Tender raw jack fruit briyani

Jack fruit is my favourite fruit and love to eat it raw and hence never tried to cook variety of sweet dishes using it. But this raw jack fruit tastes soooo good when you cook it. We used to call it as baby jack fruits and make variety of dishes using this. Most famous dish among them is Kola, then kuruma etc etc. But this biriyani am trying for the first time. Referred Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe with slight modification according to the ingredients and time available. Try this and give your feed back.  

Ingredients

Raw tender baby jackfruit - 1 Medium size raw fruit

Coriander leaves - one cup

Mint leaves - one cup

Milk - 1/2 cup

Salt, ghee , oil  - as required

To cook rice

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Cloves - 3

Cardamom - 3

Cinnamon stick - 1 small size stick

Bay leaves - 1

Mint leaves - 1/4 cup

Oil - 1 tbsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Water as required

For Onion fry

Corn flour - 1/2 cup

Onion - Thinly slices lengthwise

Salt - little

Oil - 2 1 tbs

For marination

Curd - 1/2 cup

Green chillies - 5 

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbs

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tbs

Coriander powder - 1/2 tbs

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup

Lemon - 1

Salt - as needed

Briyani masala

You can use shop bought ready made powder, if you dint have it in stock, prepare fresh

Cinnamon stick - 1/2  inch

Cloves - 2

Pepper corns - 5

Cardamon - 1

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

( dry fry and powder it)

 

Method

Mix onion with corn flour , salt well , fry it in oil to golden brown, keep aside.

Pressure cook jack fruit adding little water, salt and turmeric powder for one whistle. Drain water. Marinate with ingredients mentioned under marination. 

Cook rice in enormous water adding ingredients mentioned under it. cook to 75%. Strain water, spread it, allow to cool.

In a pan , add oil or ghee or mix of both, add on

Marinate the cooked tender jackfruit pieces with the ingredients called for 'marination' along with biryani masala powder. Keep aside for 1-2 hrs. While the jackfruit is marinating, work on the rest of the preparation. Cook basmati rice in lots of water along with bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, marathi mogga, elaichi, oil and salt till its half cooked. Strain the water and spread the rice on a large wide plate. Allow to cool.

Take a broad pan, add oil, add marinated jack fruit, spread it, keep flame in high, fry for two minutes, reduce the flame, spread half of the rice, spread oil over rice, now add half of the fried onions, spread over the rice, then spread coriander leaves, mint leaves, half of the milk over it, over this add  remaining rice, sprinkle oil or ghee over it, add remaining fried onion, spread coriander leaves, mint leaves, add remaining milk. Cover with lid. Place heavy weight on the lid. Place iron dosa tawa on the stove, heat it for two minutes, reduce flame and place the briyani vessel over it. Seal the lids with wheat or maida paste. Cook for 25 minutes in low flame. Switch off the flame.

After few minutes,,remove loid, mix well, serve hot with raita... Tasty dum tender jackfruit Briyani is ready..

Soya Chunk Kuruma

Today I prepared seeet corn pulav, so when thinking about the side dishes for that, this recipe came to my mind. I read it in aval vikitan magazine. Very easy recipe to follow, can made in hurry. Taste too superb. Many dont like the soya chunks, but to my view if it is cooked properly, it is tasty and healthy too.

Ingredients

Soya chunks - 1 cup

Onion - 2

Tomatoes - 3

Coconut scraps - 1/4 cup

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic - 4 pods

Red chilli powder - 2 tsp

Coriander powder - 2 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Salt, oil, water - As needed

Method

Add soya chunks in boiling water, switch off the flame and keep it covered for 10 minutes. Then squezee out the water and keep the soya chunks ready for cooking.

Make paste of onions,tomatoes, coconut scraps, ginger garlic....( can add few cooked soya chunks too while grinding, taste will be very nice)

In a pan add oil, add the grinded paste, keep saute till raw smell goes. Then add red chilli powder, coriander piwder, garam masala, saute well.... Then add soya chunks, salt, enough water and pressure cook for one whistle. 

