tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53879479254688539202024-03-14T02:22:15.889-07:00 Crimson SpiceIndian Food | World Cuisine | Easy Snacks | Indian Sweets| Healthy Indian|Food Talk | Food Photography|Kitchen TipsAishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-33303795033423226402015-04-29T03:22:00.000-07:002015-04-29T03:23:22.179-07:00Chilly Baby Corn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the ways to beat homesickness in an expat life is to have family and friends visit every once in a while. We have been having a steady stream of visitors over the last couple of months and it has been a blissful couple of weeks cooking and sight seeing.<br />
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The kind of food available in most attractions here in Singapore is limited to sad food courts or the teeming KFC's and McD's. While it does look fancy on the first day, by the second and third day you will kill for idli smothered with podi or even die for a roti stuffed with grandsweets thokku. So invariably I had to come up with fancy food as packed lunch or for dinner when the folks crash in after a tired day. Its tricky to take packed lunch here as due to the heat and humidity most foods don't hold well unless you think puliyodharai is exotic (I am sure after day 4 some of them did think lemon rice is manna!!). One of the meals I had planned was <a href="http://www.crimsonspice.blogspot.sg/2010/08/vegetable-fried-rice.html" target="_blank">Fried Rice </a>and Chilly Baby Corn. The fried rice is a tested family heirloom. The Chilly Baby corn recipe was adapted from <a href="http://www.rakskitchen.net/2009/04/baby-corn-manchurian-triedtasted.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Chilly Baby Corn</span></b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_A6QnEeN75Ybfb0t_rDqOii6sOKp7DKRsfVYuYT0pS0zwlKgO_L_S7Tj2vc8JpCufZ5CHJ_a-9uvP1ZsQzodOa6Hcj6hg2Om4ApFuDnk6_7ceT_Oujl2McfeWByZ4tBr3M8t9HePnNC0/s1600/FSCN7613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_A6QnEeN75Ybfb0t_rDqOii6sOKp7DKRsfVYuYT0pS0zwlKgO_L_S7Tj2vc8JpCufZ5CHJ_a-9uvP1ZsQzodOa6Hcj6hg2Om4ApFuDnk6_7ceT_Oujl2McfeWByZ4tBr3M8t9HePnNC0/s1600/FSCN7613.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Ingredients</b><br />
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1 Cup Baby Corn - Blanched and sliced/cut in big pieces<br />
Oil for frying<br />
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<b><i>Marinade:</i></b><br />
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2 Tblsp - Maida or All purpose Flour<br />
1Tblsp - Corn Flour<br />
1 tsp - Red chilli Powder<br />
1 tsp - ginger garlic and green chilly paste<br />
1/2 tsp - Black pepper powder<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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<i><b>Sauce:</b></i><br />
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1 Tblsp - Gingelly Oil<br />
1 Dried Red Chilly<br />
1 large Onion, chopped into chunks<br />
1 Capsicum (Red or green) chopped into chunks<br />
2 Tblsp - Ginger and Garlic - finely chopped<br />
1Tblsp - Dark Soy Sauce (I use Chings brand)<br />
1 Tblsp - Red Chilly Sauce (I use Chings brand) or 1/2tsp red chilli powder<br />
1 tsp - Tomato Sauce<br />
1 Tblsp - Corn Flour<br />
1 tsp - Lemon juice<br />
1/2 cup spring onion - white and green parts<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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1. Mix together all items given under marinade and add the blanched baby corn pieces. Allow it to marinate for 30 minutes.<br />
2. Heat Oil and fry the marinated corn. Drain and set aside. You can either shallow fry or deep fry. Deep fry obviously is the tastier option.<br />
3. Heat Gingelly oil (nallennnai) in a deep pan. Add the red chilly and allow it to release the fragrance<br />
4. Add the ginger and garlic and fry.<br />
5. Add the onion and capsicum and fry<br />
6. Add all the sauces and chilli powder and mix well..<br />
7. Taste and adjust salt.<br />
8. Add the fried baby corn and mix well.<br />
9. Mix the cornflour in little water and pour into the pan.<br />
10. Squeeze the lemon juice and mix well.<br />
11. Garnish with spring onion.<br />
12. Serve hot with <a href="http://www.crimsonspice.blogspot.sg/2010/08/vegetable-fried-rice.html" target="_blank">fried rice</a>.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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1. Gingelly Oil / Nallennai gives a lovely flavor to Chinese and Thai dishes. Its different from sesame oil. If not available then you can substitute with sesame oil.<br />
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2. You can replace baby corn with mushrooms / broccoli / cauliflower / soy chunks.<br />
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3. Check out the Vegetable Fried Rice recipe <a href="http://www.crimsonspice.blogspot.sg/2010/08/vegetable-fried-rice.html" target="_blank">here</a><br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0Singapore1.352083 103.819836000000010.8441055 103.174389 1.8600605 104.46528300000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-23554949436502491932015-03-23T16:00:00.000-07:002015-03-23T06:25:51.166-07:00Payatham Paruppu Payasam / Moong Dal Kheer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I learnt the basics of cooking from my mother-in-law. Sambar, different types of kuzhambu, the different poriyals . Hers is a rustic style of cooking - truly comfort food at its best. One of her best recipes is the payatham paruppu payasam - a regular in most of our festival menus. The care she shows in following each step while making this dish results in a delectable dessert that truly represents food for the gods.<br>
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MOONG DAL/PAYATHAM PARUPPU PAYASAM<br>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TxkAk1QIk28/UmZY7Uia_DI/AAAAAAAAIVY/2SHT2uqOFZc/s1600/FSCN6290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TxkAk1QIk28/UmZY7Uia_DI/AAAAAAAAIVY/2SHT2uqOFZc/s1600/FSCN6290.JPG" height="480" width="640"></a></div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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Split Moong dal / Payatham paruppu - 1 cup (dry roasted until it gives a nice aroma)</div>
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Grated Jaggery - 1.25 cups</div>
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Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp</div>
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Roast and Grind to a smooth paste</div>
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Cashews 5 to 6</div>
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Channa Dal 1 Tblsp </div>
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Coconut 1 Tblsp</div>
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Milk 2 Tblsp </div>
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1. Pressure cook / boil the dal until well done. Mash and keep aside. </div>
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2. As the dal.cooks, heat a pan with jagged and water.</div>
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3. When the jagged melts and starts thickening remove from heat and strain the scum that collects on top. Return the liquid back to the pan and continue heating it.</div>
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4. Add the mashed dal and mix well.</div>
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5. As the mixture thickens add the ground paste and cardomom powder. </div>
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6. Garnish with fried nuts and raisins. </div>
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7. Serve warm. </div>
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* If the payasam is thick at the time of serving add some warm milk to it.</div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-28890833556021404012014-11-27T02:52:00.000-08:002014-11-27T02:52:43.372-08:00Mor Kuzhambu <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My favorite festival will always be Thai Pongal. While a lot of people enjoy Diwali for the lights and the joy, I will always cherish the humble Thai Pongal just for the lunch spread enjoyed by the entire family. It is the same menu at my grandmom's in Chennai every year. Two types of pongal, Yam kara kozhambu, potato roast, Mor kozhambu (with vadai), rasam, two types of vadai and ofcourse payasam. So afternoons on 14 January every year was spent in "post prandial coma". And then round 2 begins with the leftovers. I love the mor kuzhambu along with the soaked vadai.<br />
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Mor Kuzhambu is a pan-India dish. With slight variations, there is a version in each state. It is the kadhi of South India. <br />
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There are many versions some where the spices are roasted first, some where there is more of chana dal. My version is adapted from Mallika Badrinath cookbook.</div>
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You can use a range of vegetables. Please refer notes. I have made it vegetable-free.</div>
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Sour curd - 3 cups</div>
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Turmeric powder - 1/2 t</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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<b>Grind to a paste</b></div>
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Grated coconut - 1/4 cup</div>
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Green Chillies - 7</div>
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Dry Red Chillies - 7</div>
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Coriander seeds (dhania) - 1.5 t</div>
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Jeera - 1 T</div>
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Tuar Dal - 1T (soak in water for 1 hour)</div>
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Roasted gram dall - 1T (pottukadalai)</div>
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<b>Seasoning</b></div>
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Mustard seeds - 1t</div>
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Fenugreek (methi / vendayam) - 1/4t</div>
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Curry leaves</div>
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1. Grind the items given under "to grind" to a sooth paste.</div>
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2. Beat the curd with turmeric and salt and blend in the paste. Add some water to make it thin.</div>
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3. Bring to a boil.</div>
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4. Heat oil in a seasoning pan and add items to season. </div>
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5. When the seasoning splutters, add to the mor kuzhambu and switch off.<br />
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Notes:</div>
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<li>If you are adding vegetables, then precook them and add in step 3. Vegetables that go well are ladys finger/vendakkai, seppankizhangu/ yam / arbi etc. Avoid vegetables like brinjal. The root vegetables need to be boiled and added. Lady's finger should be deep fried and added in the end.</li>
<li>You can add medu vadai or small medu bondas. Check out the recipe<a href="http://www.crimsonspice.blogspot.com/2013/01/medhu-vadai-ulundu-vadai-step-wise.html" target="_blank"> here</a>. Fry them ahead and soak them well before serving the mor kuzhambu.</li>
<li>You can also roast the items given under "to grind" except the coconut. This will give a different flavor to the mor kuzhambu.</li>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-75877203838917342462014-10-16T03:05:00.001-07:002014-10-16T03:05:43.679-07:00Cupcakes ~ Muffins <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I just realised that a year has passed since my last post!! Oh what a year it has been... checked out couple of hospital facilities, lost few people, zipped through couple of weddings, gained two brothers, said goodbye to lot of good friends and moved to a different country. So guess I will call it a <strike>nightmare</strike> sabbatical of sorts. So rather than get depressed with all these changes (ahem..the first couple of days were hell), I choose to look forward to the new adventures that are calling. So to cheer up to a new beginning and a hopefully sweet journey, I am posting a simple cupcake tutorial for all those wannabe bakers. </span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As a person who does not follow exact measurements while cooking, baking is a new frontier for me. The specific measurements and the high chances of failure (without any scope for recovery) had put me off baking for a long time... not to mention that I didnt own a convection oven.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So couple of months back I took the plunge and invested in the basic materials needed - couple of baking pans, a small hand held mixer and the ingredients. The first recipe I tried was a chocolate cake (recipe coming soon) that has become a huge hit with the family. This cupcake recipe is from the blog <a href="http://www.divyascookbook.com/2008/10/vanilla-cupcakes.html" target="_blank">Easy Cooking</a>. Its my go-to blog for simple baking recipes. The instructions are clear and simple and the pictures really help novices like me.</span></div>
