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Idiyappam with Potato Stew
2008-02-05 11:08:00
Idiyappam is a typical Kerala breakfast cooked in the traditional method of steaming. Its one of the healthiest ways of cooking and still forms a staple in many households. I can't imagine going through the trouble myself, what with my quick and fast recipes but amma always makes this when we go home on vacation. I had always wanted to document this so here we go.To make idiyappam, you need 2 cups rice flour, 2 tsp ghee/oil, 3 cups boiled water and a pinch of salt. You will need a vessel you can use to steam cook it, like seen below, and also an idiyappam press.How to Make Them1. Mix the rice flour and salt well. Add the boiled water when still warm little at a time till the dough is soft to touch. Mix in the ghee.2. Take small portions and put into press.3. Press directly onto idly moulds and steam cook till done. You can sprinkle some grated coconut before steaming, for the added 'Kerala' taste. Coconut always does that, doesn't it?Serve warm with hot potato stew.What You Need...
More About: Potato

AFAM Papaya Round Up
2008-02-03 14:32:00
Its my pleasure to bring to you some amazing recipes using one of the most healthiest fruits - Papaya ! A huge thanks to all those who tried hard to get hold of one, for racking your brains for a recipe and a special thanks to my sis and Nanditha for contributing not one, but two recipes! And for those who thought Papaya can only be cut and eaten just like that, here are some recipes to get you started on thinking otherwise.Let's start the party with some drinks, shall we?Sig's Papaya Delight----------------Mansi's Tropical Cocktail----------------Rajitha's Papaya Soy Smoothie----------------Some snacks now?Asha's Papaya Pecan Scones----------------Nanditha's Soy-Papaya Samosa----------------Bharathy's Papaya Muffins----------------Marta's Papaya and Brie Quesadilla----------------Raaga's Fruit Cookies----------------Now for some salads to get us back on a healthy track!Namratha's Super Exotic Salad----------------Kajal's Raw Papaya Carrot Salad----------------Vanamala's ...
More About: Round Up , Round

Marie Biscuit Chocolate Logs
2008-01-30 11:38:00
This is an extremely easy-to-make, yet yummy chocolatey dessert for a kid's party or even to make just for fun. I have always been a huge fan of making anything with Marie Biscuits. When a colleague friend of mine told me about a recipe she uses, I decided to try it out. It was simple and really really yummy!What I Used:Marie Biscuits - 12Cocoa Powder - 1 tbspUnsalted Butter - 4 tbspPowdered Sugar - 4 tbspInstant coffee powder - 1/2 tspWarm Milk - 1/4 cupHow I Made It:1. Mix the coffee powder in the milk. Dip each biscuit into this mixture and stack neatly one on top of the other.2. Cream butter and sugar together and blend in the cocoa powder. Lay this mixture evenly on all four sides of the stacked biscuits.3. Refigerate for 2 hours, remove and cut into slices.* These are called logs cuz my friend told me how you can make a log-like design on it by running a fork over the chocolate layer once its cooled. I didn't try that cuz I didn't have enough biscuits to make a log-sized st...
More About: Chocolate , Logs

Plagiarism Alert!!!
2008-01-29 05:07:00
I am not part of Dining Hall so I am posting this right here in my blog. Today morning I realised that this website could be plagiarising content from each one of us. There sure did from my blog. Check this link to see their replication of my blog post yesterday on Onion Uthappam!I have let them know through their contact us form that I don't approve of this copying without asking. They haven't credit to me anywhere on their site, atleast, I don't see it.If you have any other advice on how to deal with this, please let me know. Also, please do check if you posts have also been copied by them.
More About: Plagiarism , Alert

Onion Uthappam
2008-01-28 09:20:00
When I was young, I never knew that uthappam was just a different variety of dosa. Whenever we went out to eat at a vegetarial restaurant, amma invariably ordered uthappam because of its soft and thick texture as opposed to my papery butter roast that came cone-shaped!Of late, I have begun to enjoy the uthappams better (a sure sign I am getting older, I guess!) and I didn't have to think further to come up with an entry for this month's JFI - Onion s hosted by Radhi's Kitchen.Onion Uthappam I used readymade batter for the dosa. To make the batter at home, take rice : urad dhal in 3 : 1 ratio, soak overnight (or atleast 5-6 hours) in water separately, grind separately and then mix together, adding salt. This batter should be kept covered for another 5 hours or so before you can start making the dosa.Once the batter is ready, pour enough batter on a hot griddle and spread in a round, even shape. It should be thicker than the normal dosas. Then, lay finely chopped onions over t...

