Rava Kesari (semolina fudge)

I had prepared this on new years day. I hope it is okay to publish this with just a delay of 36 hours ;)...Also, i was so busy attending and making calls on that day i ended up with a white kesari. Honestly, kesari in my house always used to be white. Even being in TN for nearly 2 decades could not influence my mom/grandmom to color Kesari...But, my wedding did the trick. Getting married into a tamilian family meant that i paint my kesari with bright orange color and also add insane amount of Dalda (not even ghee :( ) to it. I wont complain about the taste though. Like everything else, there is a mom's side version and one in-law's side version of Kesari...Anyway, though my kesari looked white and pale, the taste compensated for the looks.

Ingredients

Semolina/sooji - 1 cup

Water - 2 cups

Milk (boiled and cooled) - 1/2 cup

Sugar - 3/4 cup

Cardamom - 1 pod

Ghee/dalda - 3 spoons

Cashews - 6 (broken into tiny pieces)

Raisins - 6 nos.

Method

Dry roast the semolina/sooji and keep aside. Now add one spoonful of ghee to a wok and add the cardamom pod and cashews and raisins to it. Let them turn golden brown. Remove them to a plate. Now to this ghee add the already roasted rava and fry for some more time (till you start feeling like eating it as is :) ).. Remove to a plate and let it cool. Now to the same wok, add water and milk and let it come to a boil. Add Sugar and let it dissolve. Now add the semolina to this boiling water slowly and keep stirring it to avoid lumps. This whole mixture would start to bubble and then would slow down. Add the remaining 2 spoonfuls of Ghee to this mixture and keep stirring till it starts leaving the sides. Once done, either set into a greased plate and cut, or serve in smaller bowls.

Note : Patience is the key to a good kesari. I used to skip the double roasting step and would end up with a lump.... One thing i always remind myself is that there is no short cut to success, even if it involves only cooking.

Gram dal + Tomato chutney

This comes from maternal Grandmother. She is the chutney expert of the house. I have learnt so many things from her, that i would need another life time to achieve her level of skill :)

Ingredients :

Ripe Tomatoes (sour ones) - 4 large

Gran dal - 1/4 Cup

Red chillies - 6 nos.

Salt - To taste

Oil - 1 spoonful

Mustard - 1/8 of a spoon

Split urad dal - 1/8 of a spoon

Cummin - 1/8 of a spoon

Curry leaf - 10 nos.

Turmeric powder - small pinch

Method :

Add some oil to the wok. Once hot, add the gram dal and red chillies to it. Once nicely roasted, remove to a plate. Now to the same oil add the tomatoes and cook till done along with turmeric powder. Let it cool. Grind the roasted dal, tomatoes and red chillies to a smooth paste (Add water if required). Season with mustard, cummin, curry leaves and urad dal. Serve with Dosa/Idly. This can be had with hot rice as well.

Note : If you are planning to serve this with rice, ensure you dont add too much water while griding.

I love to have some kind of sev with this chutney. Try it with boondi. I swear you will fall for it.

Murungai keerai adai (pan cake with drumstick leaves)

Am back in the new year 2011 with a healthy and filling recipe. This is good for all the kids and elders who detest anything good and nutritious.

Ingredients

Gram dal - 2 cups

Rice - 2 tablespoons

Urad dal - 4 tablespoons

green chillies - 3 nos.

salt - to taste

Drumstick leaves - 1 cup, cleaned and dried.

Method :

Soak the dals and rice together overnight. Grind to a thick batter along with the green chillies. Mix salt and the drumstick leaves into the batter. prepare dosa's as you always do. Traditional method is to make the batter so thick that you need your hand to spread it on the hot griddle. Anyway, we are in the fast moving world, and i wouldn't risk my fingers for a adai, no matter how healthy it is ;)

Cabbage Chutney

This is a recipe for all the people who detest cabbage. I am actually fed up of eating cabbage stir fry from the past few days. It was me who got tempted by the huge cabbage that was offered for 10/-.

Many people do not like the pungent smell of this vegetable, but when you combine with the right ingredients, it tastes awesome.

Ingredients :

Chopped Cabbage - 4 cups

Green chillies - 4 nos.

