Butter Murukku

My kid's summer vacation has started and i have made a long list of munchies to be made throughout the summer and this one topped the list.He likes this murukku a lot.

Ingredients:

Rice flour - 2 cups

Urad Dal/Black Gram flour - 1/2 cup

Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp

Chillipowder - 1 tsp

Melted butter - 2 tbsp

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Water for mixing the dough

Method:

In a bowl,mix the rice flour,urad dal flour,asafoetida,salt,chilli powder and mix well.Add the melted butter and mix till they resemble bread crumbs.Now add water little by little and knead into a soft dough.
Heat oil in a pan.Place a little amount of dough in the murukku press.
Drop a little bit of dough into the oil.If it rises up immediately,then the oil is ready for frying.
Squeeze the murukku press directly into the hot oil in a circular motion.
Fry in high heat for 1 minute.Then in a medium flame fry the murukkus till they become slightly brown in color and there is no more sizzling.
Drain them in a paper towel to remove excess oil.
Allow them to cool.
Store in airtight container.

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Upma Kozhakattai/Steamed Rice dumplings

Upma Kozhakkatai is another traditional Tamil Brahmin Recipe.It can be had  for breakfast or dinner.The best thing about this recipe is, it consumes very less oil and it is steamed.
Brinjal Gothsu is usually served as a side dish.

Ingredients for Upma Kozhakkatai:


Broken Raw rice - 1 cup

Grated coconut - 1/4 cup

Channa dal - 2tsp

Split Urad dal - 1 tsp

Dry red chillies - 3

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Asafoetida - a pinch

Curry leaves - a sprig

Water - 2 cups

Oil - 2tbsp

Method:

Heat oil in a pan.When it is hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter add the channa dal,urad dal and asafoetida.When the dal is brown add the broken red chillies and curry leaves.
Add 2 cups of water and required amount of salt.
When the water starts boiling,add the broken raw rice.Keep on stirring on low flame till it becomes like a mass.Turn off the heat.
Spread it on a plate and allow it to cool.
Then make small oblong shaped balls.Arrange them on a greased idli plate and steam them for 15 minutes.
Kozhakkattais are ready.

Ingredients for Simple Brinjal Gothsu:

There are soo many recipes for Brinjal Gothsu.Here Iam giving a very simple,easy to make shortcut Gothsu.

Eggplant/Brinjal - 5(Tomatoes can also be substituted for Brinjal.In that case reduce the quantity of tamarind by half)

Onion - 1 Big

Green chillies - 2

Tamarind - size of a marble

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1 tsp

Split urad dal - 1tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves - a sprig

Oil - 3 tbsp

Method:

Chop brinjal into small cubes.Soak the tamarind in water and extract a cup.

Heat oil in a pan.When it is hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter add the jeera and urad dal.

When they are slightly brown,add finely chopped onions and curry leaves.Then add turmeric powder.When the onions are translucent,add the chopped eggplant.Saute till the eggplant is  cooked and becomes little bit mushy.

Add the required amount of salt.Then add the tamarind extract and allow them to boil for about 5 minutes.

Serve with Kozhakkatais.

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Beans Paruppu Usili/Beans with cooked toor dal

Paruppu Usili can be made with vegetables like beans,cauliflower,clusterbeans,cabbage ,my favourite being the one made with vazhaipoo/plaintain flower.

Ingredients:

Chopped beans - 2 cups

Microwave them for about 8 minutes until they are tender.Keep them aside.

For the dal mixture:

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies - 4

Salt to taste

Asafoetida - a pinch

Other ingredients:

Mustard seeds - 2 tsp

Gingelly oil - 4tbsp

Curry leaves - a sprig

Method:

Soak the toor dal in water for 30 minutes.Then drain the dal and place it in a colander for about 30 minutes.
Then coarsely grind the toor dal with red chillies,asafoetida and required amount of salt.While grinding,no water should be added.
In a greased idli plate,spread the dal mixture and steam for about 10 minutes.


Allow them to cool completely.Then crumble them with your palm.You can also blend them in a mixie.

In a pan, heat the gingelly oil.when it is hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter add the crumbled dal and curry leaves.
Saute for 2 minutes till the Dal sizzles.Add the boiled beans and saute for about 3 minutes till the beans mix well with the dal mixture.


The best combination for paruppu usili is morkozhambu or vathakuzhambu.



Iam sending this to MLLA - 12th Helping event hosted by Annarasa for the month of June.




