Beetroot and black / kala chana fry

I love this fry for the sweet taste of beetroot, crunch of black channa and the flavour of coconut. Tastes best with soft chapati which is a super hit breakfast with my son and hubby. But I personally love the combination of curd rice with this fry.   

 

3 grated beetroot  

2 lengthwise chopped onions 

1 cup of boiled black channa / chickpea  

1 cup of freshly grated coconut 

2 tsp oil 

1/2 tsp mustard seeds 

4-5 red chillies 

Handful of curry and coriander leaves 

Salt as per taste

 

 

Method: 

Heat oil in a pan, temper with mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.

Add chopped onions and sauté for a minute

 

Mix in the boiled channa to soak the flavour of tempering 

 

Put the grated beetroot onto the pan

 

Sauté for 2-3 minutes

 

Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 5 minutes until the beets gets cooked well

 

Open the lid and add salt as per taste

 

Switch off the flame and mix with grated coconut and finely chopped coriander

 

Fry is ready to savour as it is or can be had with rice sambhar / rasam or curd rice.

Read More

Carrot halwa

 One fine day I saw lot of milk at my kitchen and wondered for a while to make good use of it, then it striked that it was long since I made this comforting dessert. So with readily available ingredients I churned out a yummy dish "carrot halwa" which I suppose is the favourite dessert of Indians ofcourse the first according to me would be Jamoon:) but the favourite lists never ends though ;)

 

Ingredients:   

Grated carrots 5-6 

Sugar 100 gms 

Milk 1/2 ltr  

Ghee  5 tsp

Dry nuts ( cashews, badam and raisins ) as per taste required 

Elaichi powder

 

Method: 

In a thick bottom Kadai heat a tsp of ghee and lightly roast the dry nuts one by one and set it aside.

 

In the same Kadai add the remaining ghee and allow it to melt

 

Add the grated carrots and fry in the ghee for about 10 - 15 minutes. This will give nice flavour to the carrots

 

Cook the carrot fully by adding milk

 

Keep stirring constantly after adding milk, else it will get burnt. It is very important to use a thick bottom pan. 

 

Keep storing until the carrots absorb all the milk you have added 

 

This is the consistency we are aiming for

 

Once it is thick, it's time to add sugar  (please taste if necessary and alter the sweetness at this stage)

 

Stir constantly again, since adding sugar will release water in the halwa and the carrots needs to absorb the sweetness. Switch off the flame once the halwa is thick and sticky but moist. So it need not be very hard.

 

Garnish with roasted nuts and elaichi powder

 

Can be served hot /cold. But we love it hot hot ! 

Tastes great with vanilla ice cream too

Variation:  

You can also add khova to get slightly different thick dessert form. 

Add khova after cooking the carrots in milk.

Read More

Tamarind rasam / puli saaru

There are certain days when you don't intend to cook but invariably end up doing so. On this kind of a day when i was pressed for time but wanted something tasty and spicy i made this soothing rasam with tamrind extract. Im sure most of us who cook regulary end up with these kind of dull days, this recipe is for you to awaken you and your taste buds to energise you to cook cook and cook again. What makes this special is its perfect blend of spicy, tangy and sweet taste added to it is the garlic seasoning. You may find the list of ingredients long, but donot panic, most of them should be available handy in your kitchen.

 

Ingredients: 

1 big cup of tamarind extract ( thick). Soak tamarind in hot water for 15 mins and then churn the extract. 

2 tsp rasam powder 

2 tsp jeera powder  

1 tsp pepper powder 

Pinch of turmeric powder 

Salt as required 

 

Ingredients for seasoning: 

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds  

3-4 chopped garlic 

Handful of curry and coriander leaves 

2-3 dry red chillies 

1 tsp jaggery 

1/2 tsp hing/asafoetida 

 

Method :  

In a cooking vessel dilute tamarind extract by adding water. It should be in the usual rasam consistency and allow it to boil. 

