Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Ribbon Pakoda

Ingredients:
Rice flour - 4 cups
Besan flour / pottukadalai mavu - 1 cup
Butter - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Seasame seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying.
Method:
  • Mix all the flours, powders and seasame seeds & cumin seeds. Rub the butter into the mixture with your fingers.
  • Add water to make a soft dough.
  • Heat the oil in a kadai.
  • Put a small portion of the dough into a murukku press and squeeze into hot oil into a big circle.
  • Deep fry till golden brown.Leave to drain and cool on a paper towels.
  • Store them in air-tight containers.

Enjoy with tea.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Ven Pongal



Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1.5 cups
Split moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 3 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp ( crushed )
Pepper corns - 1 tbsp ( crushed )
Cashews - few
Curry leaves - few
Salt to taste.
Method:

  • Wash the rice and dhal .
  • Add 6 cups of water,salt and pressure cook for 5 whistles.
  • In a kadai, put 3 tbsp of ghee. When it is hot add cashew nuts, pepper and jeera powder & curry leaves and fry for a while.
  • Once the pressure is released add this to the cooked rice. Mix well.

Serve hot with sambar.

Sardine Fish Curry / Matthi Meen Kuzhambu

Ingredients:
Sardine Fish - 6 pieces
Onion - 1 (chopped)
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Garlic - 3 pods
Curry leaves - 2 string
Tamarind - small lemon size
Chilli powder -3 tbsp
Corriander powder -3 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds -1 tsp
Seasame oil - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste.
Method:
  • Clean the fish and rub it with 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tbsp chilli powder , and salt and leave it for half an hour
  • Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out the juice.
  • Heat the oil in a pan. add mustard seeds after pops up, add methi seeds,cumin seeds & fry till brown.
  • Now add chopped onion,garlic pods and curry leaves & fry till golden brown.
  • Then add tomatoes fry till the oil separate from the gravy.
  • Now add corriander powder,chilli powder,turmeric powder,pepper powder, salt and fry 2 to 3 minutes.
  • Now add tamarind juice.mix well .if it is too thick add enough water.close the lid and bring to boil. Allow to boil 5 minutes.
  • Now add fish pieces one by one.close the lid and keep the heat in low flame 7 to 10 minutes.
  • Fish curry is ready.

Serve with steamed rice.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Paruppu Kuzhambu


Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 3/4 Cup
Green Chili - 2nos
Garlic pods - 3
Crushed cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Asafoetida - a pinch
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Small onions - 4 nos
Tomato - 2 ( cut into pieces )
Sambar powder - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Dry Red Chili - 2 nos
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste.
Method:
  • To a Pressure cooker add toor dal, chopped tomato, small onions, asafoetida, turmeric powder, garlic pods,cumin seeds,sambar powder, salt,green chili and add 2 cup of water. Pressure cook it.
  • Open the cooker and mash the dal.
  • In a small frying pan add oil when its hot add mustard. Allow them to splutter.Add dry red chili and curry leaves.
  • Add this to the dal.
    Serve with steamed rice along with ghee.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Tomato Rice / Thakkali sadam

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice-2 cups
Tomato- 3(medium size)
Onion - 1 ( cut into length wise )
Green chillies - 2 nos
Mint leaves-10
Corriander leaves - few ( chopped )
Ginger garlic paste- 2 tbsp
Red chilly powder-1 tbsp
Ghee-1 tbspOil-2 tbsp
Bay leaf - 2
Water - 4 cups
Salt to taste.
For powder:
Cinnamon-1inch
Cardamom-2
Cloves - 2
Fennel seeds - 1 tbsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Method:
  • Wash & soak the rice 15 minutes.
  • Heat oil & ghee in the pressure pan and fry all the spice powder and bay leaves.
  • Add sliced onions,green chillies and saute it. Put the ginger garlic paste and fry it nicely..
  • Add the chopped tomatoes and fry it well.
  • Now add the chopped mint leaves and give it a stir.
  • Add the red chilly powder and fry it until the raw smell disappears. Put the finely chopped corriander leaves and mix it.Now pour 4 cups of water and allow to boil.
  • Now add the soaked rice and pressure cook it for 2 whistles in medium heat.
  • Remove the cooker from stove.
  • Allow the cooker to cool naturally.

Serve with onion raita.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Spicy Mutton Curry

Ingredients:
Goat meat/Mutton - 1/2 kg
Onion large - 1 ( chopped )
Tomato - 1 ( chopped )
Ginger garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 nos
Fresh ground black pepper powder - 2 tbsp
Corriander powder - 2 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - few
Corriander leaves - few
Curd - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste.
Method:
  • In a pressure cooker heat the oil on a medium flame.
  • Add the mustard and cumin seeds and wait till mustard seeds start splattering.
    Add the onions and sauté till golden brown.
  • Add ginger, garlic paste and green chillies and sauté for about 1 minute.
  • Then add the tomatoes & fry it till the tomatoes are soft.
  • Add the chilli powder ( optional ), cumin powder,coriander powder, pepper powder, garam masala and sauté for about 1 minute.
  • Now add the cleaned mutton pieces and stir till mutton turns slightly pale on the outside.
  • Now add the yoghurt, and salt and stir well mixing all the ingredients in the cooker. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.
  • Now add the water and curry leaves and stir well. Now close the lid and pressure cook the mutton till it is tender.
  • Now open the lid and add curry leaves and let it simmer for 10 minutes.or Cook till the gravy is thick.
    Garnish with corriander leaves and serve warm.

100 th Post - Tomato & Mint From Our Garden


My daughter's Tomato Plant









Homemade cheese pizza

Ingredients:
All purpose flour - 4 cups
Warm water - 1 1/2 cups
Sugar - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Yeast powder - 2 1/4 tbsp
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Mozzerella cheese - 1 pkt
PIzza sauce
Pizza pan.
Method:




  • Pour warm water into a bowl.




  • Add the sugar and salt. Mix it until well blended. Add the yeast and mix some more. Let this mixture sit for about 5 minutes.

  • Add 4 cups of flour and the olive oil and mix until well blended. knead well.
  • The dough should turn into a ball.Once dough no longer sticks to your hands lightly coat dough ball with olive oil and place into a lightly oiled mixing bowl.
  • Cover bowl with plastic wrap or foil and set aside to rise for 1 hour.
  • After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size.. Let it rise for another haf an hour.
  • The dough is now ready to be rolled out.
  • Then punched down (deflated) the dough, dumped it out and cut it in two pieces.
  • Knead them a little more and balled them up again.
  • Put dough ball on a lightly floured cutting board, flattened it out,You could also just roll it out with a rolling pin too.
  • Now we're ready for the other ingredients like pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese.
  • Placed the dough on pizza pan,apply pizza sauce and spread it around.Then add layer of mozzerlla cheese.






  • Preheated the oven to 450° F and then baked the pizza on the middle rack for a little over ten minutes or so.

Now the delicious pizza ie ready to enjoy!