This event was actually started by Susan of "The Well Seasoned Cook"

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Chocolate chip cookies

Ive tried so many recipes of the chocolate chip cookies from the internet.This one is the best.I found this recipe in  Baking bits .It had straw berries in it.I omitted it and halved the recipe and made some changes according to my taste.This is definitely a keeper.
It does not spread out so much and it is chewy and not very crisp.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/4 cup
White sugar - 1/4 cup
Brown sugar - 1/2 cup
Semisweet chocolate chips - 3/4 cup(or 1 cup if you want chocolate chips more )
Baking soda - 3/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Butter - 1/2 cup(softened at room temperarture)
Egg - 1
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 def F.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl,add the allpupose flour,baking soda and salt and mix well.
In another large mixing bowl,cream the butter,white sugar and brown sugar until it is very soft.
Then crack the egg into the sugar-butter mixture and beat until the egg is fully incorporated.
Stir in vanilla essence.
Then slowly mix the dry ingredients with this wet mixture and finally add the chocolate chips.
Drop 1 table spoonful of the dough into the baking sheet leaving 1 1/2 inch space between them.
Bake for 12 minutes until the cookies begin to brown .This way the cookies will be slightly crisp on the edges and chewy on the inside.
Cool for 2minutes in the baking sheet and transfer them to a wire rack.

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Keerai /Spinach Poriyal

Ingredients:

Spinach/Palak - 3 bunches
Onion - 1 medium(finely chopped)
Moong Dal/Split yellow Peas - 1/2 cup
Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
Dry red chillies - 4
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil - 2 Tbsp

Method:

Chop the spinach and cook in little amount of water in which turmeric powder is added, until soft.
Soak the moondal in water for 30 minutes.Then Microwave for about 7 minutes till its just cooked.Dont overcook them.It should not be mushy.
Drain and keep them aside.
In a pan,heat the oil.When it is hot add the mustard seeds.When they splutter ,add the red chillies and onion.
When the onions become slightly brown,add the spinach and cooked moongdal and required amount of salt.
Saute for some time.When it is dry add the grated coconut.Cook on low fire for about  2minutes.
Serve with rice.

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Pudina Rasam/Mint Rasam

Pudina /Mint ...saying the word itself is very refreshing!!!!!!!!!

Its my favorite herb.Pudina Rasam is one dish i make very rarely.Mostly its only the usual rasam or pepper and jeera rasam.

This rasam requires rasam powder..Since rasam powder was out of stock in my pantry,I made a new batch according to my mom's recipe.

Rasam Powder:

Ingredients:

Toor dal- 1/2 cup
Coriander seeds - 3/4 cup
Jeera/Cumin seeds - 1/2 cup
Whole Black Peppercorns - 3 tbsp
Dry red chillies- 10
Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Method:

Dry roast all the ingredients one by one in a pan.When cool,grind them into a coarse powder.

Now coming back to the rasam recipe..

Ingredients:

Pudina/Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Chopped tomatoes- 2
Green chillies - 2
Tamarind - size of a marble
Boiled and mashed toor dal - 1/2 cup
Chopped onion - 1/4 cup
Rasam powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Ghee- 2tbsp

Tempering ingredients:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dry red chillies - 1 or 2
Ghee - 1 tsp

Method:

Soak the tamarind in water and extract a cup.
In a pressure pan heat ghee.When its hot add the onions.Saute till they turn translucent.
Then  add chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder.When the tomatoes turn mushy, add the mint leaves.
When they shrink add the mashed toor dal,rasam powder and the tamarind extract.Add the required amount of salt.
When it starts boiling,close the lid and put the weight.
Switch off the stove after you hear the first whistle.
Heat ghee in a pan and add the ingredients listed for tempering.Pour it into the rasam and garnish with corainder leaves.
Serve with piping hot steamed rice in which a tsp of ghee has been added.

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Vazhakkai Podimas/Plantain Podimas

This is my Dh's favourite dish.

When it comes to choices in cuisine,his priority is always the traditional Tamil food.

He is the one who made this dish and my job was the toughest->clicking the picture and ofcourse eating!!!!!

It was yummy!!!!!He found this recipe in an old tamil brahmin recipe book.

Ingredients:

Plantains/Vazhakkai - 4

Chopped Ginger - 1 tsp

Juice of half a lemon

Urad Dal - 1 tsp

Grated coconut -1/4 cup

Green chillies -3

Mustardseeds -1tsp

Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp

Salt to taste

A sprig of curry leaves

Oil- 2Tbsp

Method:

Trim the ends of the plantain and chop it into 3 pieces.

Immerse the plantains in a pan of water and boil them for a few minutes.To this water add little bit of turmeric powder and salt.

Cook till the plantains are just soft.

Peel the skin and crumble them.

In a kadai,heat 3 tbsp of oil.Add mustard seeds.When they splutter add urad dal.
When the urad dhal turns brown add the ginger,curry leaves and chillies.

Then add the grated coconut and the crumbled plantain.

Saute for some time.Check for salt.

Finally add juice of half of a lemon. Turn off the heat.

This is a good accompaniment for rice mixed with Rasam.

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Chole Bature/Spicy Chickpeas Gravy with Fried Maida Flat bread

Chole and Bature is a classic combination.The chole which is a spicy gravy made of chickpeas ,onions and tomatoes goes well with fried maida bature.

This is a very popular dish in Punjab.In Tamilnadu ,the combo is called Chola Puri .