You will get a yummy kuruma which goes well with pulav, chapathi, naan, dosa etc...

Sweet corn pulav

Sweet corn is most favourite food of all kids. So when i went to market yesterday, bought some sweet corn kernels. When I asked my daughter what she wants, she told she wants pulav. So I tried this recipe.

Ingredients

Basmati rice -1 cup

Sweet corns - 1 cup

Onions - 2

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Green chillies - 1 or 2

Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp

Ghee and salt as needed

Cinamon stick - 1 small piece

Bay leave - one small pinch

Cloves - 1

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 1/2 cup

Method

Rinse the rice and soak in water for half an hour.

In a pan add ghee, season with cinamon stick, bay leaves, cloves, fennel seeds, then add nicely chopped onions, saute well, then add ginger garlic paste, green chillies, saute well, then add rice, baby corns, coriander powder , garam masala and saute till rice gets heat.... Add water, salt ... When water begin to boil, cover it with lid, allow to cook in sim flame, normally it takes 10 to 15 minutes. You can check in once by opening the lid. Then switch of the flame, allow it to stand for 10 minutes. Then open the lid and transfer it to the serving bowl to avoid further cooking.  Today I used clay pot for cooking this rice, came out so well.

Red chutney

This is my all time favourite chutney, mostly everyone used to make this home.... Anyhow am posting the recipe for beginners in cooking.

Ingredients

Small Onions - 1 cup

Tomatoes - 3

Garlic - 2 ( optiona)

Salt and water as needed

For seasoning

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dhal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Hing powder - 1/4 tsp

Oil - as needed

Method

In mxie cup, grind together small onion ( skin peeled), tomatoes, garlic ( no need to add water )....

In a pan add oil, season with ingredients mentioned under seasoning, then add grinded mix, add little water, salt and allow to boil well by covering it with lid till its raw smell goes... If you need to store it for long, use more oil and cook till oil leaves the sides..

Rice flour chilla

Since am so much interested in trying variety of dishes, yesterday tried Bihar special breakfast lItti Choka, today tried Breakfast of Chattisgarh, Chilla... Normally south Indian dosas are called chilla.... But here is some difference.... Very easy and quick to make... Very instant but tasty too...

The simple method to make this chilla, In a pan add rice flour, to it add salt and water and mix. Batter should be in more liquid form, watery consistency like we have for rava dosa.... In dosa tawa, grease with oil, pour this batter, when one side is cooked, turned it to other side and remove it from fire.. Serve hot with any chutney and podi....

First try very plain, later you can add anything to this batter and try many varities....

I cant resist myself while preparing this dosa, so finished my breakfast so earlier and first in my home..,,

Litti Choka

Today i am going to share information and recipe about the famous Bihari road side food Litti Choka...

It has good history behind it... During sepoy mutiny soldiers used to carry this litti choka on their way to war field, since litti choka is a staple food and can be cooked in fire or baked direct without using any utensils... So sepoys bake this in the sun.....some used to cook it in charcoal and cow dung... It is the one of the most favourite food of Rani Lakshmi Bai.....

Now so many years passed, many innovations are introduced... There are different methods to prepare this... I neither has tandoori stove nor oven.... So i tried to deep fry... But original recipe is  cooked in tandoori stove or oven, which remains a staple food with less calorie and more fibre and more healthy 

For outer cover

Wheat flour -  3 cups

Ghee - 2 tbs

Water and salt as needed

First outer cover you can use chappathi flour... Just mix wheat, ghee, salt and water and knead like chappathi dough.. Some uses curd , cooking soda etc... I didnt use... First try with chappathi dough and then you can try variations on it....

For inside filling

Sattu ( roasted chick pea flour) - 250 gms

Green chilies - 3 to 4

Ginger - 2 tsp , chopped nicely

Garlic - 2 tsp chopped nicely

Lemon extract - 2 tbs

Mustard oil - 2 tbs ( in original recipe they add oil extracted from pickles)

Mango powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp ( in original recipe they add lemon pickle paste)

Salt

Mix everything well to coarse powder... No need to add water, if you feel it is too dry, can sprinkle water... You can add coriander leaves too..