 

Once it starts to boil, add salt and rasam powder and let it boil for 5 mins, add jaggery to balnce the acidity of tamairnd switch off the flame. (Adjust the taste according to your prefernce - you can make it tangy / spicy / sweet / smart blend of all the 3) 

Do you realise how quick it is. 

 

For seasoning - heat oil in a small pan, add hing, then let mustard to splutter, add garlic and roast till light brown,add curry leaves, broken red chillies and sauté for few seconds

To this mixture add turmeric, jeera and pepper powder and fry for about 15 secs. Switch off the flame

 

Pour the seasoning mixture into the hot rasam

Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and savour with hot steamed rice. Your taste buds will surely thank you for it's enlightenment. I truly love this recipe:)

Read More

Seeme Badanekayi with channa palya (fry)/ chayote squash palya

Off late this dry is the favourite of my lil son. So I try and make it twice or thrice a week. He just picks the squash cubes with his little hands and munches it with great delight. I just love to see him eat. This is just so simple ready in under 15 mins excluding the soaking of channa.  

 

Ingredients: 

2 Seeme Badanekayi chopped into cubes 

Handful of Soaked channa ( Kadalebele)  

2 tsp cooking oil 

1 tsp mustard seeds. 

1 string of curry leaves  

2 broken red chillies 

1/4 cup of scraped dry coconut  

Salt as per taste

    

Method:  

  Cook the veggie and channa in water for about 10 minutes with salt. Strain the water and keep the veggies aside

Heat oil in a pan and crackle mustard seeds, fry red chillies and curry leaves for few seconds 

 

Add the cooked veggies and sauté for about a minute

 

Switch off the flame and mix the veggie with dry coconut 

 

Ready to savour with rice or as is

Read More

Vegetable upma

 No breakfast can beat this delicacy for me. All time favourite combination of vegetable upma with rich filter coffee. I hate when people call it concrete, boring etc etc. I love to thank my dear Amma from whom I learnt to make this so delicious.  

The gloomy, chilly and pleasant weather this morning called for this veggie upma which is relished by my dear hubby who dreaded the word upma earlier. I think it is in the way of making it and most importantly what goes into making I.e the ingredients makes this taste so nice. If you make upma without veggies and make it into lumps it is definitely boring.  

To know why am i bragging so much, go ahead make this recipe without missing any ingredients and let me know if you don't start to love upma ?

 

Ingredients : 

Roasted upma rava ( lightly roast the rava in a pan for about 3 mins and keep it aside) 

1 big bowl of cooked veggies ( carrots, beans, potatoes and peas is perfect) 

2 large onions chopped 

1 large chopped tomato 

4-5 tsp cooking oil 

1 tsp mustard seeds 

2" ginger grated  

4 slit green chillies 

1 tsp jeera 

2 strings of curry leaves   

1 tsp ghee, handful of grated coconut and coriander leaves for garnish. Do not miss, this too adds to the taste 

 

Heat oil in a pan,add all seasoning items in the said order.Mustard let it crackle chillies, ginger, jeera, curry leaves and sauté for 1/2 min

 

To this add onions and sauté for 2 mins, then sauté tomatoes for 3 mins

 

To this add the cooked veggies and give it a light mix

 

Add water till the veggies completely immerse

 

Allow the water to boil and add salt as per taste. Please note to adjust salt if already added while cooking veggies separately 

 

Once the water starts to boil flow the rava slowly using one hand and stirring it in the other hand. Stirring constantly is important to avoid formation of lumps. Put rava till the water level, but not too tight, you must see little water in the pan

Cook it covered for about 3-4 minutes 

 

Open and check if it is cooked. The rawness of rava vanishes when it is cooked

 

Garnish with grated coconut and Finley chopped coriander leaves

 

Now the humble delicacy is ready to savour with morning news, gossips and what not. Huh can't get enough of this breakfast.  

A bite of upma and a sip of coffee what a start to the day :)

Read More