Ingredients for Batura:

Maida - 2 cups

Semolina/Rava/Sooji - 2 Tbsp

Sour curd - 3 Tbsp

Oil - 3 tsp

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

Water for kneading the dough

Oil for deep frying the baturas

Method:

In a bowl mix 2 cups of maida,curd,baking powder,oil and salt.Add water little by little till the dough becomes smooth and elastic.

Cover and keep aside for 4 hours.

Then divide the dough into round even sized balls.

Flatten each ball and roll with a rolling pin to a medium thickness to ensure that the baturas puff up while frying.

Heat the oil in a deep kadai.When the oil is hot enough,fry all the baturas ,turning them over till they attain a golden brown color.

Remove them from kadai and drain them completely in a paper towel.

Ingredients for Chole:

Chick peas - 2 cups

Onions - 3 medium

Tomatoes - 2

Green chillies - 3

Ginger garlic paste - 1tsp

Cinnamon - 1 inch piece

Cloves - 2

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Chole masala - 2tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander leaves for garnishing

Oil 4tbsp

Salt to taste

Method:

Soak the chickpeas for 8 hours.Then pressure cook them adding a little bit of salt for 3 whistles.

Don't drain all the water from the cooked chickpeas.Reserve some for using in the gravy.

In a pan heat oil.When it is heated up ,add cinnamon and cloves.When a nice aroma comes,add the cumin seeds.When it is slightly brown add the finely cut onions.Add a little bit of salt.

When they turn golden brown add the ginger garlic paste.Fry for sometime till the raw smell of ginger garlic paste goes.

Then add the finely chopped tomatoes and turmeric powder.Saute till the tomatoes are completely cooked and becomes a paste.

Now add the chole masala and the reserved water from the cooked chickpeas.

When it starts boiling add the cooked chickpeas.Stir occasionally till the gravy becomes thick.Turn off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve chole with hot baturas.

Iam sending this to Kamalika's FIC Delectable Combinations event.

This is a monthly event started by Harini of Sunshinemom.

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Banana Walnut Bread

I like banana bread.I usually buy bananas and wait for them to brown so that i could make bread or muffins.

They are very easy to make and this recipe doesn't need even a mixer.



Ingredients:

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cup

Sugar- 3/4 cup(or 1 cup if u want it to be sweeter)

Ripe bananas - 3 mashed

vanilla essence - 1 tsp

baking soda - 1/2 tsp

melted butter - 1/3 cup

egg - 1 beaten

walnuts - 1/2 cup

a pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.Prepare the loaf pan(4*8 inch)by buttering all sides and dusting them with flour.

In a baking sheet place the walnuts and put it in the oven for 5 minutes.

Take out the toasted walnuts,chop them and keep them aside.

In a mixing bowl add the mashed bananas,melted butter and sugar.Mix them well.

Then add vanilla essence,a pinch of salt and the beaten egg.These are wet ingredients.

Sift the allpurpose flour with the baking soda and add them to the wet ingredients.

Just mix enough so that the all purpose flour gets incorporated well with the banana mixture.Don't overmix.

Bake it in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes.Insert a skewer in the middle of the banana bread.If it comes out clean then the bread is done.

Cool it on the rack and cut them into slices.
This is my entry to Divya's Show me your Breakfast! Event

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Curry sadham/Masala Vegetable Rice

This is my mom's recipe.We call it as curry sadham(rice mixed with vegetable curry).


My mom usually makes a curry with vegetables and a spice powder and mixes it with cooked rice.(sadham in tamil)


So that is how it got its name.It is so simple to make.We can also use left over rice.


Ingredients


For the spice powder:

Roast the following in 2 tsp of oil and grind it into a powder

Urad dal - 4tsp

Dry red chillies - 4

Coriander seeds - 2Tbsp

Cinnamon stick - 1 inch

cloves - 2

fennel seeds - 1 tsp



Other ingredients:

Rice - 1 1/2 cup

Water - 3 cups

Mixed vegetables - 1 cup(a combination of finely cut carrots,beans,cauliflower,peas and potato can be used)

Onion - 1 medium

Oil - 3tbsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

A sprig of curry leaves

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves for garnishing



Method:


Cook the rice with 3 cups of water in a pressure cooker.Seperate the rice grains and fluff with a fork.

In a pan,heat 3 Tbsp of oil.Add the onions and a half a teaspoon of turmeric powder.When they are slightly brown add carrots,beans,potatoes,peas and cauliflower.

Keep the heat in medium.Saute the vegetables.Add salt and keep on stirring till the vegetables become tender.

Now add the spice powder and stir for sometime.

Now add the cooked rice and check for salt and keep on stirring till the rice and the masala and the vegetables blend together.

Turn down the heat and garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with a raita and papad.

Ive sent this recipe and my Puli pongal recipe to Ravishing Rice event hosted by Nags

This is actually a Monthly Mingle event started by Meeta

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