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I have adapted the recipe for the simple vanilla cupcake and tried out three different variations. The leftover strawberries and blueberries in my fridge were used up to make a berry cupcake. I also tried a nutella cupcake and a cranberry walnut cupcake using some cranberry jam and chopped walnuts.</div>
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This is a basic recipe that is an open template. You can add fresh fruits like peaches / bananas. Any jam can also be added.</div>
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<strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Cupcakes</span></strong></h2>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzPK-qaj0G8/UmaEXHcDZsI/AAAAAAAAIX4/Ypr6qwc7aEc/s1600/RSCN6279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OzPK-qaj0G8/UmaEXHcDZsI/AAAAAAAAIX4/Ypr6qwc7aEc/s1600/RSCN6279.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<strong style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Ingredients</span></strong><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All Purpose Flour / Maida - 2 cups</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Baking powder - 2 tsp</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Salt – ½ tsp</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Butter – ½ cup</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sugar – 1 ¼ cup</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Milk - 1 cup</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Vanilla Essence / extract - 1 tsp</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eggs - 2</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Variations:</span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">5 to 6 strawberries - chopped</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1 TB Nutella</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1/2 cup chopped walnuts / almonds</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">7 to 8 blueberries</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><strong style="background-color: white;">Method</strong></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 180C. Line or grease the muffin pans or you can use cupcake liners.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In one bowl sift flour,baking powder and salt together. Keep aside.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In another bowl beat butter and sugar well until creamy.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Add vanilla and eggs and beat well.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Add the wet mixture + milk to the dry mixture little by little and beat well on low speed.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">If you are using any of the items mentioned in variations - you can add them now and mix well with a spoon.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Fill each muffin pan to ¾ th depth, and bake for 20-25 minutes till done.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Remove from muffin pan immediately and cool on racks.</span></span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Notes:</b></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Mix in the fresh fruits/ nuts / Jam / nutella just before filling the muffin pan.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The texture should be moist and crumbly.</span></span></li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">To check if the cupcake is done, insert a toothpick and if it comes out clean then the cake is done.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-49063986831437759182013-10-26T21:17:00.000-07:002013-10-26T21:17:01.091-07:00Masala Bread Toast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Masala bread toast was a staple breakfast when I was a child. It is a vegetarian version of the French toast but with an Indian twist.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Masala Bread Toast ( Indian style vegetarian French Toast)</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HqQ0-xbzqDQ/UmZWPGQ_o7I/AAAAAAAAIVM/IX4Ci8DOwas/s1600/FSCN6170.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HqQ0-xbzqDQ/UmZWPGQ_o7I/AAAAAAAAIVM/IX4Ci8DOwas/s640/FSCN6170.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
4 Bread slices (I have used white sandwich bread)<br />
2-3 T milk<br />
Butter for toasting<br />
<br />
<b>To Grind:</b><br />
<br />
1 bunch of coriander leaves<br />
1/4 cup pottukadalai (roasted gram dal)<br />
1 onion<br />
1 clove of garlic (optional)<br />
2-3 green chillies<br />
salt to taste<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
1. Grind items given under "to grind" into a smooth paste<br />
2. Add milk until it is a thick spreadable paste.<br />
3. Heat a flat skillet and add butter. Spread the masala paste on one side of the bread and place that side on the hot skillet.<br />
4. As it toasts spread the paste on the top side. Flip the bread slice and allow the other side to cook as well.<br />
5. Serve hot.<br />
<br />
Notes:<br />
<br />
1. The toast will be a bit on the softer side. You can try toasting it on a pop up toaster. But remember to keep the paste thick as it should not drip.<br />
2. You can substitute the green chillies with dry red chillies for a different taste. You can even omit the chillies and use pepper powder instead..<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-90373510303670156712013-10-24T05:05:00.002-07:002013-10-24T05:05:49.777-07:00Easy Potato Curry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been a hectic couple of weeks with school runs, multiple activity classes and not to mention the flu season here resulting in Little A being a bit under weather and not to mention bound to the house. I have been making a lot of flu-fighting meals - lots of soups, peppery rasams and spicy stir-fries. This is an easy potato curry that is an absolute favorite here. There is no prep required and can be done in 10-15 minutes.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Easy Potato Curry</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
<br />
1/2 kg Potato - cut into small cubes<br />
2 onions - finely chopped<br />
2 cloves of garlic - finely minced<br />
1 t Turmeric Powder<br />
2 t Red Chilly Powder or Sambar Powder (I have used sambar powder)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
1/2 t Mustard seeds<br />
1/2 t Broken Urad Dal<br />
1 sprig of curry leaves<br />
Coriander leaves for garnish<br />
1 T Oil<br />
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Method:<br />
<br />
1. Heat oil in a pan. Season with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves<br />
2. Add the minced garlic and fry<br />
3. Add the chopped onion and fry till they turn soft<br />
4. Add the potatoes, turmeric, chilly powder and salt. Mix well.<br />
5. Add 1/2 cup of water and allow the potatoes to cook on open pan.<br />
6. Stir well and when the water is fully absorbed and potatoes are cooked, mix well and allow them to brown.<br />
7. Remove from heat. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-52994469489949158392013-10-22T03:18:00.000-07:002013-10-22T03:18:22.558-07:00Babycorn Pepper Fry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We were bored with usual set of vegetables that are available here and after multiple rotations in dal, sambar, curry and stir fry, we wanted to try something different. There were 3 packets of baby corn lying the fridge (what was I thinking when I picked THREE!!). As I had just ground a fresh batch of black pepper powder, I decided to make a simple baby corn pepper fry and served it with lunch. Its simple fast and quite easy too.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Baby Corn Pepper Fry</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
12 - 15 Baby Corn, sliced<br />
1 large onion - finely chopped<br />
1/2" piece of Ginger - minced finely<br />
2 cloves of garlic - minced finely<br />
1 green chilly - minced<br />
1 T corn flour<br />
1 T black pepper powder<br />
1/2 t Jeera<br />
Curry leaves<br />
salt to taste<br />
1 T Oil<br />
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<br />
<br />
<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
1. Heat Oil in a pan.<br />
2. Add the jeera and curry leaves. Add ginger, garlic and green chilly<br />
3. Add chopped onions and fry till soft<br />
4. Add the sliced baby corn and fry well.<br />
5. Add pepper and salt and mix well.<br />
6. After a minute, when the baby corn is 3/4th cooked, sprinkle the cornflour and mix well. Keep tossing until the baby corn is nicely roasted.<br />
7. Serve hot.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>If the babycorn is not tender enough, blanch them first in hot water.</li>
<li>You can use the same recipe for paneer and cauliflower. Cauliflower needs to be blanched first.</li>
<li>Adjust the pepper quanitity according to your taste.</li>
<li>Garnish with coriander leaves or spring onions.</li>
<li>It goes well with rasam and sambar rice.</li>
<li>For a slight change in taste, you can replace gram flour (kadalai maavu) instead of corn flour for a Chettinad style pepper fry.</li>
</ul>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-8418659914236634932013-09-07T23:20:00.000-07:002013-09-07T23:28:58.568-07:00Masal Vadai / Masala Vadai / Paruppu Vadai<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was not a big fan of this popular Chennai street food - Masal Vadai. While it was popular among masses - to me, it was "Eli Vadai" (it's commonly used as a bait in rat(eli in tamil) traps - as the aroma is so tempting that it is haute cuisine for the rodents). As a child I used to patiently pull out every single onion and et al out of the vadai making it a cumbersome task for me to eat it and also to dispose the ruins secretly. As I grew up, it was easy - I refused to eat this vadai saying only rats eat it :-).<br />
<br />
Like how bad karma follows you everywhere, it is an irony that my in-laws love masal vadai. So I got around to making them though I don't wolf down as much as I would normally do if its medhu vadai. While I personally prefer the latter, I do enjoy making the masal vadai because of its simplicity and popularity. This is an easy version and makes for a crispy hot tea time snack.<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
1 cup Channa Dal / Gram Dal / Kadalai Paruppu<br />
1 tsp Cumin Seeds<br />
2-3 cloves Garlic<br />
1" piece Ginger<br />
1 t Garam Masala<br />
3-4 green chillies<br />
1 large Onion, finely chopped<br />
2 T Mint leaves, finely chopped<br />
2 T Coriander leaves, finely chopped<br />
1 T Curry Leaves, finely chopped<br />
1 t Rice flour (optional)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
Oil for deep frying<br />
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Method<br />
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1.Soak Channa dal in sufficient water for 2 hours.<br />
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2. Retain a handful of the soaked dal and grind the rest with ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, green chillies and garam masala into a coarse paste.<br />
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3. Remove onto a bowl and add in the retained dal, onions, salt, mint coriander and curry leaves leaves and mix well.<br />
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4. Add the rice flour if using and mix well. Shape into small balls, flatten them slightly and deep fry in hot oil until the outer turns into golden brown.<br />
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6. Serve hot with chutney and a steaming cup of coffee / tea.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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<br />
<br />
1. Adding rice flour helps bring in some crispiness to the vadai.<br />
2. You can use the same recipe to make pakoras. Instead of making small balls, you pinch a bit of the batter and drop it in hot oil.<br />
3. You can also add boiled and mashed vazhakkai for an interesting twist.<br />
<br /></div>
Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-83814251417219827382013-05-29T01:07:00.002-07:002013-05-29T01:07:51.925-07:00Peanut Salad / Verkadalai Sundal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A very popular street food in India, this peanut salad (or sundal??)is simple, easy to make and yummy. Goes well with a good book or a nice movie!!<br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
<br />
Raw Peanuts - 1 cup (soak overnight / 4 hours and pressure cook for 2 whistles)<br />
Onion - 1 finely chopped<br />
Tomato - 1 finely chopped<br />
Green Chillies - 2 finely chopped<br />
Cucumber - 1/2 finely chopped (optional)<br />
Carrot - 1/2 finely grated (optional)<br />
Chilli Powder - 1t<br />
Black Salt/Rock salt - to taste (if not available substitute with table salt)<br />
Lemon Juice - 1 T<br />
Coriander leaves - for garnish<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
<br />
<br />
Mix the peanuts, onion and tomato (cucumbers and carrot,) and green chillies if using in a large bowl.<br />
Sprinkle the chilli powder and salt and mix well. Add lemon juice and mix again.<br />
Garnish with coriander leaves.<br />
You can serve it warm or cold.<br />