Preparation

Now take wheat dough, flatten it in your palms or rolling pin little thick round shape, place the sattu mix inside and close the ball....

Now place the ball from sideways of pan in which water is boiling, when the balls comes up, remove the balls , drain water...(even you can skip this step) Then deep fry them in oil.... Another menthod, can shallow fry them in oil or bake it...

While serving dip this in melted ghee and serve with choka....

In original recipe they bake is, so you can try baking this instead of deep frying... Even without cooking in boiling water, you can directly fry in oil... But cooking in water is good, first think everything cooked well in water and then when we fry it in oil, no oil will stick to it.... The oil i added in the pan remains same even after cookimg....

Original recipe for chokka ( no oil recipe), very healthy...

Put brinjals directly on flame, turn it all sides so that all sides are cooked, peel skin, mash it keep aside

Now put tomatoes directly on flame, turn all sides, when it is cooked, peel skin, mash keep aside

Pressure cook potatoes and remove skin, mash, keep aside

Now mix mashed brinjal, tomatoes, potatoes, to this add nicely chopped onion , green chillies , ginger  coriander leaves and salt, mix everything well and serve ...  You can try this for idly or dosa... ( can leep brinjal and potatoes mashed separetely too)

Soda Bread

Being Sunday I planned to try something different for my kids. Further I have deep interest to experiment a lot with my new oven. So tried Irish famous food Soda Bread. Here baking soda is used instead of yeast and no need much kneading. Further they add dried fruit at the time of the end of the year when the harvest was going on as a treat for the men who were working. The woman of the house who was making the bread used to put raisins, a little bit of sugar and an egg traditionally. But egg is not must item. Since I never even cook or like the sight of egg, i avoided it. Traditionally they use caraway seeds, but i replaced it with black jeera. Be careful in mixing to get the ingredients to come together with the minimum amount of handling. The more you handle it, the tougher it will become. Traditionally they put cross on the top to sent the evils out. But we also can out cross to help bread to cook faster. Ok lets us go to the recipe.

Ingredients

Plain flour - 1 cup

Wheat flour - 1 cup

Butter milk - 1 1/2 cup ( increase or decrease according to need while kneading)

Black cumin seeds - 2 tsp ( can substitute with caraway seeds)

Sugar - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp ( if tartar cream is available in your area, can use it in place of baking powder)

Butter - 2 tsp

Method

Mix all dry ingredients in a pan. Mix butter milk and butter ( better both are in roam temperature). Now add butter milk little by little and mix everything. Just mix, dont knead much. Just mix so that all come together, dont worry even if it is little sticky. Just hold everything together and make shape it to a soft loose ball. Place it over flour dusted oven tray. Pur a cross on the top.

Preheat over to 180 degree. For my oven, i have to keep it in 4. Place the baking tray inside the oven and bake it for 30 minutes or still the bread raises and is golden-brown in colour, sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. You can turn upside the bread in middle and cook for even cooking,

You can sprinkle sugar over the cross if you love little sweetness.

1. Transfer to a  wired rack or plate. Cover with a clean tea towel to keep it soft and crisp and allow to cool. When it is cooled, break into quarters or simply slice and serve. Eat fresh 

   
   
   

   
   

Baby potato Biriyani

Ingredients

Basmati Rice - 1 cup

Baby Potato -  1 cup

Green peas - 1 cup

Tomato - 2 ( medium size)

Onion - 1 

Garlic - 6 pods

Ginger - 1 inch

Mint leaves - 1/2 cup

Cashew nuts - 5

Green chillies -2

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Biriyani Masala - 1 tbs

Cinnamon stick - 1

Cloves - 2

Bay leaves - 1

Fennel seeds - 1/2 tsp

Water - 2 cups

Oil - 2 tbs

Ghee - 1 tsp

Salt - As needed

Method 

Soak rice in water and start doing other preparations

Cook potatoes in pressure cooker for three whistles. Remove skin. In a pan add oil, add potatoes, turmeric powder, salt, briyani masala, chilli powder, fry in medium flame till potatoes become crispier and keep aside.

