BARNYARD MILLET RIBBON PAKODA

Barnyard millet is known as kuthiraivali in Tamil, Oodalu in Kannada, Odalu in Telugu, Jhangora in Hindi and Kavadapullu in Malayalam. Like other millets are rich in fiber, a good source of zinc and manganese; antioxidantt; a good source of B complex vitamins. It supports weight loss; good for diabetic patients, ; It is lower in carbohydrates and higher in energy value among all the millets.

So, don't miss this millet. enjoy the taste and acquire the health benefits form this great wonderful cereal.

There are so many recipes using this barnyard millet. Out of these recipes , I chose this snack for your reference. 

How to make ?






Ingredients:

Barnyard millet flour 300 gms

Fried Bengal gram flour 150 gms

Salt to taste

Asafoetida one pinch

Sesame oil one spoon

Adequate water

Black sesame seeds one tablespoon

Ajwain seeds one tablespoon

Red chilly powder one spoon

Sesame oil to deep fry

Procedure:

Mix all the ingredients barnyard millet flour, fried bengal gram flour, red chilly powder, asafoetida, salt, sesame seeds, and ajwain seeds

Knead the flours with adequate water to a soft dough.

Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan.

Squeeze the portion of dough filled in ribbon press in the oil directly.

Allow to deep fry.

Flip other side using spatula carefully.

When the sound of the hot oil ceases. and the oil bubbles subside, take out the ribbons and collect in a dry plate.

Repeat the process until the dough exhausts.

Break the ribbons and keep aside to cool.

Store in an airtight container.

Note : Don't add oil while kneading this dough. The result is more crunchy and crispy. The ribbons doesn't absorb oil. It is good for elders and kids.

Adding ajwain seeds  is for easy digestion and comfort tummy eventhough have more.

Crunchy and tasty barnyard millet ribbon pakodas are ready to have.

MANATHAKKALI KEERAI+BOILED PEANUTS PORIAL

I would like to mention the greens used to cook this yummy green porial is Sukkutty keerai. It is known as Manathakkali. This green has many english names such as Sunberry, wonder cherry and Solanum Nigrum (botanical name). These greens are growing lush during the monsoon. It is very popular in Tamil nadu for its properties that heal ulcer of whole digestive system.

The combination of boiled peanuts and manathakkali keerai in this porial is so delicious and packed with protein and vitamins and minerals to an extent.

Ingredients:

Shallots half cup

Red chillies two

Curry leaves one sprig#Turmeric powder one snall spoon

Salt to taste

Mustard seeds half spoon

Sesame oil one tablespoon

Manathakkali keerai cleaned, washed, and chopped three cups

Shredded  fresh coconut half cup

Boiled peanuts one cup

Procedure:

Heat the pan with sesame oil.

Add mustard seeds to splutter.

When they start to splutter, add shallots, red chillies, curry leaves.

Saute for few minutes.

Add turmeric.

Add salt. 

No need to add or sprinkle water. The water retained in the greens is suffcient to cook.

Allow to cook in low flame for five minutes.

Check whether it is cooked without losing its green colour.

Meanwhile pressure cook the raw peanuts with little salt with half a cup of water.

Allow one whisltle.

Set aside.

Switch off the flame. 

Add shredded coconut and nuts.

Incorporate all the ingredients to combine well.

Yummy Porial is ready to have with hot steamed rice, dal, rasam, curd or butter milk. It is a delicious and nutritious accompaniment to any rice.

EGG PEPPER SANTHAGAI/MUTTAI SANTHAGAI

A fascinating dinner MUTTAI SANTHAGAI from  Kongu's kitchen ! This protein rich dinner can be made easily.





Ingredients:

Ponni boiled rice three cups

Adequate water 

Salt to taste

Procedure for santhagai

Soak the boiled rice for four hours 

Wash the rice several times and add salt.

Grind into a fine consistency.

Pour the batter into the idli slots.

Steam them for eight minutes.

Remove the idlies and make strands using santhagai press.

Repeat the process until all the batter exhausts .

Boil the eggs 

Break the shell and cut the eggs by the knife and chop them again

Set aside..

How to temper santhagai?

Ingredients:

Bellary onion (finely chopped) one

Red chilly powder one spoon

Green chilly one or two of your choice.

Curry leaves two sprigs

Lemon one

Sesame oil two tablespoons

Turmeric half spoon

Asafoetida one pinch.