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<i>Serving Suggestion: Roll a newspaper layered with tissue into a cone (You dont want newsprint ink in your food). Stuff the salad into the cone till the brim. Sit next to a window and eat while watching the world go by</i>.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-17286859444010854972013-05-24T04:57:00.002-07:002013-05-24T04:57:56.102-07:00BisiBele Bath (Sambar Rice)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When Little A started school, I was hoping that her exposure to lunch boxes from other homes will open up opportunities for expanding her food chain. When her teacher proudly told me that they dont allow kids to share snacks / lunches I was disappointed. (apparently it was for hygiene and allergy reasons). I wish she had seen "lunch-times" at my school. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> I guess most of us would remember those times when we would wait to see what others have brought for lunch. We did not have air-conditioned lunch halls. Instead we had an open field where groups of us would have invisible territories where we gather around to open those stainless steel / Milton hot boxes. Lunch would always be a shared affair wherein you get to taste stuff that arent usually made at home or made differently in other homes. Bittergourd chips from L's home, Potato roast from B's lunch box, Peanut kuzhambu from P's mom, Chocolate cake from D and a range for other cuisines opened the doors for future foodies. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I believe the experience made us appreciate cuisines, respect food cultures and also be tolerant to food preferences. Sadly Little A would get to experience this only on playdates and parties. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I still recreate some of my friend's lunch box dishes at home for that touch of nostalgia. I was hunting for the recipe for Bisi Bele Bath which my friend G's mom had made for a pot-luck lunch almost 12 years ago. I landed on the recipe from <a href="http://thefoodconnoisseur.blogspot.com/2010/02/bisibela-bath.html" target="_blank">Food Connoisseur</a> authored by R another friend of mine - who had fallen for the same delectable dish. I have adapted the recipe with minor changes to suit our taste.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Bisi Bele Bath is a medley of rice, dal and vegetables along with spices. The dish has its origins in Karnataka and like any other popular dish has its own local twists.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Rice – 1 cup ( I use Thai Jasmine rice for flavor. But ponni rice is also fine).</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Tuar Dal – 3/4 cup</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Peanuts - 1T</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sambar Onion or Shallots - 15 - 20, Peel and slice (refer notes)</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Tomato - 1</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (I have used 1 carrot, 1 potato, 3-4 green beans, 1/4 cup green peas) Refer notes</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Sambar Powder - 2T</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Tamarind - lemon sized - soak and extract pulp</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Salt to taste</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Turmeric – 1 pinch</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Ghee – 2T</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Curry Leaves - 1 Sprig</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: inherit;">For the masala</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Corriander seed -6T</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Dried Red chilly - 15-20</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Channa Dal - 2T</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Asafoetida - 1 pinch (around 1/4t)</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Fenugreek - 1t</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Cinnamon - 1 inch stick</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Cloves - 2</span><br /><span style="line-height: 18px;">Black Peppercorns - 1t</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Garlic - 2</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Marathi Moggu - 1<br />Grated coconut - 3T (refer notes)</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ghee - 1t</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Method</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. Wash and soak the rice and dal together along with the peanuts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">2. Pressure cook the rice, dal and peanuts in 6 cups of water along with a pinch of turmeric.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">3. When the rice-dal is cooking, prepare the masala. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Heat 1 teaspoon of ghee in a kadai and add all the masala ingredients one by one except coconut. When the spices have browned add the grated coconut and fry till it is brown. Cool and grind to a coarse powder. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Heat ghee in a large pressure pan / kadai. Add the curry leaves and onions and fry well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Add the mixed vegetables and fry well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Add the tomatoes and turmeric and mix well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Add sambar powder and tamarind pulp along with a cup of water and bring to a boil.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Take two tablespoons of the ground masala and mix with water to make a paste.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Add the paste to the vegetables and bring to a boil. Simmer and allow the vegetable to be cooked till soft(you can pressure cook for 1 whistle at this stage). </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. Mash the rice-dal and add it to the boiling vegetables. Add salt and mix well. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Taste and adjust spice and salt. If less spicy add some more masala paste and mix well. Add a cup of water if it is too thick bring to a boil and mix well.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">13. Switch off the stove and add a dollop of ghee on top. <i>(highly recommended)</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">14. Serve hot with appalam and pickle.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: large;">Notes:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The masala powder can be made in bulk and stored in the fridge. But the flavor will not be the same when it is 2-3 weeks old. I normally make it fresh when I have guests and use the leftover powder for a quick weekday lunch.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can use a wide range of vegetables like Raw banana, drumstick (recommended), radish, avarakkai etc. Don't overload the vegetables. It should be more of rice-dal with a sprinkling of vegetables in every bite. </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Small Onions / Pearl Onions / Shallots gives the dish a wonderful flavor. If you do not get them, then substitute with 1 big onion. Some people add them whole but I dont like finding them in my food. So I have sliced them.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Traditionally Kopparai (Dry coconut) is used for Bisi Bele Bath. If you have them, then do use it instead of grated coconut as it takes the dish to another level. </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">BisiBele Bath should be gooey. It should not be dry. If you find it dry, then adjust water at step 12. </span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You can also garnish with cashew nuts roasted in ghee.</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Do not </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">skimp</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"> on the ghee as BisiBele bath is not for the calorie conscious. Even without the ghee its not going to be low calorie. So go ahead and indulge :-)</span></span></li>
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<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It usually is a dark brown color but the shades may differ depending on the quality of tamarind used.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Always serve it hot with a dollop of ghee.</span></span></li>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-60227016951242266502013-03-17T00:11:00.001-07:002013-03-17T00:11:57.994-07:00Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white;">This recipe is from my favorite blog - <a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/" target="_blank">Edible Garden</a>. Its my go-to-place for new recipes, ideas to use-up whats in my pantry and last but not least drooling over the beautiful food pictures. Nags - you are an inspiration :-)</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">When I read this recipe - I realized that for the first time I had every single ingredient listed at home and it took me just 30 minutes to get this dish done. It tastes just like a restuarant dish - a bit rich and heavy for an everyday lunch but would definitely be a party pleaser!.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Now to the main ingredient in this dish - Vendakkai aka Lady's Finger aka Okra. I remember as kids, we were told that eating ladies finger will "give you more brains" , "make you good at maths" (really!!). I did google it to check if the brain boosting properties were a myth or a reality. This is what i found. The nutrition details of vendakkai reads like the ingredient list on a multivitamin bottle - vitamins C, A, E, K, and B complex, as well as iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, copper, magnesium, selenium, manganese, zinc, and phyto-nutrients. I dont know if it really increases brain mass as my grandmother believed - but it does help with digestion, diabetes and other lifestyle diseases.</span><br />
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Whether it is healthy or not, vendakkai continues to reign the hearts of most people and suits a wide range of cuisines. Today's recipe is Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi - a dish that looks complex but is actually super easy to prepare. Go ahead and try it. It will garner quite a few "wows" at your dinner table.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">HYDERABADI DAHI BHINDI MASALA</span></strong> <br />
<em>Recipe Source: </em><a href="http://www.cookingandme.com/2010/11/hyderabadi-dahi-bhindi-masala-step-by.html" target="_blank"><em>Edible Garden</em></a><em> (orignally from </em><a href="http://www.monsoonspice.com/2008/09/hyderabadi-dahi-bhindi-masala-recipes.html" target="_blank"><em>Monsoon Spice</em></a><em>)</em><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<strong>Ingredients:</strong><br />
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1kg - Vendakkai / Okra / Lady's Finger<br />
1 large onion, finely chopped<br />
1T Tomato Paste (substitute with 2 large tomatoes)<br />
1 t Ginger Garlic Paste<br />
1 cup Curd<br />
1 T grated coconut<br />
6-8 cashews<br />
1T milk<br />
1t Red chilly powder<br />
1t Garam Masala<br />
1t Coriander powder<br />
1/2t Turmeric<br />
1t Kasuri Methi (Dried Methi leaves0<br />
1/2t Amchur powder (Dried mango powder)<br />
salt to taste<br />
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<strong>For Seasoning:</strong><br />
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1t Mustard seeds<br />
1t Urad Dal<br />
1/2 t Cumin seeds<br />
3 Dried Red Chilly<br />
1 pinch of asafoetida<br />
1 sprig of curry leaves<br />
1t oil<br />
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Method:<br />
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1. Slice the vendakkai into discs and smear a pinch of salt and mix well. Set aside for 30 minutes.<br />
2. Soak the cashews in 1 tablespoon of milk for 10 minutes and grind to a paste along with the coconut.<br />
3. Heat oil in a pan and roast the vendakkai until crisp. You can also deep fry them. Remove and set aside.<br />
4. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and season with items given under seasoning<br />
5. Add the onions and fry until soft. <br />
6. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes. Add all the powders and mix well.<br />
7. Add the tomato paste / chopped tomatoes and fry well. I have used tomato paste and therefore added some water to dilute it and mix well.<br />
8. Add the ground paste and fry well. <br />
9. Add the curd and simmer.<br />
10. Add the kasoori methi, salt and mix. Continue on simmer. If you find the gravy thick, then add some water.<br />
11. Add the fried vendakkai/okra pieces and mix well. Allow flavors to meld (about 2 to 3 minutes)<br />
12. Serve hot with pulao or rotis.<br />
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<strong>Notes:</strong><br />
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<ul>
<li>If you want vendakkai that does not turn sticky while cooking, remember to leave them at room temperature for two days after you bring them home. They tend to wilt a little bit and thats when the stickiness doesnt show up.</li>
<li>The original recipe calls for an optional pinch of sugar which I have omitted.</li>
<li>The recipe can be used with paneer or mixed vegetables or even cauliflower.</li>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-77024780421493181062013-03-14T02:46:00.002-07:002013-03-14T02:46:57.085-07:00Pepper Chicken Vindaloo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