Put tomatoes in hot water for few minutes. Remove the skin, take puree and keep aside.

Make paste of Ginger, garlic, mint leaves, cashewnuts and keep aside.

In a pan add oil, season with cinnamon stick, bay leaves  fennel seeds, cloves, saute well, then add onion, green chillies,  saute well till onions become soft. Then add green peas, mix well, then add turmeric powder, chilli powder mix well....then add ginger garlic mint leaves paste, mix well, then add blanched tomatoes, mix well.. Add rice, mix well.... 

transfer them to the electric rice cooker greased with ghee , add water,  salt and allow to cook. when it is about to finish cooking add baby potatoes mix well and allow to cook. When it is completely cooked, garnish with coriander leaves and mint leaves and serve hot with raita.

If you are using pressure cooker, adjust wAter accordingly and pressure cook for three whistles. Can add baby potatoes lastly and mix well. 

Serve hot with any raita..

Chhita Pitha

Today's special breakfast of our home.... Chhita pitha..... I dont know how many of you might have heard this name before..... When you look at the snap of the food you may think it is rava dosa.... But i havent added sooji/ rava..... This is Very simple, easy Bangladesh recipe.... As all of you know Bangladesh is a country which is part of India earlier... So their food habits almost similar to ours... That too they use rice flour more like South Indians in their breakfast or dinner varieties.... 

For one cup of rice flour ,  add 1/4 cup of maida ( plain flour), salt, two cups of water ( increase of decrease depending on nature of flour)...mix all... Batter should be thin and bit watery like we have for rava dosa....i made this dosa by dipping my fingers in batter and sprinkling on the tawa....Like this four times dip fingers and sprinkle batter all around tawa....If you are not comfortable to use hands can try to ladle too... Better use Iron dosa tava or pan.... Traditional they use clay utensils...... Can use non stick too but sure there will be difference of taste.... Iron tawa gives more crispiness and taste.. Main advantage of this dish is we dont add oil to make crispy dosa...... Oil used just for greasing tava....

Before making pitha, grease tawa with oil well.... No need to add oil while preparing dosa... After making every pitha, grease oil in the tawa with cloth or anything u use .... Dont flip the dosa.... When making dosa tawa should be hot and flame should be in sim while cooking....

If you dont like crispier version, replace water with lukewarm water... You will get soft white pithas...

Please try and give your feedback

Tamarind Pongal

I have activated few food channels in my airtel dish tv.... But mostly  I dont get a chance to see it due to my kids.. They always keep changing channels with their favourite programs.... Few days before early morning when all are sleeping ,  I just switched on the tv and thought of seeing few recipes..  Correctly when i switch over to that channel ( sanjeev kapoor's) I just saw the end part of tamarind pongal. I first time hearing the word tamarind pongal. Never tried it in home. I browsed net to see whether I can get exact recipe, but am not able to find the recipe  I saw in the tv since in that show, she lastly added tamarind extract to some green colour pongal.... I tried the recipe with my guessing keeping in mind the last part of the recipe..

Ingredients 

Raw rice - 1 cup
Green full gram dal - 3/4 cup
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Salt - to taste
Tamarind - a little piece ( small lemon size )
Water - 6 cups

Red chillies - 3

Coriander seeds - 1 tap

Hing powder - 1/2 tsp

 
For Seasoning

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Cashew nuts - 5

Ghee / Oil
 
Method

Dry fry red chillies and coriander seeds. Powder it and keep aside.

Roast cashew nuts  in ghee and keep aside.

Pressure cook rice and green gram dhal together adding six cups of water, salt, hing powder for five whistles. When pressure resides, mash it well and keep aside. I soaked Green gram overnight and cooked for easy cooking.

In a pan add ghee, season with cumin seeds, black pepper, ginger pieces, curry leaves, and mix with pongal. Then add roasted cashew nuts. Lastly add tamarind extract and allow to cook for five minutes.