Boiled and peeled eggs four

Cilantro leaves

Pepper powder one tablespoon

Mustard seeds one spoon

Santhagai six cups

Procedure:

Cut the eggs white yolk into fine pieces.

Heat the frying pan with sesame oil.

Add mustard seeds to crackle, add onion, green chilly and curry leaves.

Saute well in a medium heat.

Add chopped eggs(boiled egg)

Add turmeric and mix well.

Transfer the boiled white yolk pieces and saute again,

Switch off the flame.

Add Santhagai and mix well.Sprinkle pepper powder and cilantro leaves.
Garnish with yellow yolk balls.
Serve hot..! enjoy hot and a lot!

Super egg and pepper santhagai is ready to have.

SUNDAY SPECIAL EGG KUZHAMBU

Egg kuzhambu is a delicious side dish cooked in spicy masala ingredients and coconut gravy. It is an easy and nutritious dish liked by all. Before we go to learn how to prepare egg kuzhambu, we must know the nutrient values of eggs

enriched with spices and coconut gravy.

Eggs are incredibly nutritious. Eggs are considered to be one of the best sources of protein available. The eggs are a rich supply pf long chain of Omega 3 fatty acids which helps in the maintenance of brain function and normal vision.It lowers risk of heart disease. They are inexpensive too but packed with such a full protein contents.

The list of nutrients that can be found in eggs are as follows:

Vitamin A maintains the skin immune system and normal vision.

vitamin B2 riboflavin aids energy metabolism, red blood cells, vision and the nervous system.

Vitamin B12 aids energy metabolism, red blood cells, the immune system.

Vitamin B5 aids energy metabolism and mental functioning.

Vitamin D keeps bones and teeth healthy and aids absorption of calcium.

Vitamin E keeps the reproductive system and the muscles healthy. 

Folic acid aids blood formation and tissue growth during pregnancy.

Iron assists red blood production and the transportation of oxygen throughout the body.

Protein needed for building muscle, organs, skin and tissue and producing antibodies enzymes and hormones.

Now we move on to know the  cooking method of this dish..

Ingredients:

eggs six

shallots chopped one cup

curry leaves half cup

Tomato one finely chopped

turmeric one spoon

mustard seeds one spoon

cinnamon two

cloves six

Briyani leaves two

fennel seeds one spoon

Ginger grates one tablespoon

Garlic grates one tablespoon

For making dry masal powder:

Coriander seeds half cup

cumin seeds one spoon

cinnamon one

cloves six

pepper one spoon

red chillies five

curry leaves finely chopped one spoon

poppy seeds one spoon

fennel seeds one spoon

For making coconut gravy:

Coconut grates one cup

fried bengal gram one tablespoon

Procedure:

Wash the eggs and place the eggs in a small vessel with required water.

Place the vessel with eggs and water in a pressure pan or cooker and close the lid and place the weight on the pressure nostril. 

Allow two whistles and switch of the flame.

Keep aside to release pressure.

Grind the above ingredients together and make a dry masal powder.

Keep aside.

Grind the shredded coconut, bengal gram with required water into a smooth paste.

Remove the shells of the cooked eggs.

Heat the cooking oil in a dry pan.

Add mustard seeds to crackle

Add onions, curry leaves, cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds

Add briyani leaves, turmeric, chilly powder,dry masal powder, tomato chops. 

Let the flame in medium level otherwise all the ingredients will burnt. Be careful in cooking steps.

Then add cooked eggs.

Transfer the ground coconut paste into the pan. 

Add required water and salt needed.

When the gravy becomes thick, remove the gravy from the flame.

Add coriander leaves finely chopped one cup and mix well.

The Yummy Egg Kuzhambu is ready to serve with hot rice. It will go well with chappathies, Idlies, Dosais and Appam, Uthappam like any breakfast main dishes.

Try...

:)

   

BABY SAMBAR IDLIES!

Most of the times, we are choosing foods based on the taste rather than the value of nutriment. It is not to be bothered if we are not  nutrition experts but we should have at least simple knowledge about keeping us nourished as we enjoy the tasty food.

A perfect meal is supposed to consist of protein+fat+carbs. That means  it should have all macronutrients and micronutrients as many as possible. When we consume food that contains macro nutrients with vegetables, it can be assured that we are getting all micronutrients simultaneously. When we eat the cooked meal, fat is already in it as cooking oil and ghee. 