One of the easiest chicken dishes, this Pepper Chicken Vindaloo requires no marination and no frying and grinding spices. Its simple and easy and especially suited for beginners. If you are new to cooking non-vegetarian food, then this dish is an absolute no-brainer.<br />
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PEPPER CHICKEN VINDALOO<br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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Chicken - 1/2 kg (any cut would do - boneless or drumstick or wings. I have used boneless)<br />
Onion - 2, finely chopped<br />
Green Chillies - 2, slit<br />
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 T<br />
Garam Masala - 1/2t<br />
Red Chilly powder - 1t (optional)<br />
Coriander powder - 1T<br />
Ground black pepper - 1T<br />
Vinegar - 1T<br />
Salt to taste<br />
Coriander leaves - for garnish<br />
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<b>Seasoning</b><br />
Mustard seeds - 1t<br />
Cinnamon - 1 small stick<br />
Cloves - 2<br />
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Method:<br />
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1. Heat oil in a pan. Add items given for seasoning.<br />
2. Add garam masala and green chillies<br />
3. Add onions and fry till they turn pink and soft.<br />
4. Add ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes.<br />
5. Add Red chilly powder and coriander powder and add a glass of water.<br />
6. Add the washed and cut chicken pieces and salt and simmer for 5 minutes.<br />
7. Add the vinegar and continue on medium flame. If it seems dry then add a little bit of water.<br />
8. Add ground black pepper and mix well and simmer until the chicken is full cooked.<br />
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rice or rotis.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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1. Chicken releases water while cooking. Hence add very less water at the beginning of the cooking process. You can adjust as you go.<br />
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2. Adding garam masala at the time of seasoning releases the aroma of spices when they hit the hot oil.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-90019688127501123242013-03-09T19:38:00.005-08:002013-03-09T19:38:38.810-08:00Healthy Brown Capsicum Rice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On hot summer days (which is infact everyday in Penang!) I normally prefer making one-pot lunches. Meals that are simple to make, wholesome in combining grains / lentils /veggies and involves just one pot to wash up. One such easy meal is the Simple Capsicum rice. You can make the spice powder in advance and store it (I normally make these spice powders in bulk and store them in my refrigerator) and voila - the entire meal would take just under 30 minutes to prepare.<br />
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This recipe is adapted from <a href="http://www.sailusfood.com/" target="_blank">Sailus Food</a> - a delectable blog with a variety of recipes. I have made this with brown rice to give a nutritious twist. Brown Rice is one of my new finds and it took a while for me to get the grips on the water ratio and cooking times. It is a bit on the chewy side and I doubt if small kids would like the texture but it suits well for the Indian mixed rice dishes. If you are health conscious - then do give it a try. It is filling and is much more nutritious than polished rice as the outer husk is still on and therefore adds a lot of fibre to your meals. For more details on the nutrition value of brown rice check out these <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/413837-nutrition-benefits-of-brown-rice/" target="_blank">pages</a>. If you do not have brown rice - simply substitute with regular white rice or basmati.</div>
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<b>Capsicum Rice</b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b></div>
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Brown Rice - 1 cup (washed and cooked with 3 cups of water on stove top / pressure cooked as per instructions on packet)</div>
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Capsicum - 1 - sliced or chopped</div>
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Onion - 1 sliced </div>
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Roasted Peanuts - 1 T</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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<b>Spice Powder:</b></div>
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Red Chilly - 5-6</div>
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Dhania (Coriander seeds) - 1T</div>
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Cumin Seeds - 1t</div>
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Broken Urad dal - 1T</div>
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Cinnamon - 1 inch stick</div>
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Curry leaves - 1 handful</div>
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Roasted Peanuts - 2T</div>
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Ghee - 1/2t</div>
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To Season</div>
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Mustard Seeds - 1t</div>
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Curry Leaves - a handful</div>
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Ghee / Oil - 1 t<br />
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<b>Method:</b></div>
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1. Spice Powder - Heat ghee in a pan and roast cumin seeds, urad dal, red chillies, dhania, cinnamon and curry leaves together. Once they turn golden, add the roasted peanuts and mix well. Grind to a coarse powder.</div>
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2. Heat ghee / oil in a big pan. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves.</div>
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3. Add the sliced onions and fry till they turn pink</div>
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4. Add the capsicum and fry until they are cooked but are still crunchy. </div>
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5. Add salt and mix well. If you taste it at this stage, the capsicum should be a bit salty.</div>
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6. Add the rice, spice powder and mix well. Taste and adjust salt. </div>
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7. Garnish with roasted peanuts and serve with raitha.</div>
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<b>Notes</b>:<br />
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<li> If you are not sure about the salt quantity, then add the salt while cooking the rice and omit while frying the vegetables.</li>
<li>Store excess spice powder in a tightly lidded jar in the fridge. Use within a month.</li>
<li>If you are making this for kids - then use basmati rice and increase the quantity of ghee for added flavor</li>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-80319473036351350132013-01-31T06:58:00.001-08:002013-01-31T06:58:12.357-08:00Sarkkarai Pongal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="text-align: justify;">Everytime I make idlis at home I think of those days not so long ago when you just had to stop by Saravana Bhavan or Murugan Idli kadai in T.Nagar (enroute to work!!) for a plate of steaming idlies lined with multi color chutneys and spicy sambar followed by a scorching hot filter coffee. Dangerous as it can cause food coma immediately resulting in loss of productivity for half a day :-). You didnt have to worry about cleaning the idli plates, wonder whether you can keep the sambar for lunch and put away the batter. Takes the joy out of eating a hearty breakfast. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: justify;">I particularly used to enjoy the Murugan Idli shop breakfast especially because there is no confusion on what to order :-). Jumbo idlies with buckets of sambar and their smaller bucket of idli podi. </span><span style="text-align: justify;">Not many people know that while the Murugan Idli Shop chain of restaurants are famous for their giant soft idlies, there is another one on their menu that may not be as famous as the idli but is to die for. The warm, brown Sarkkarai Pongal - sweet without overpowering,gooey and dripping with ghee, it used to feature in every breakfast we had there. </span><br />
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This recipe is not from the restaurant, but from my grandmother. It is normally made for couple of festivals and ofcourse as and when we fancy it. The major effort required is to grate the jaggery which I have outsourced to the man of the house. So here you go - a delectable sweet not found in sweet shops. Tempting!</div>
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Ingredients<br />
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1 cup of rice<br />
1/2 cup of yellow moong dal/payatham paruppu<br />
1 cup of grated jaggery<br />
2 tablespoon ghee<br />
10 cashews broken<br />
10 raisins<br />
2 pods of cardomom (or a pinch of cardomom powder)<br />
a pinch of salt<br />
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Method:<br />
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1. In a dry pan, lightly roast the yellow moong dal until it lightly browns.<br />
2. Add the moong dal to the rice and wash 2 or three times.<br />
3. Add 5 cups of water and a pinch of salt and pressure cook for three whistles. The rice and dal should be mashed up and not be very dry.<br />
4. In a deep pan, heat jaggery along with 1 cup of water. Wait until the jaggery melts and combines well. Remove any scum from the jaggery that may float on top.<br />
5. It is not required to bring the jaggery liquid to any particular consistency. When it thickens slightly, add the mashed rice and dal along with cardomom powder. (If using cardomom pods then add it while seasoning in ghee). Mix well until the rice is well coated with the jaggery liquid.<br />
6. Heat a small pan with ghee and roast the cashews and raisins (along with cardomom pods if using).<br />
8. Add the cashew and raisins along with the ghee to the pongal.<br />
9. Mix well and remove from heat.<br />
10. Serve warm<br />
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Notes:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Thai Rice that is available here in South East Asia is best suited for making pongal. It is gooey and has a heavenly flavor. If Thai rice is not available, you can any polished or unpolished rice except for basmati.</li>
<li>Adjust the jaggery quantity according to your taste. If you find the pongal to be less sweet, then heat some more jaggery and water until dissolved and add to the pongal and mix well.</li>
<li>The jaggery can be grated in advance and stored in the fridge.</li>
<li>Adding a pinch of salt enhances the sweetness of the dish.</li>
<li>Don't compromise on the ghee or cashews. No point in a low calorie sarkkarai pongal. Not worth it :-)</li>
</ul>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-23642583808550037602013-01-28T03:39:00.000-08:002013-01-28T03:43:54.035-08:00Green Chilli and Ginger Pickle / Puli Inji<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This is a simple home-made pickle recipe that requires very little effort and even lesser number of ingredients.<br />
A great combination of pungent ginger, hot green chillies, sour tamarind with just a hint of jaggery and absolutely no oil. Ideal for those tastebuds that need some kick.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Green Chilli and Ginger Pickle / Puli Inji</span><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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Chopped Ginger - 1 cup</div>
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Finely chopped green chilly - 1/2 cup</div>
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Tamarind - Lemon Sized</div>
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Jaggery - 1/4 cup</div>
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Asafoetida - a pinch (optional)</div>
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Salt to taste<br />
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Method:</div>
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Mix all the ingredients together in a pan and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and allow it to thicken.</div>
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Once the mixture thickens, remove from heat. Cool and store in a bottle.<br />
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This will stay for 10 days at room temperature. Will stay for 3 weeks when refridgerated.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-63676131569969184882013-01-25T04:02:00.001-08:002013-01-25T04:02:21.031-08:00Mac & Squash - A Creamy Pasta with Roasted Squash<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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A lot of kids here live on the traditional American Mac and Cheese. Its nothing but macroni (pasta) in a cheese sauce. Its rich and heavy and more of a junk food than an Italian entree. I have always wanted to make a healthier version of the Mac and Cheese and what better choice than the nutrient rich yellow squash. The kids cannot figure out the vegetable and would love the rich and creamy taste. Just think of it as Mac and Cheese with more character :-).</div>