Serve hot with sambar and coconut chutney.

Drumstick soup

Today's special recipe is Drumstick pods soup... murungakkai soup... 

First we can see the benefits of drumsitck pods...

Drumstick pods as well its leaves are the best sources of vitamin A, which is highly used in the age reducing beauty products. So, instead of wasting money of beauty products and anti ageing creams, we can regularly includedrumstick pods in our diet.

Vitamin A presence gives good vision and to boost up the immune system.

Drumsticks are recommended for pregnant women inorder to ease the delivery problems. Drinking drumstick juice helps the pregnant women in the period of delivery and it is also believed to be a good solution to reduce the physical problems that arise after the delivery-post delivery. 

It also used to enhance better lactation in mothers. This fact really I experienced in my life... Due to cisearien, first few days I struggled without enough milk for child... Then doctor advised me to take murunga keerai and Murungakkai and garlic and it will immediately increase flow of milk... My grandma against it and she said these shouldn't be given to lacing mothers... But my mom followed doctors advise and I daily included Murungakeerai, Murungakkai and garlic milk in my diet, in one week milk begin to flow in very excess....So murunga keerI and murunga kaai are best for breast milk production.

The plant is used as an aphrodisiac to stimulate sex drive and also increase chance of pregnancy for childless couples..

In traditional medicine it is used as anthelmintic and also for treatment of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, ulcers, and gastrointestinal problems.

So try to include Murungakkai and Murungakeerai regularly in your diet...

Ok let is go to the recipe

Ingredient

Drumstick - 4 big size

Moong dhal/ Thoor dhal - 2 tbs

Tomatoes - 3

Garlic - 2 ( optional)

Pepper powder - 2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Lemon - 1

Salt - as needed

Method

First method to prepare easily during busy time.

In pressure cooker, add, Murungakkai pods ( from one or two Murungakkai) , two tbs of pasi paruppu ( split moong dhal), one big onion, three tomatoes, coarse powder of pepper cumin seeds, crushed garlic , turmeric powder, water, salt and pressure cook everything for three whistles... After cooled down, mash everything, can even run in mixe for one or two pulse.. Then filter it.... Boil it adding more water.... Add butter and lemon extract after switching off the flame and serve... I added half glass of milk too, but it is optional....

For variation, Can make paste of corn flour and milk powder and add at the last step and allow to boil and switch off flame and then add lemon juice and serve...

Another method can prepare when we work lesuirely

Pressure cook drumsticks as a whole.... Make spilt in middle of drumstick from top to bottom using knife ... Then tie all drumsticks and pressure cook adding little water In this method you can easily remove flesh. Remove flesh and keep aside.

 Then pressure cook dhal and extract water from it keep aside.

Boil tomatoes, remove skin, grind it and extract juice and keep aside.

In a pan add butter / oil... Add small oinions, crushed garlic and saute well.  Can add two green chillies too( optional). Then add tomatoes and drumstick flesh and allow to boil. Lastly add dhal water, salt pepper powder and when begins to boil switch of the flame. Add lemon extract and butter and serve hot.

Urad dhal kali / balls

This is my 200th post. I started this blog without any idea of what is blog. Slowly learned myself little by little. Even now am not a good blogger. I dont have time to cncentrate on it more. Home, office, home, in between Fb, food group, like this life running soo busy. Due to my passion towards cooking I able to be active in my food group and try different verieties whenever I have time. But i mostly never have time to update my blog. Many posts I have posted in my facebook food groups not yet updated here. The main aim of creating this blog is to store all the recipes i learned from mom, relatives, friends, cook books, internet, everything I want to keep it in one place for my future reference, so i thought blog is best way to do it. I never counted my posts. I never know when I crossed my 100th post, since I dont know how to see the numbers :-).  Yesterday when I tried to edit my recipe in blog from browser that time only i saw that I have reached 198th post. Really I wondered how did i find time to upload this much. Atleast in future i will try to upload all recipes am trying. Thanks to all who are encouraging me to postmore recipes,

Being 200th post i wanted to try some sweet that too some traditional recipe. I didnt do any special preprarations. Just today morning checked items in kitchen, being month end almost all important items are missing in kitchen shelf. Then only decided to post recipe for urad dhal kali which is havng so many healthy nutrients in it. Especially in tamilnadu when girls are in the stage of puberty, elders used to prepare this daily and give to them to strengthen their hip muscles to bear child in future.

