET PAYASAM /SAMAI VELLA PAYASAM



Millets are not grains but they are seeds. They have been used since ancient times across the countries. They grow well in dry zones as rain-fed crops. They are also unique crops harvested in sixty five days from the date of sowing. They withstand any season and they can be kept stored for more than one year. 
Little millet is called as Samai in tamil, Kutki in Hindi, Sama in Telugu, Same in Kannada
and chama in Malayalam.
We came to realize the benefits of millets and start cooking and consuming in our regular diet weekly twice.

Nutrional values:

They are highly nutritious, gluten free and alkaline. Samai or little millet is one of the millets can be cooked like rice. Millets can replace the rice and dal in various dishes like idli, dosai, payasam/kheer, pongal and roties. 

They work wonderfully as a prebiotic to feed the living cells of our inner ecosystem. Since it is alkaline it digests easily.

Samai is packed with magnesium, high calories of calcium, manganese , Phosphorous, B vitamins and antioxidants. 

They are available in all grocery stores and departmental stores and online stores in India.
 uzhavu.inbigbasketthe farmDeshse, dhanyam

This ethnic millet, Samai is used to prepare payasam in this posting.

How to make this nutritional payasam?

Ingredients:

Samai 100 gms
Achu vellam three or four
Cardamom crushed four
Raisins one tablespoon
Milk 200 ml (you can add another extra 200 ml of your choice.
Coconut milk two cups
Water four cups
Ghee one tablespoon.




Procedure:

Rinse the little millet several times and soak for half an hour.
Add  four cups of water with the little millet.
Pressure cook the little millet/Samai with three whistles
Add Achuvellams and milk and bring to boil until the vellams dissolved and mixed with samai




.
Heat the tempering pan, add ghee.




Fry the raisins to plump up and transfer them into the boiling samai mixture
Blend the coconut grates with little water and squeeze the milk.
Add the milk to the boiling mixture.



Sprinkle the crushed cardamom seeds.
You can add fried nuts (optional)

Highly nutritional and delicious samai vella payasam is ready to serve.




Your little ones and beloved adults will crave for it more.
You'll acquire their precious health..

:-)

.











Sunday 28 August 2016

IRUKKEERAI PARUPPU KOOTU/DOUBLE GREENS DAL CURRY

Goodmorning dearest viewers..!

This posting is also the recipe comprising of dal and two types of greens. These two greens are very beneficial to our body. The names of the greens used in this curry are the Ponnanganni and vallarai(Tamil Names respectively).

English name of Ponnanganni is Alternanthera sessilis is an aquatic plant known by several common names, including ponnanganni(in Tamil), Mukunuwenna(in Sinhalese) sessile joyweed and dwarf copperleaf in English. It is used as a vegetable specially in Sri Lanka and other asian countries.


English name of Vallarai is Indian Penniwort. Centella Asiatica is its botanical name. Brahmi in Hindi. It is a brain booster for school going children and adults. It improves memory power. The regular consumption of the green weekly once or twice enhances the mental ablities.



Now we learn how to make irukkerai paruppu kootu..

Ingredients:

Vallarai greens one cup Leaves only)
Sessile joyweed or dwarf copperleaf One cup(leaves only)
Cooked dal one cup
Shallots half cup
Curry leaves 5 nos
Mustard seeds one spoon
Sesame oil one tablespoon
Green chillies two nos
Cumin seeds one spoon
Coconut grates one tablespoon
Garlic pod one peeled off
Tomato half
Turmeric powder one spoon

Procedure:

Clean and wash the leaves.
Chop them using a scissor.
Heat the wok with oil over a medium flame.
Add mustard seeds to splutter.
Add shallots, green chillies and curry leaves.
Saute them for a couple of minutes .
Add turmeric and saute again.
Now add the leaves of the two greens and saute until the leaves are swirled and shrunken
Add the tomato dices.
Allow to cook for few seconds.
Add mashed Mysore dal (cooked with turmeric and castor oil three drops).
Incorporate all the sauteed ingredients with dal by gently stirring.
Add required salt and allow to cook for five minutes.
Transfer the coconut paste into the wok and mix gently.
Over.



The Double greens Dal Curry is ready to serve with bot steamed rice and one spoon of cow ghee.










MUNTHIRI MURUKKU /CASHEW MURUKKU FRITTERS








CASHEW NUTS MURUKKU

This is quite an addictive, crispy snack with a  flavour of butter and cashews, tempting to have more.

INGREDIENTS:

Raw rice flour 250 gms
Whole cashews 30 nos
Red chilly powder one spoon
Sesame seeds White one tablespoon
Cow butter one tablespoon
Sesame oil to fry
Asafoetida a generous pinch
Coarse pepper powder one tablespoon

PROCEDURE:

Soak cashews in water for half an hour.
Blend them with  required water to a fine paste.
In a mixing bowl, gather the raw rice flour and fine paste of cashews together.
Add salt and chilly powder, pepper powder, melted butter and asafoetida.
Knead into a soft and nonsticky dough.
Add sesame white seeds and knead again.
Use the star disc of the murukku mould press.
Grease the murukku press and fill it with the required portion of the dough.
Heat the oil and squeeze the dough into circles through the murukku press in the oil directly.
Allow to fry in the oil till the oil bubbles cease.
Turn the murukku and fry the murukku with golden brown colour evenly.
Remove them and collect in a dry bowl.
Repeat the process until the batches over.
Break the murukku roughly.

Serve the crispy cashew fritters with tea.

Do try it out...















Featured post

IRRESISTIBLE CARROT MASAL STIR FRY

Preparation: 10 minutes Cooking time: 6 minutes Serves: 2  Ingredients: Carrots 8nos  Peanut oil one tablespoon Mustard ...