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I had some squash leftover after making "poosanikkai sambar" for the Pongal festival last week. If you are in India, then squash is nothing but yellow pumpkin ("manjal poosanikkai). This is a simple recipe made with just roasted squash. You can use any type of pasta but it goes well with macroni or penne as these shapes can hold the sauce well.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">MACRONI IN A ROASTED SQUASH SAUCE</span><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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1/4 kg of Squash<br />
1 cup of uncooked pasta (macroni or penne)<br />
3 tablespoon butter<br />
1 teaspoon minced garlic<br />
1/2 cup Milk (I have used full cream)<br />
1 teaspoon Red Chilly powder or paprika<br />
1/2 teaspoon Parsley flakes for garnishing (optional)<br />
1/2 teaspoon olive oil<br />
salt to taste<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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1. Wash and cut the squash into thick slices without the skin.<br />
2. Heat butter in a pan and gently roast the slices until they brown a little and turn soft.<br />
3. Remove from heat, cool and blend into a smooth paste.<br />
4. While the squash is cooling, cook pasta as per package instructions. (heat a pot of water until boiling. Add a teaspoon of salt and pasta along with a teaspoon of olive oil and cook till its soft but not squishy or sticky. It should be of the texture popularly known as "al dente" or to be firm but not hard).<br />
5. In the same pan used for roasting, heat the remaining butter. Add the minced garlic and mix well.<br />
6. Add the squash paste with a little water (you can use the water used for cooking pasta) and heat gently.<br />
7. Add the chilly / paprika powder and salt and mix well<br />
8. Add the milk and continue heating gently.<br />
9. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Heat until the pasta is well coated with salt. If you find the dish getting dry/thick, add some more water or milk.<br />
10. Taste and adjust salt.<br />
11. Garnish with parsley or chilli flakes.<br />
12. Serve hot with garlic bread.<br />
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Notes:<br />
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1. Grated Cheese can be used for garnishing.<br />
2. Adjust the milk to build the right consistency for the pasta.<br />
3. You can substitute cream instead of the milk but that would make the dish very rich.<br />
4. You can carrots while roasting for a different twist.<br />
5. For an Indianized verison, add a pinch of garam masala along with the red chilly powder.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-57181316796230691592013-01-23T02:21:00.000-08:002013-01-23T02:21:05.273-08:00Meen Kuzhambu/ Tangy Fish Curry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A lot of people have asked me on why there is only one non-vegetarian recipe in Crimson Spice. Simple reason - I prefer vegetarian food. But the same cannot be said of the staunch carnivores who are part of my family. So here is a simple South Indian Fish Curry recipe for all you carnivores out there. Hopefully I should be able to post more non-vegetarian recipes as I try catering to the non-vegetarians at home.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">MEEN KUZHAMBU / TANGY FISH CURRY</span></b><br />
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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Fish -1/2 kg (I have used snapper. Refer notes)<br />
Pearl Onions - 5 or 6, sliced<br />
Tamarind - Lemon Size<br />
Red Chilly Powder/Sambar powder - 1T<br />
Turmeric - 1t<br />
Mustard Seeds - 1t<br />
Fenugrek - 1t<br />
Asafoetida - a pinch<br />
Vadagam - 1 t (optional)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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<b>Grind to a paste</b><br />
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3 large onions<br />
2 tomatoes<br />
4 cloves of garlic<br />
1/4 cup curry leaves<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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1. Wash and clean the fish. Cut into big chunks.<br />
2. Soak the tamarind in water and extract the paste.<br />
3. Heat oil in a saucepan. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, fenugreek, asafoetida.<br />
4. Add the pearl onions and fry well.<br />
5. Add the ground paste, red chilly powder and turmeric and fry well until the raw smell goes.<br />
6. Add the tamarind paste and bring to a boil.<br />
7. Add the fish pieces and salt and continue boiling until the fish is cooked and you can see the oil leave the sides of the pan.<br />
8. Serve with plain rice.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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<li>Any kind of fish would work for this recipe. I prefer ones with less bones.</li>
<li>This can be kept without refrigeration for 3 days and upto a week in the fridge. The dish is thought to taste better the next day.</li>
</ul>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-85044411472727328342013-01-19T23:07:00.000-08:002013-01-19T23:07:01.527-08:00Medhu Vadai / Ulundu Vadai - A Step-Wise Tutorial<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>Warning: This is a super-long post. It is meant for those who want to make vadais and those who have been eating vadais all their lives without knowing the complexity of making one.</i></div>
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There are certain dishes in Indian cooking that are meant to showcase the skill levels of the cook who makes them. Have you seen that man in the corner chips store standing outside in front of a huge cauldron of boiling oil. He has a grater held at an angle and deftly slices the potato or banana in such a manner that it lands into the cauldron without even a drop of oil spluttering out. Next time you walk by a tea-stall, watch the man cool the tea in a gravity defying display(i think its called tea-pulling!! I am not joking. Google it and see :-)). It is the same with making jalebis and jangris - SKILL. Skill that I have realized that comes with practice and not by watching Masterchef. </div>
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How is it that our grandmothers and mothers exhibit the same skill in making complicated dishes that require great sense of geometry and physics considering that they are not making it day in and day out like the chipswallah or tea master. I have watched with fascination during Diwali, Pongal and other festivals as frail hands mix and shape beautiful and delicate pieces of "kozhukkattai" with such precision that each piece is of the same dimension and contains the same amount of filling. (I made kozhukkattai once and the experience is better left unsaid. Think globs of undercooked flour! ).<br />
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One of the dishes that involves skill and practice that I <strike>have learnt </strike> am learning is Medhu Vadais. It is a breakfast dish in South India and is served in most restaurants along with steaming Pongal or soft idlies and a bucket of sambar and chutney. Due to the efforts involved, it is not an everyday dish in homes and is more of a festival food.<br />
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I have been trying to make these vadais ever since I was allowed to come near a pan of hot oil. It involves bringing your hands close to boiling oil to drop the batter and therefore is not exactly a mom-and-me cookie making stuff. Making vadais is like a military operation. Coming to my experience, after exactly five attempts (done over 2 years and 5 festivals), my vadais now justify their name. It took 3 attempts for me to get that darn hole in the vadai (until then I was making medhu bonda). </div>
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But none of the results were inedible. When I look back, it is not that difficult - especially not as difficult as kozhukkattai. (I am sure my kozhukattai would take atleast 10 trials. Look out for that post in 2016).</div>
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I made medhu vadais for the recent festival and it came out pretty decent. I agree that the shapes are no way close to precision and dont even start me on the hole. But if you ask me - how boring is it to have the same shaped vadai - I like my vadais to have character. Thats why I dont clone them. Infact I tell my family that life is like a plate of vadais. You never know which size or shape you are going to get them (hehe. Sorry Forrest Gump)</div>
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So here you go - my first post with steps - a tutorial on how to make Medhu Vadais. </div>
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<i>Disclaimer: This post may sound too much if you are my grandmother or a born vadai maker. I am no way close to a vadai expert (just look at that darn hole and you would know) and this post is not meant to be a Masterclass in vadai making. This is to help amateur vadai makers like me to impress their family. Do go through the extensive notes at the end of the recipe. (It is longer than the recipe itself). If you have suggestions or advice, please feel free to leave them as comments. Will update the post with the same. </i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Medhu Vadai / Ullundu Vadai / Deep-fried Indian Dumplings</span></div>
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Makes about 10-15 small vadais<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Ingredients:</b></span></div>
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1 cup Whole Urad Dal (skinned white variety)</div>
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2 tablespoons Rice flour</div>
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1 tablespoon Ginger, finely chopped</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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Oil for deep frying</div>
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<b>Seasoning</b></div>
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2 Onions finely chopped</div>
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3-4 Green chillies, finely chopped</div>
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1/2 cup Coriander leaves, finely chopped</div>
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1/4 cup Curry leaves , finely chopped</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Method:</span></b></div>
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<b>Making the batter:</b></div>
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1. Wash the urad dal two or three times and soak in sufficient water for 1 to 2 hours.<br />
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2. Drain and grind to a smooth paste in a mixie or grinder along with the ginger. (Refer notes). Please add very little water during the grinding process. Adding water would result in loose batter that cannot be shaped into vadais. Ideally if you find the batter to be dry creating a strain on the grinder, then just sprinkle some water by hand and continue grinding until you get a smooth batter. The batter will be thick.</div>
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3. Just before stopping the grinding process, add the required amount of salt.<br />
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4. Mix in rice flour and the items given under seasoning.<br />
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5. Keep the batter in the refridgerator until frying.</div>
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<b>Shaping and Frying the vadais:</b></div>
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1. Heat sufficient oil. Check if the oil has reached the correct temperature by dropping a small bit of the batter into the oil. If the batter immediately rises to the top, then the oil is ready. Else remove that piece and wait some more.<br />
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2.Keep a small bowl of water on your kitchentop. Wet your fingers and take about 1 tablespoon amount of batter with the four fingers on your hand.<br />
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3. Keep the batter on the top portion of the four fingers and using the thumb of your hand pat the batter and create a round shape to the batter.<br />
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4.. Using the thumb, make a hole in the<br />
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5. Gently slide the batter into the hot oil. Keep the stove on medium flame to ensure even cooking.Repeat from Step 2 for the rest of the vadais.</div>
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6 Gently turn the vada until both sides are golden brown.<br />
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7. Use a slotted ladle / spoon (jalli karandi) and remove onto a kitchen towel<br />
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8. The vadai should be crisp, evenly browned to a golden hue and should not have any oil on it. The insides should be white and fluffy.<br />
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9. Serve hot with chutney and sambar. Or go ahead and make some sambar vadai or thayir vadai (refer notes)</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Notes:</span></b><br />
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<li>A wet grinder is the most ideal appliance for grinding the batter. If you dont have one, then a mixie would do. Do watch out for over-heating on account of longer grinding time in a mixie. I have used a wet grinder.</li>