Ok let us go to the recipe...

Ingredients

Urad dhal - 1 cup

Raw rice - 1/4 cup (optional)

Jaggery - 1 cup ( increase or decrease according to your taste )

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Seasame oil or ghee - as needed

Salt - very little pinch

cardamon powder - 1 tsp 

Method

Dry fry urad dhal and powder it. Dry fry rice and powder it. 

Melt jaggery, filter dust, again boil it add urad dhal powder and rice powder to it, mix well without making lumps. Add seasame oil or ghee little by little and allow to cook. Add pinch of salt cardamon powder. Add little more oil or ghee and keep stirring with spatula and when thickens well and started leaving sides switch off the stove.

When it is cooled, make balls out of it and serve it with seasame oil or ghee.

Baby potato fry in oven

Kids love baby potatoes in whatever form they are served. I almost tried all possibilities using baby potatoes. Since i not yet started using oven in full swing, thought of trying to fry baby potatoes using it. Came out well in first try itself and my kids too loved it so much. Let us move to the recipe now.

Ingredients

Baby potatoes - 1 kg

Garlic pods - 10

Pepper powder - 3 tsp

Coriander leaves - 1 tsp

Oil - 2 tbs

Salt - As needed

Method

Clean baby potatoes many times in water. Cut each potato into two halves. Put them in boiling water. Add salt. After two minutes switch off the flame. Filter the water.

To the potatoes add salt, pepper, oil and mix everything together. Then add nicely chopped garlic and coriander leaves toss well.  

Grease the oven tray with oil. Place the potates and bake it for 40 minutes to one hour depending upon the nature of oven. Please toss the potatoes in between so that all sides are cooked evenly.

Capsicum cashew-nut rice

Today ( Saturday) my daughter is having school since she had continuous holidays due to rain for the past twenty days... Yesterday night She asked me to prepare something which she may like very much for her lunch box, she didn't suggested anything in particular.... 

So today morning only I decided menu and somehow managed to get it ready before she starts to schoolll

Capsicum cashew nut pulav with oven baked baby potatoes....  Healthy bunch for kids in the growing stage.... Everyone who is having school going kids may try this recipe, kids will love it and healthy for them too.....

Let us go to the recipe now

Ingredients

Raw rice - 1 cup ( Basmathi rice will yield better result)

Capsicum - 1

Cashewnuts - 10

Coconut scraps - 1/4 cup

Green chilles - 2

Curry leaves - Few

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Pepper powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as needed

Water - 2 cuos

Ghee - 2 tbs

Method

Wash rice well till we get clear water... Then pressure cook it using two cups of water.... Allow it to cool adding one tsp of ghee.

Fry cashew-nuts in ghee and keep aside.

Grind green chiles to paste and keep aside,

In a pan add ghee, season with mustard seeds and cumin seeds, then add nicely chopped capsicum and green chilli paste , saute well in high flame for few minutes, then add rice cashewnuts and mix everything well keeping flame in sim, then add pepper powder and coconut, mix well and switch off the flame. 

Serve hot with potato fry, chips or pickles.

Chole Bhature

 As usual i discussed with kids yesterday night about breakfast menu... They both wanted Chole Batura.... I too said ok and slept... Morning only i noticed no sooji in our home, no shop opened at that time, dough need to be made before three hours of preparation of puri, so i dont want to wait till shop open.... First thought of making it without adding rava, then suddenly one idea came, i just run the semolina ( semiya) for only pulse to sooji texture and added it to the maida, then kneaded dough.... Result is wonderful, i got crispy bathure.... 