Split Bengal Gram - 1/4 cup (add more if you like)

Cummin - 1/4 spoon

Split Black gram - 1/4 spoon

Tamarind - lemon sized

Oil - 2 spoons

Salt - to taste

Method for preparation :

Heat oil in a Wok. Add the cummin seeds, Bengal and Gram dal to the hot oil. Fry until the bengal gram changes to light golden color. Add whole green chillies and cover the lid (to avoid flying chillies ;) ). Once the spluttering sound reduces, open the lid and add the chopped cabbage. Fry the cabbage and the rest of the ingredients until the raw smell of cabbage disappears. Now add the tamarind to this mixture and cover the lid. Cook until the tamarind softens due to the heat. In this process, the cabbage also gets cooked well. Turn off the heat and let his mixture cool down. Gring to coarse paste along with some salt and very very little water.

This goes well with Roti/ Plain rice with some Ghee.

Gutti vankaya koora (brinjals in onion gravy)

Ingredients:

Brinjals - 1/2 ks (small round ones)
Onions - 3 large ones
Ground nuts - 1/4 cup
Red chillies - 10
Bengal gram - 1/8 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 spoon
Asafoetida - 1/8 spoon
Oil - 1/4 cup (yes ! it is oily)
Salt - As per taste
Turmeric - a big pinch
Curry leaves - 10 nos.


Method :

Chop onions into big chunks. Slit brinjals into 4 (do not separate them and let the brinjal stay connected at one end). soak them in salt water to stop them from turning black. Add some oil to a wok and fry the ground nut, 1/4 of a spoon of cumming and bengal gram. Once they are slightly brown, add the red chillies followed by the onions. Fry all the ingredients till the onions are slightly brown in color. Add turmeric and salt. Grind to a paste after all ingredients cool down.

Stuff the brinjals with this paste and keep aside. Heat a pressure pan and add the remaining oil to it. Add d, cummin, asafoetida and curry leaves. Once the mustard starts to splutter, add the stuffed brinjals. Fry the brinjals slightly at low heat. One they start getting blisters all over, add the ground paste remaining and adjust salt. Pressure cook for two whistles. Serve hot with some hot rice, plain tuvar dal and ghee...... YUMMY ! Serves as a great dish along with curd rice too.

Note : The number of whistles depends on the quality of the brinjals.

Methi Rice

Most of my dishes are quick and not elaborate. I want to keep it that way. It helps people who are in a hurry to prepare lunch and carry it with them. Also, helps lazy people who want to finish off cooking quickly.

Ingredients :

Long grained rice - 2 cups
Methi leaves - 1 1/2 cups (washed and finely chopped)
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Onion - thin slices - 1/2 cup
cinnamon - 1 inch
cloves - 4 nos.
cardamom - 4 nos.
Bay leaf - 1
cashews - 10 (Roasted)
Salt - to taste
Water - 4 cups

Method :

Heat the cooker and add some oil/Ghee to it once hot. Add cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, cardamom and fry till they splutter. Now add the onions and fry till they slightly change their color. Add the methi leaves and fry till the raw smell disappears. To this add the water and a spoonful of salt. Taste the water to ensure that it is slightly saltier than what you want your dish to be like. Add rice and coconut and cook for 2 whistles. Mix the fried cashews just before serving the dish. This can be served with raita/veg kurma of your choice.

Cabbage Kichdi

This name of the dish might sound weird, but trust me it tastes yummy. It is quiet simple and if you are looking for a pot meal, then this is your Saviour. This gets done in a jiffy and is very mildly spiced. This is a nutritious yet tasty and healthy dish


Ingredients :

Cabbage - 1 cup finely chopped
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Rice - 3/4 cup
Red chillies - 8 nos. (split to half)
curry leaves - 10 nos.
cumin - 1/2 spoon
mustard - 1/2 spoon
oil - 1 spoon
salt - to taste
water - 3 1/2 cups

Method :

Soak the moong dal in water for 15 mins. You could get your cabbage chopped meanwhile. Add oil to the pressure cooker. Once it is hot, add cumin,mustard and curry leaves. Fry them till mustard sputters. Add red chillies. Now add the cabbage and fry a little till the raw smell disappears. Do not let them change color though. Now add the soaked moong dal and washed rice. Add water and salt. Let it cook for 4 whistles. Serve hot with pickle/raita.

Tip : Add more water if you want it to be more mushy. You could add grated ginger if you like.