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<li><br /></li>
<li>The important aspect is the water content to the batter. It would seem difficult to grind without water. But take note that the urad dal has been soaked and therefore has a bit of water content. I would have added only about one or two tablespoons of water throughout the grinding process. Too much water can be a disaster. If you do end up with a loose batter, try adding more rice flour. Or make medhu bondas. </li>
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<li>Rice flour helps in making crisp vadais. Too much of it will change the taste of the vadai. So keep it under 2 tablespoons.</li>
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<li>Adding salt too early in the grinding would result in hard vadais. You can even add the salt after removing the batter to a vessel.</li>
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<li>Adding ginger at the time of grinding is optional. It helps in not having to bite into ginger bits while eating. If you dont want to grind them, then add it along with the onion and chillies. Again it is optional.</li>
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<li>Chilling the batter for 5 to 10 minutes enhances the texture of the vadai. Not mandatory. You can skip it if you want to make the vadais quickly.</li>
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<li>Quantity of oil depends on the size of kadai and the size of the vadai.</li>
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<li>If the oil is not of the right temperature, then it will result in oily and oil soaked vadais. If its too hot and smoking, then it will result in the vadai being cooked only on the outside with the middle remaining raw. Adjust the heat while frying to ensure even temperature.</li>
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<li>If you want to make bigger vadais or shaping and dropping the vadai and bringing your hands near the hot oil sounds dangerous, then do try it the traditional way with a small piece of banana leaf smeared with oil held in your left and using your right hand shape the vadai on the leaf and turn the leaf over slightly above the oil to drop the batter into the oil. Alternatively, you can use the slotted ladle that you use to fry and shape the vada on it directly and drop it into the oil. </li>
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<li>If you are a first-timer, then focus on making the vadai edible for the first couple of attempts. Don't fret too much over the shape. It will come with experience. Trust me :-)</li>
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<li>With experience, you would be able to fry a batch of 4 or more vadais at a time. Do not crowd too much as they may not get evenly cooked. </li>
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<li>If vadais seem to look oily, then keep the batter again in the fridge for 10-15 minutes. Alternatively add some more rice flour.</li>
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<li>You can make the batter the previous day and store it in the refrigerator until frying. I have kept the batter in the fridge for a maximum of two days without affecting the taste and quality of the vadai. I am not sure about the maximum time it can be stored.</li>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Variations:</b></span><br />
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1. You can omit any or all of the seasonings given if you like plain vadais</div>
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2. You can add roasted and crushed pepper, small pieces of coconut to the batter.</div>
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3. Restaurants normally add cooking soda/baking soda to the batter just before frying for giant sized crisp vadais. This is optional when you are making at home. I did not use it.</div>
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4. Soak the leftover vadais in sambar and garnish with chopped onions and chillies for a delectable sambar vadai.</div>
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5.Soak the vadais in curd that has been seasoned with mustard seeds, urad dal and chillies. Garnish with shredded carrot and serve chilled. This is the yummy thayir vadai.</div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-75537640810525620612013-01-19T02:23:00.000-08:002013-01-19T02:23:23.458-08:00Baingan Raita<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Raita is an Indian condiment made with curd/yoghurt and served as an accompaniment to the main course. It is made with raw vegetables like cucumber, onions, tomatoes,carrot or roasted vegetables. Sometimes even fruits like apple or pinapple are used. This dish is common to both North and South Indian kitchens and is called a "pachadi" in South India.<br />
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One of the easiest ways to add a bit of jazz to your dinner table is to serve a raita or pachadi made with a fancy vegetable. Today's recipe is a simple "cooked" raita made with brinjals.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Baingan Raita (Brinjal Raita)</span></h2>
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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1 Brinjal,<br />
1 t Red chilly powder<br />
1/2 t Turmeric<br />
1/2 t Mustard Seeds<br />
1/2 t Broken Urad Dal<br />
a pinch of asafoetida<br />
1 t oil<br />
Salt to taste<br />
3-4 curry leaves<br />
1 cup Fresh Curd<br />
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<b>Method:</b><br />
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1. Wash the brinjal and cut into discs. Pat dry the discs on a kitchen towel to remove moisture.<br />
2. Heat oil in a pan and add mustrad seeds, urad dal, asafoetida and curry leaves<br />
3. Add the brinjal along with the chilli powder and turmeric.<br />
4. Fry until it is cooked but still remains crunchy.<br />
5. Add the salt and mix well<br />
6. Remove from heat and cool.<br />
7. Mix in the curd and taste and adjust salt if required.<br />
8. Garnish with coriander leaves or chilli flakes.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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1. You can use the same recipe to make zucchini or capsicum raitha.<br />
2. This is not the same as the South Indian roasted brinjal pachadi (sutta kathrikkai pachadi)<br />
3. Any type of brinjal can be used for this recipe.<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-57600227145077306192013-01-14T19:58:00.000-08:002013-01-14T20:01:46.630-08:00Maggi Masala Noodles with Vegetables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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If I ever had the power to award a Nobel Food Prize - my first choice would definitely be Maggi. It revolutionized an entire generation's food chain and looking at Little A's passion for instant noodles, it makes me wonder if there has been some genetic inclination to it as well. Whatever it is, for the last two decades, the answer to the following situations has been the same</div>
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<li>Hungry after school? </li>
<li>Tired after long day at work?</li>
<li>Don't feel like cooking?</li>
<li>Don't know how to cook?</li>
<li>Nothing at home?</li>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">MAGGI!. All you need is just 2 glasses of water and a heat source. On the stove, in a rice cooker, in an electric kettle, inside a microwave and in cases of some people I know - straight out of the packet (no, not me. I do have a lot of food fetishes. But I don't eat raw Maggi!)</span><br />
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A lot of people have cautioned me about the bad effects of instant noodles. For even a die-hard Maggi fan - I am sometimes paranoid of feeding it to Little A who adores it (In fact she has designated Friday as "Noodles Day" and takes it for lunch to school and every day asks "is it Friday today)!. But I have had this stuff for almost 2 decades and if nothing has happened so far. So it can't be that bad - right? </div>
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I never knew that each country had its own variation of flavors - so was quite surprised to see Maggi Mee Goreng, Maggie Tom Yum and Maggi Curry Ayam here in Malaysia and of course I didn't like it. I want my Masala and so each time we come back from India - there are always couple of packets in my luggage. I was happy to find a store in Kuala Lumpur that stocked the "Indian Maggi Masala" and grabbed a few. </div>
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A lot of people cook Maggi in different ways. Some cook noodles separately, drain and mix the masala. Some like it plain. Some may eat it plain out of necessity or laziness. Even in our home, I like it with vegetables, my husband likes it with just curry leaves and Little A likes it plain. </div>
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Today's recipe is my favorite version of the 2-minute noodles. You can substitute with any instant noodle brand. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Maggie Masala with Vegetables</span></div>
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<b>Ingredients:</b></div>
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1 packet Maggi Noodles (I used masala flavor. You can subsitute for any other instant noodles brand).</div>
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1/2 onion - finely chopped</div>
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1/2 carrot - finely chopped</div>
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1/2 capsicum - finely chopped</div>
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2-3 green chillies - finely chopped</div>
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1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder or sambar powder</div>
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a pinch of salt</div>
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1 teaspoon oil</div>
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<b>Method:</b></div>
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1. Heat oil in a deep pan.</div>
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2. Add the green chillies and onion and fry well</div>
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3. Add the onions and fry. Add the carrot and capsicum and fry well.</div>
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4. Add red chilli powder and salt and fry well.</div>
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5. Add the tastemaker in the packet and mix well.</div>
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6. Add the required quantity of water as mentioned in the packet.</div>
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7. Break the noodles and add to the pan.</div>
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8. Cook until the noodles are done</div>
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9. Serve hot.</div>
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Notes:</div>
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1. Adjust green chillies and chilly powder according to taste and tolerance</div>
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2. You can add garam masala if you like for an Indianized curry taste</div>
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3. Add a drop of soy sauce while cooking vegetables for a slightly sour twist. But skip the salt as soy sauce would have salt.</div>
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4. Tomatoes also add a slightly sour taste. Add it if you like it.</div>
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5. I like to make my noodles slightly "soupy". So I add an extra 1/4 cup of water. If you prefer dry, the cook as per the packet instructions.</div>
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P.S - It was quite a task to take the photos without grabbing a couple of fork fulls of the stuff. Darn! I am addicted to it. It took exactly 5 minutes to reach this point.</div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-50958354339215056872013-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:002013-01-11T18:17:44.512-08:00Easy Broccoli Soup<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Living in a tropical country means that you start enjoying light lunches better than full course meals - especially if you also have to do the washing up after cooking the full course meal. On days when its just me for lunch, I prefer making a light lunch with soup and a sandwich or a salad. Its fast, easy, healthy and most importantly less cleaning up ;-)<br />
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This easy broccoli soup has very little ingredients and can be tweaked to your taste. You can make it light with olive oil and skimmed milk or you can go the full length with butter and cream. This soup is a bit thick - so any leftovers can be used for an easy broccoli pesto pasta as well. Do refer the notes for all the possible variations.<br />
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Easy Broccoli Soup</h2>
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<b>Ingredients:</b><br />
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1 Broccoli - washed and cut into florets<br />
1/2 Carrot - diced<br />
2 cloves of garlic - chopped finely<br />
1/2 teaspoon black pepper<br />