Bathure with punjabi style chole are made for each other na?????  My kids loved to have this combo along with raw onion and lemon...

I dont have chole masala in home, so prepared fresh masala which added excelled taste to the recipe....

Ingredients

For Bhature

Maida - 2 cups

Sooji or rava - 4 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp

Curd - 1/4 cup

Sugar - 2 tsp

Water - as needed

For chole

White Channa - 1 cup 

( Soak channa over night, pressure cook in the morning, after three whistles, keep flame in sim for 20 minutes so that channa cooks well, can use black channa too for more healthier version, but my kids love white channa only)

For chole masala

Bay leaves 1

cardamom – 1

Cloves – 4-5

Cinnamon stick - small piece

Pepper corns 1/2 tsp 

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp 

dry fry the above ingredients and powder it. If you want to prepare and store means, can add red chillies  too, since i added red chilli powder, didnt add it in the masala powder.

For paste

Onion - 2

Tomatoes - 5 ( by reducing tomatoes, can add tamarind too)

Green chillies - 2

Ginger - 1 inch piece

Garlic pods - 5

Oil - 2 tsp

( in a pan add oil, add one by one saute well, cool it, grind it to paste adding handful of cooked channa along with it) 

Other ingredients

Oil - 1 tbs

Onion - 1

Garlc - 4 pods

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Red chilli powder- 1 tbs

Mango powder - 1/2 tsp

Dry methi leaves - 1tsp

Water - little

Salt - for taste

For seasoning

Bay leaves - 1

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Method

For Bhature

Mix maida, sooji, baking powder, curd , sugar, add water little by little and knead to a tight dough like we do for poori. Keep it covered for two to three hours. After three hours, knead it well again. Make big balls out of it. Roll it to big circle and deep fry in oil. 

For Chole

In a pan add oil, season it with items mentioned under seasoning. Then add nicely chopped onion, saute well, then add nicely chopped garlic and ginger, saute well. Then add grinded paste. Keepjg in sim flame, Saute well till oil starts leaving side. Now add red chille powder, mango powder, salts saute well till raw smell goes. Add cooked channa. Add necessary water at this stage. When it thickens add chole masala, dry methi leaves, mix well. Switch off the flame.

Serve hot along with Bhature, raw onion and lemon.

Palada Pradaman

For birthday of my friend i thought of preparing some sweet.... Though of trying some new sweet... Atlast decided to make palada pradaman in kerala style... In Kerala they used to prepare pradaman for all important occassions in their life....  Ok let us go to the recipe...

Ingredeints

Rice flakes - 1 cup ( I used readymade adas bought from store)

Milk   -  1 litre

Sugar - 1 
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Water - as needed

Salt - very small pinch

Method

Boil Milk and keep aside

Wash rice flakes many times and keep aside.

Boil water in a broad pan, when it boils well, switch off the flame, add rce flakes and keep it covered for 15 to 30 minutes.

Then discard water and then wash it in cold water for three to four times and keep it in water...

In a pan add ghee, then add sugar, mix well till sugar completely dissolved in ghee.. Then add cooked rice flakes and mix well till it changes to golden brown in colour.

Add boiled milk and keep it in medium flame for 20 to 30 minutes, so that milk thickens and reaches the texture like condensed milk.

Add cardamon powder, very little pinch of salt and switch off the flame.

In original recipe they dont add cashwenuts and raisins. But you can add if you desire to have it.

Tasty pradaman ready.

Senai fry

Being sunday afternoon during a rainy season and being a pure vegeterian what else I can try.... Tried a crispy, tastier version of Senai fry....

Ingredients

Senai - 1/2 kg ( Elephant foot yam)

Onion - 1

Red chilli powder - 3 tsp

Curry leaves - few

Ginger garlic paste - 2 tsp

Soya sauce - 1 tsp

Tomato sauce - 2 tsp

Water - to boil

Oil - to deep fry

Salt to taste

Method

Cut senai in large thin square pieces.... Half cook them in water and filter water.... Then deep fry them in oil....