Just take a stock report of what's on our plate casually.

Let's say that we have idlies with sambar.

We sort out what is actually in this meal. 

Idli rice, oil and ghee, toor dal, urad dal and fried Bengal gram, greens(Cilantro), coconut, ginger any vegetable say potato or carrot or beans or all you have.
Just brand out all the ingredients. Potato and rice are falling under starch. coconut, cooking oil, and ghee are fat, vegetables like onion, green chilli, red chilli, cilantro and curry leaves etc. Dals Urad dal and fenugreek seeds in idlies, Toor dal in sambar are considerable protein. 

This is a rough calculation yet satisfies us as a perfect meal. When we go back to olden days, we were being trained to eat a perfect meal  every time by our fore- mothers of  South India. It is highly admirable that cooking and serving the perfect meal is being  passed on from generation to generation. Still, the engineering of the raw materials into a tasty as well  as nutritious meal is the most noble job.

I think, this is enough to admire about our traditional meal i.e., idlies with sambar.


Let us see how to make  baby idlies with delicious sambar.







You can purchase mini idli stand in all departmental stores and vessel marts.

Refer how to make idli batter in our previous posts. 

Soak idli rice (organic) or hand pound unpolished rice three cups and urad dal 100 gms with one spoon of fenugreek seeds for four hours.
Grind them coarsely with adequate water and add salt to taste.
Mix well and cover the batter with the lid.
Set aside for more than seven hours or overnight.
Grease the slots of the mini idli mould.
Pour three cups of water in the cooker.
Pour the batter in every slot of the mini idli mould and place it in a pressure cooker.
Steam them without placing the whistle for six minutes in a medium flame.
Switch off the flame and take out the idli mould.
Remove the idlies and collect them in a bowl.
Repeat the process as per your need.

Simultaneously you can make special sambar, pair with idlies.

Pressure cook Mysore dal or Toor dal with adequate water, one spoon of turmeric powder and few drops of castor oil. 
Allow four whistles.
Soak tamarind one marble size in water for ten minutes.
Extract it.
Chop the tomatoes into small dices.
In a tempering pan, add mustard seeds to pop up.
Add shallots, curry leaves, and any vegetable you like to have.
Saute until the shallots turn translucent.
Add turmeric, sambar powder, and saute a second in a low flame.
Add thick tamarind extract.
Add little jaggery and salt required. ( little salt is sufficient as sambar is drinkable)
Allow to boil for five minutes.
Add the mashed dal to it.
Adjust with adequate water.
Sambar must be thin, so adjust with adequate water.
Allow to boil until the vegetable cooked.
Finally, the thick coconut milk to be added, (optional but delicious)
Garnish with fine chops of coriander leaves,
Toss the sambar with one spoon of fresh ghee.

 .





Transfer the sambar in a serving bowl.
Just make the idlies, float in sambar base
Set aside for five minutes to absorb sambar.

Serve hot.
Smells divine. taste superb.
Kids and adults will love abundantly.
Everyone's favorite breakfast.

Above all, a perfect and complete meal, I am sure.

PEPPERY BOILED PEANUTS

Introductory notes about Boiled peanuts:


The boiled peanuts are considerably lower in calories. It helps in weight control. Boiled peanuts are higher in flavonoids and polyphenols according to a 2007 study published in the journal of agricultural and food chemistry than raw peanuts. Flavonoids and polyphenols are antioxidants that protect your cells against free radical damage, reducing your risk of a number of chronic illness, such as cancer, heart diseases and diabetes.

The boiled peanuts are also a source of  fiber and slightly higher than dry roasted nuts or oil-roasted nuts.

The boiled peanuts are a good support to appetite control and prevent constipation. It contains monosaturated fat which is good for heart health. Overall it is a good source of protein and vitamin E.

                                                                                                                                           Google source

                                                                                                                    

See our way of making the boiled pea nuts..

Ingredients:

Raw pea nuts two cups

Adequate water with salt to taste.

Pepper powder one spoon

Procedure:

Bring to boil the water contained in the vessel.

Transfer the peanuts to the water.

Allow to boil for ten minutes.

Switch off the flame.

Drain the excess water completely.

Spray pepper powder and serve 

With any rice or as a snack in the evening with tea,  boiled peanuts are giving us the rich source of protein.