1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
1/4 cup milk (I used full cream milk)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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1. Heat the olive oil in a pressure pan. Add the pepper and garlic. Allow the garlic to brown a little for that burnt garlic flavor<br />
2. Add the carrots and saute well.<br />
3. Add the Broccoli and mix well. The broccoli will start turning a dark green.<br />
4. Add 1 or 2 cups of water and salt and pressure cook for 1 whistle. If cooking in a pan, then allow the mixture to come to a boil and simmer for 15 -20 minutes until the broccoli is well done.<br />
5. Switch off and strain the solids and keep the liquid in the same pan. Cool and blend the solids into a smooth paste in the mixie. You can also use a handblender and also leave in a few bits if you prefer.<br />
6. Add the paste back to the liquid and mix well. Heat the soup again.<br />
7. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Add the milk and gently mix well until the soup is well mixed and heated (not boiling).<br />
8. Serve hot with croutons or bread sticks.<br />
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1. If you don't like the burnt garlic flavor, then substitute with ginger or omit all together.<br />
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2. For a clear soup, discard the solids and omit the milk<br />
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3. You can substitute potatoes instead of carrots. For the kids, try using sweet potatoes for a healthier option.<br />
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4. Add a couple of walnuts or almonds while blitzing the solids for a richer tasting soup. This paste can be directly used as a pasta sauce. Add milk and pour over any cooked pasta.<br />
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5. Butter adds a beautiful taste - but it also increases the calories. But if you are like me - then you can justify that the broccoli is so healthy that it compensates the butter :-)<br />
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6. You can use cream instead of milk for slightly sweeter and richer taste.<br />
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7. For a power-packed version, add 1/4 cup of oats along with the broccoli and pressure cook.<br />
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This is not the end of variations. I will keep updating as and when I try different things with this soup. Do you have any ideas???<br />
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-53837084709298633702013-01-05T17:54:00.001-08:002013-01-11T02:53:09.793-08:00Keerai Kuzhambu - South Indian Spinach Gravy with Lentils <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of my cooking handicaps is the inability to identify different types of spinach. In Chennai markets I used to be awestruck by the way some ladies used to ask for siru keerai, mulai keerai or vendhaya keerai by name, then proceed to check if they were good (Whatever they check for I wouldn't know. I only check for holes. And that is also to make sure that the vendor doesn't think I am naive) and buy accordingly. I wouldn't be able to identify regular spinach from hibiscus leaves. Yeah. I am that bad. I used to stand next to some of these experienced ladies and carefully pick up whatever they had picked up. Sometimes I ask them directly what they would do with it - poriyal or kootu and if all else fails I will ask the lady who sells it who would give me strange looks.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Coming to Penang I saw the innate love for greens with both the local and the Chinese population. And of course the rows and rows of different types of greens in every market. Most of the times the shopkeeper would give me only the Chinese or local name and I would come home and google it to see if it is in anyway related to the ones I have cooked in Chennai. So by trial and error I have shortlisted couple of varieties here and luckily the supermarkets have their names on them. So it is not difficult to select the right ones. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But sometimes I am overcome with the eagerness to try new variety of spinach and just last week the market lady showed me something which I thought looked like palak. She also said it is good with stir-fry. So brought it home and promptly made it into a keerai poriyal with onion and garlic. After a couple of minutes of stir frying, I realized something was not right. Yeah. the darn thing was generating some gel-like substance that coated the entire stuff in a gelatinous glob. Of course it did not make it to the lunch table. So now I have vowed to abstain from trying anything new. It may last for a week until I see some other new vegetable.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But not to worry, today's recipe is a basic South Indian comfort food especially in Tamil Nadu. It is very close cousin of the North Indian Dal Palak. It is made regularly in most households almost on a daily basis. Traditionally, this is made in a "mannu chatti" or terracota pots. The heat and the porous nature of the vessel along with the labor-intensive hand blending with a "<a href="http://www.google.co.in/imgres?q=kadayal+mathu&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1R2GGNI_enMY491&biw=1192&bih=559&tbm=isch&tbnid=r-UbdtXVMRlRXM:&imgrefurl=http://en.petitchef.com/recipes/keerai-masiyal-fid-1092613&docid=mNTS9KdYOqHW2M&imgurl=http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_AmoUsMxyKHc/Sxv7qUNr_II/AAAAAAAACoU/r8X_2RYnPSQ/s320/IMG_4171.JPG&w=320&h=240&ei=69joUIjpC9DwlAXd2YCQCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=895&vpy=124&dur=192&hovh=192&hovw=256&tx=177&ty=75&sig=108818851399231607583&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=176&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:100" target="_blank">mathu</a>" brings out the best in the dish. I have seen my mom do it the traditional way. Cook in the chatti, then take it off the heat and using a kitchen towel, sit on the floor deftly holding the pot and churning it with the mathu. Any type of spinach would work for this but apparently it tastes best with "paruppu keerai". If you know what that is and can identify it - go ahead and use it. But if you are "spinach challenged" like me, then you can use any edible spinach. (stress on the word edible after my last experience).</span></div>
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<b>Keerai Kozhambu - A Spinach and Lentil based Gravy</b></div>
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<strong>Ingredients:</strong></div>
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Spinach - 1 bunch</div>
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Tuar Dal - 1/2 cup, pressure cooked till soft and mashed</div>
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Onion - 1, chopped</div>
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Tomato - 1, chopped</div>
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Green Chilly - 1, slit</div>
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Garlic - 1 clove, smashed</div>
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Tamarind paste - 1t</div>
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Sambar Powder - 1T</div>
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Turmeric - 1t</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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<strong>For Seasoning</strong></div>
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Mustard seeds - 1/2t</div>
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Broken Urad dal - 1/2t</div>
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Asafoetida (Hing) - a pinch</div>
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Curry Leaves - 1T</div>
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Vadagam - 1t (Refer Notes)</div>
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Ghee - 1t</div>
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Method:</div>
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1. Pressure cook and mash the tuar dal with a pinch of turmeric.</div>
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2. Rinse and chop the spinach.</div>
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3. Heat oil in a kadai/ pan. Add the green chilly, garlic and onions and fry well.</div>
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4. Add the tomatoes and fry well.</div>
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5. Add the spinach, sambar powder and fry well.</div>
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6. Add the tamarind paste along with 1/4 cup of water and mix well.</div>
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7. Add the dal and add some more water and allow it to come to a boil.</div>
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8. Traditionally a "mathu" is used at this stage to blend the spinach and dal. But if you find that time-consuming, then go ahead and use a mixie/blender. I have used the stick-type hand blender. If using a hand-blender, then mash the dal and spinach-onion-tomato mix directly on the stove. Do not make into a smooth blend but leave a few bits of spinach/ onions etc. If using a blender, then switch off the stove,allow the mixture to cool and blend.</div>
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9. Add salt and bring the blended mixture to a boil.</div>
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10. In a small pan, heat some ghee. Season with the seasoning ingredients mentioned above.</div>
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11. Add the seasoning to the boiling kuzhambu</div>
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12. Serve hot with rice.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Notes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. For best results use mann chatti and a mathu. But that is extremely labor intensive. So if you are like me - then use a pressure pan and hand blender for fast results. </span></div>
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2. <strong>Vadagam</strong> - It is a kind of dried seasoning made up of onion and garlic and other spices that are made into a ball and stored for the rest of the year. Adds great flavor to south indian gravies. Check out the recipe <a href="http://lakshmiammal.wordpress.com/2006/12/14/vadagam-a-must-have-in-our-home/" target="_blank">here.</a> I have not attempted to make these at home but get mine from India. Please note that it is quite pungent even in its dried form - so you can imagine the nasal assault it will have during the making! Do not try this at home unless you have an independent well-ventilated house. On hindsight - maybe I will make it at home to take revenge on my durian-loving neighbors ;-)</div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-30779273160617643502012-12-28T23:50:00.000-08:002013-01-11T02:53:40.172-08:00Aviyal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As every mother does, I worry about what a picky eater my daughter is. Her list of don't likes is way too longer than the list of likes. And it bugs me when she looks at a dish and decides she doesn't like it by just the sight of it. Well. I can go on cribbing and most mothers would join me too. But in some ways I am not too concerned. After all I was one of the worst "picky eater" if there ever was such a title. You can count my likes with fingers in one hand. But what gives me hope is that some of the foods on my hate list have made it into my like list. Couple of vegetables, eggs cooked in specific ways and of course coconut. I used to hate coconut in any form - sweets, curry, gravy, chutney. All avataars of coconut was banned from my plate. But over-time this hate has mellowed and today I actually enjoy Kerala cuisine which is predominantly coconut based. Coconut sweets are still a no-no but I love the delicately flavored stews, and the fiery "Thengai Thuvayal" and of course the ubiquitous Aviyal is one of my favorites (as long as it is not made with veggies from my hate list!! Some things dont change :-)).</div>
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So judging by my changing tastes, I hope that Little A would grow to like chapathi, pasta, cauliflower, chutney, vatha kozhambu, pulao, biriyani ...phew. I only hope..</div>
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Today's recipe is Aviyal - a medley of vegetables in a delicate coconut and sour curd (yoghurt) base. In most homes, there would be one or two random vegetables lying around. There wouldnt be enough of it to make a full fledged poriyal or kootu. The best way to utilize them would be mix them up into an aviyal or a mixed vegetable kootu. Aviyal is super easy with minimum ingredients. Please do check the list of veggies that can be used for aviyal.</div>
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Aviyal Vegetables: Carrot, Potato, Raw Banana, Banana stem (vazhai thandu) Beans, Chow-Chow, Bottle Gourd, Snake gourd, Drumstick, Avarakkai, Spinach stems, Pumpkin/Squash, , Raw Mango etc</div>
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Vegetables that should not be used: Okra, Spinach leaves and any other sticky vegetable</div>
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<strong><span style="font-size: x-large;">Aviyal</span></strong><br />
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Ingredients:</h4>