In a pan add oil, add onion saute well, add ginger garlic paste, curry leaves saute well, then add soya sauce, tomato sauce, salt, saute well, then add fried senai amd mix well keeping in high flame. Can add garam masala too if you want. 

Serve hot immediately with hot rice.

Pasiparuppu urundai

 Pasiparuppu urndai is the easiest and healtheist Diwali snack for kids... My daughter loves it sooo much.... So first day of preparation of diwali snacks i prepared this urundai.... It simply melts in our mouth..

 

Ingredients

Split moong gram dhal  - 1 cup 

Sugar - 1 cup

Cardamon - 3 

Cashuewnuts - 10

Ghee - as needed

Salt - very little pinch

Method

In a pan add ghee and fry yellow split moong dhal or pasiparuppu.... Grind it in machine along with one cup of sugar, ghee fried cashewnuts, cardamon and salt....  You can prepare this powder whenever you are free and store in airtight box and prepare later at anytime....

Heat ghee in pan... Pour this to the pasipaurppu mix powder we prepared.... We should  add enough ghee so that we can make balls out of it...... I used to keep ghee in stove in sim flame and add very hot to the powder little by little... Only when powder is little hot we can make balls easily... So add ghee batch by batch and prepare balls... Store it in air container... 

Yummy healthy snacks ready for kids....

Veg stuffed kolukattai / South Indian momos

     As usual yesterday night before sleeping, i asked my daughter what breakfast I should prepare tomorrow... When i suggested some she refused one by one and lastly she asked " mom why cant you  prepare momos...." .. I never tried momos in home, it shapes used to be so attractive, my kids love sed to order it in hotels, but i never liked the taste much... In morning time making shapes like that etc will consume more time, being working day for all, i cant try it.... I slept without further thinking.. Morning only this idea came to my mind, I saw this recipe in a TV program, some Hindi channel, but i watched it since it looked like our kolukattai... Registered recipe in mind... But forget about it later.... Today i thought can try that and serve it as momos and see kids reaction.... Even whem am preparing sye came running to kitchen and seeing me placing them in steamer, she asked mom momos used to look like fried, but why you steaM? I replied, no momos are steamed only... Further it wont take exact like momo you eat in hotel, since this is South Indian version of momos, even will taste better... She said ok and went... After getting ready to school, i served it... She told why am serving with two chutneys and she want to eat it with sauce... So i served it with sauce to her... Waited for her reaction, she was so happy and told super taste mom, please pack this for lunch too , i need to show this to my frds.... Ok let us move to the recipe.....

Ingredients

Rice flour  or kolukattai flour - 1 cup

Onion - 1

Potato - 1 

Carrot - 1

Cabbage - 1/4 cup

Green peas -  1/4 cup

Asafoetida - small pinch

Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp

Heeng (asafoetida) - 1 pinch

Ginger - 1" piece

Green chilly - 1 (finely chopped)

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Mango powder - 1/4 tsp

Garama masala - 1/2 tsp

Salt and oil - as needed

Heat 1 1/2 cups of water. 2 tsp oil in 1 cup boiling water. Now add the rice flour , salt and mix. Turn off the gas. keep aside for 5 minutes so that it becomes soft. Transfer it to another bowl and knead till soft like we do for chappathi. Cover and keep aside for 20 minutes.

In mean time prepare vegetable stuffing. All vegetables should be chopped so nice. I steamed it in oven. You can steam it for few minutes and keep aside. Add oil to a pan , add hing and Cumin seeds !mthen add onion, turmeric powder, green chilly, ginger and saute. Add coriander powder and mix. Now add steamed vegetables.While stirring all ingredients, fry the vegetables for 2 minutes. Add 2-3 spoons water, cover the pan as you cook it on a low flame. Add Garam masala, mango powder. The filling is ready.

 Apply some oil to hand and knead the dough to soft. Make balls out of the dough. Take one ball and spread it with hands, place filling and close properly. Similarly make all balls. Steam it in idly pan or steamer till colour of balls become shiny.

Take out and serve hot with green chutney or tomato sauce or tomato chutney.