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Mixed Vegetables - 1 cup (refer list above. I used potatoes, green beans, raw banana, carrots and peas)</div>
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Sour curd - 1/4 cup</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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<em><strong>Grind to paste</strong>:</em> </div>
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Green Chilles - 3 to 4</div>
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Coconut - 1/2 cut into pieces or shredded</div>
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Cumin - 1t</div>
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Raw Rice - 1t (soaked). or Rice flour - 1r</div>
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<strong><em>For seasoning:</em></strong></div>
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Curry Leaves - 1 sprig</div>
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Coconut oil - 1 t<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J7_Rb5q2obU/UM3KHLyGrSI/AAAAAAAAGQI/-LDVH9v_M1A/s1600/FSCN2255.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J7_Rb5q2obU/UM3KHLyGrSI/AAAAAAAAGQI/-LDVH9v_M1A/s640/FSCN2255.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Method:</div>
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1. Pressure cook the vegetables with little water and salt for 1 whistle. Alternatively you can boil them in water as well. Remember to use less water as all the nutrients are in the water and you dont want to throw the excess water out. If the water is more, then the aviyal will be runny.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYiT-B5FMHI/UM3RRjrDRzI/AAAAAAAAGQg/KkZUIitA1rc/s1600/FSCN2257.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PYiT-B5FMHI/UM3RRjrDRzI/AAAAAAAAGQg/KkZUIitA1rc/s320/FSCN2257.JPG" width="320" /></a>2. Grind together the items given above with little water into a thick paste. You can increase of decrease the chillies according to your heat quotient.</div>
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3. Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables and boil well.</div>
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4. Add the curd and mix well. Adjust salt if necessary.</div>
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5. In a small pan, heat some coconut oil and season with curry leaves. Add this to the aviyal.</div>
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6. Serve hot with rice, sambar and rasam or with Adai. Goes well with rotis too.</div>
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<strong>Notes:</strong></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
If the cooking times for vegetables you are using differ, then you can cook them separately and mix together for the aviyal.</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
If using raw mango, adjust sour curd accordingly as the mango will increase the sourness of the aviyal.</div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
</div>
</li>
<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
Traditionally coconut oil is added without heating. If you like the intense flavor it gives, then you can use it without heating. Add the curry leaves while the aviyal is boiling.</div>
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
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<li><div style="text-align: justify;">
As you get experienced with making aviyal, you will be able to judge if a particular vegetable would suit the combination to make aviyal. </div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-43953667441250826742012-12-22T17:09:00.001-08:002013-01-11T02:34:31.785-08:00Spicy Japanese Soba Noodles with Vegetables<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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One of my favorite hobbies is to look around supermarket aisles curious about the variety of food products that are out there. I make it a point to get something that is new to me - it may be a type of pasta or a bottle of exotic sauce or herbs. I normally buy new ones in smaller quantities as I run the risk of it being shunned by the husband and daughter resulting in me eating the entire thing. (which may or may not be a good deal depending on how the dish turns out!).</div>
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There are a lot of things (the good ones) that I have discovered recently which are now regulars in my pantry. For example Tomatoes - pureed and chopped in a can .I used to balk at that idea before. Why go for canned when you have fresh tomatoes ? But some recipes do require it and no amount of boiling and grinding may sometimes replace opening a can of tomato puree. Vietnamese Rice Paper - I know the name sounds a bit off. But trust me this is one keeper. (recipe coming soon!), Peanut butter, Nutella, dried parsley, pasta sauces. the list keeps getting longer with every supermarket visit. </div>
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One such discovery is the Japanese Soba noodles. I have heard my SIL who lives there talk about it. So was eager to try it and when I found a small packet, I immediately got it home. I have no clue on what the brand name is as it is in Japanese.</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA1-OUB6PHg/UM0wqWWKhYI/AAAAAAAAGOQ/qlP5GqHnEZs/s1600/FSCN2164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NA1-OUB6PHg/UM0wqWWKhYI/AAAAAAAAGOQ/qlP5GqHnEZs/s320/FSCN2164.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Soba Noodles is one of the most popular noodles and staple foods in Japan. Its made of buckwheat (soba means buckwheat in Japanese) - a healthy grain. Soba noodles are served cold with just soy sauce or as a salad or hot in a bowl of soup.</div>
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We do not enjoy cold noodles at home so that was ruled out. I made it for lunch one day and used my usual vegetable noodles recipe for it.</div>
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The noodles by itself has a pleasant and wholesome taste and flavor. It would work out well for a cold salad as well. May be the next time I will make it into a salad.</div>
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This is a simple recipe and if you do not get Japanese soba noodles, substitute for normal noodles (not the instant variety) or egg noodles.</div>
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SPICY JAPANESE SOBA NOODLES WITH VEGETABLES<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 packet Japanese Soba Noodles<br />
1 Carrot,<br />
1/2 Cabbage.<br />
1 Capsicum<br />
1/2 cup Bean Sprouts (optional)<br />
2 - 3 Spring onions<br />
1 tsp finely chopped garlic<br />
1 tsp finely shredded ginger<br />
3 red chillies or 3 sliced green chillies<br />
1 tsp Soy sauce<br />
1 tsp Green chilli sauce (optional)<br />
1 T sesame oil (or gingelly oil)<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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Method:<br />
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1. Boil a big pot of water. Add salt and the raw noodles and cook until the noodles are soft. Drain, wash in cold water and spread on a large plate. You can mix some oil if you think the noodles might stick together.<br />
2.Heat oil in a wok or a pan until high heat.<br />
3. Add the chillis, ginger and garlic until the flavors are added to the oil.<br />
4. Add the cabbage, carrots and capsicum along with the spring onion whites. Fry until the raw smell goes but the vegetables should remain crunchy. (The high heat helps with this). Add the bean sprouts and mix well.<br />
5. Add the soy sauce and green chilli sauce (if using) and mix well. Add the salt. (Remember that the soy sauce is also salty. So add just a bit for the vegetables.)<br />
6. Toss in the noodles and mix well. Garnish with spring onion greens.<br />
7. Serve hot or cold.<br />
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<b>Notes:</b><br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>If making with normal noodles, you can also add some vinegar and pepper while cooking the vegetables.</li>
<li>For the non-vegetarians, you can add shredded omlette or pre-cooked chicken finely shredded.</li>
<li>I had some leftover and I chilled it in the refrigerator for a cold salad next day.</li>
<li>Any excess cooked noodles can be used in any clear soups.</li>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5387947925468853920.post-24667286874902212602012-12-19T18:25:00.003-08:002013-01-11T02:57:50.262-08:00Whole Moong Dal Subzi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I call this my back-up recipe. Its for those days when you are tired and forgot to plan on what to make for dinner or when you have guests and you want to add another dish to the menu but don't want to slog for it or if you only have onions and tomatoes in your vegetable tray and don't want to make chutney. </div>
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I was a bit apprehensive when I saw this <a href="http://www.indianfoodrocks.com/2009/03/dal-matters-whole-moong-dal.html" target="_blank">recipe</a> on Manisha's Indian Food Rocks. What? No soaking the moong beans overnight?? Doesn't this go against the law of the beans?? But that's the beauty of the dish. Simple, quick and yes - no soaking time. The only thing you will need is a pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time. This recipe is a faithful representation of the original. The only difference is I used ginger-garlic paste instead of grated ginger and garlic and sometimes increase the red chilly powder or add marathi moggu while seasoning. </div>
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<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Whole Moong Dal Subzi</span></b></h2>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Recipe Source: Indian Food Rocks Blog</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Serving Size - Serves 2</i></span></div>
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<b>Ingredients:</b></div>
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Whole Moong Dal (Pacha Payaru) - 1 cup</div>
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Onion - 1, chopped</div>
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Tomatoes - 2, chopped</div>
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Ginger Garlic Paste - 1t</div>
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Green Chillies - 2</div>
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Dried Red Chilly - 1, broken</div>
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Cinnamon - 1/2 stick</div>
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Cloves - 3</div>
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Bay Leaf (Briyani leaf) - 1</div>
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Asafoetida - 1 pinch</div>
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Cumin Seeds - 1t</div>
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Marathi Moggu (Dried Capers) - 1, optional</div>
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Red Chilly Powder - 1t</div>
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Turmeric Powder - 1/4 t</div>
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Ghee - 2 T</div>
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Coriander leaves - for garnish</div>
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Salt to taste</div>
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<b>Method:</b></div>
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1. Heat ghee in a pressure cooker. Add bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, marathi moggu, broken red chilly,cumin and asafoetida.</div>
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2. Add chopped onions and fry well.</div>
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3. Add ginger garlic paste and fry till the raw smell goes.</div>
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4. Add tomatoes, green chillies and turmeric and fry well.</div>
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5. Add the washed and drained moong dal and mix well.</div>
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6. Add 4 cups of water and the red chilly powder and salt and mix well.</div>
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7. Close the lid and pressure cook for 4 whistles.</div>
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8. Switch off the stove and wait for the pressure cooker to use up all the pressure and the pressure valve indicates that its safe to open.</div>
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9. Open the cooker and check for salt and spice. Adjust salt or red chilly powder and heat the gravy till the raw smell (if you have added red chilly powder) goes.</div>
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10.Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with rotis.</div>
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Notes:</div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Using ghee instead of oil adds a lovely flavor to this dish. </li>
<li>You can use soaked moong dal as well. But you dont have to pressure cook in that case.</li>
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P.S - As this dish was not planned ahead, I clicked the pics when I made it for dinner last night. Hence the poor lighting!</div>
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Aishwaryahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04987452627199746929noreply@blogger.com1