Republic Day Special Dish : Beans-Carrot Thoran
2008-01-26 08:36:00
When I saw Pooja's blog and her theme of the week - orange, white & green - event, my mind starting whirring into action. I thought of making a tri-coloured sandwich with carrot and cilantro chutney. I thought of using the chutneys on a dosa. Finally, zeroed in on one of my favourite dishes, thoran, using carrots and beans.Here is wishing all my Indian readers a very happy Republic Day.May we all live in peace and harmony just like the vegetables, coconut and masala in this curry blends to make a great-tasting dish.For thoran recipe, click here.This post goes over to Creative Pooja's very creative event.=================================== =================================Reminder : You have four more days to send in your papaya recipes for AFAM this month. Details here.
More About: Beans , Special , Carrot , Dish

Soy-Oats Sugar Cookies
2008-01-23 05:14:00
Weekend breakfasts are mostly lazy affairs for which normall I make an omelette or scrambled eggs or have just toast with kothamalli chutney. But when Rajitha inspired us to think about a soy breakfast, I started thinking of what I could make and finally settled on some low sugar cookies. I had these warm cookies on a Sunday morning with a hot cup of chai.Soy-Oats Sugar Cookie s What I Used:Makes 8-10 cookiesSoy flour - 1 cupMaida - 1/3 cupOats - 1/4 cupButter at room temperature - 3/4 cupPowdered sugar - 1/2 cup (this makes the cookies mildly sweet, so you can adjust according to your taste)Cinnamon powder - one pinch (optional)Salt - one pinchHow I Made It:1. Sift the maida and soy flour with salt until its totally blended.2. Mix the butter and sugar with cinnamon powderand then add the flour to form a loose dough. Then mix in the oats gently.3. Roll out gently and cut with a cookie cutter in desired shapes. I don't have cookie cutters so I made small balls of the dough and flatten...

Simple Tomato Soup with Garlic Toast
2008-01-21 09:18:00
I had been racking my brains to come up with a good recipe that focusses on garlic for Sunita's Think Spice event. This is one of my favourite spices and I almost went ahead and made my first pickled garlic. Well, note that I said almost. My laziness got the better of me, of course! So last weekend, I made something much simpler yet really tasty and filling. Tomato soup and garlic toast!Tomato Soup Serves 2What I Used:Tomatoes - 4Garlic , crushed - 4 clovesWhite pepper - 2 tbspBasil leaves - 2 (I used dry basil leaves powder)Salt - to tasteSugar - one pinchButter - 1 tspCoriander leaves - for garnishingHow I Made It:1. Puree the tomatoes with salt.2. Heat a kadai and add the butter. When it has melted, add the garlic, pepper and basil leaves and stir well for 10 seconds.3. Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for some time, partly covered. You can sieve the tomato puree if required, I just removed the skin of the tomato before pureeing, that way its easier.4. Adjust salt and spice, garni...
More About: Simple , Toast

Vazha Pindi Thoran/Banana Stem Cooked with Coconut
2008-01-19 04:35:00
The banana plant is one where almost all parts of it is edible or useful. The fruit of course is versative and even finds place in religious poojas. The leaves are used to serve meals (sadya) and also to wrap food when you need to carry it with you. I can almost smell the lovely after effect of wrapping warm rice and curries in wilted banana leaves. Its gives the food an authentic flavour. Then comes the vazhapoo or the banana flower, which again can be cooked with coconut. The process of cleaning and cutting it is quite unique to the southern parts of India and honestly, I don't think I will have the patience, even though the taste of the curry is worth every bit of it.The stem of the banana plant, also known as pindi, is rich in fiber and also edible. Check out Inji's blog to see the raw stem and how to clean and cut it. During my vacation to Kottayam in December, amma had made this amazing pindi thoran and I immediately wanted to document it. Simply because I don't see myself ...
More About: Banana , Coconut , Stem

Palak Dal
2008-01-16 09:38:00
This is a simple and very common dish, but when I did a search online, there were so many different versions, that I decided to put mine up.A true comfort food, palak daal makes for the best accompaniment with hot rice and subzi on a weeknight.Palak DalWhat I Used:Serves 2Toor dal/Yellow lentil - 1 cupFresh green spinach, chopped - 1 cupTurmeric powder - 1/4 tspGarlic - 4 clovesRed chillies - 4Curry leaves - one strandOil - 2 tbspSalt - to tasteHow I Made It:1. Pressure cook the dal and spinach with some turmeric for 2-3 whistles.2. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadai, crackle some mustard seeds, add the crushed garlic and red chillies and fry for a minute.3. Add the cooked dal-spinach and mix well.Serve hot with rice or phulkas.This goes over to Meeta's Monthly Mingle - Comfort FoodsI am also sending this over to Susan's Legume Love Affair Event==================================== ================================Please don't forget the fruit for AFAM this month is Papaya. More details here.

Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes With Onion-Carrot Salad
2008-01-14 05:17:00
I was alone at home for yet another weekend and was dying to make something other than dal, sambhar, wheat dosa and all the other normal dishes I make over the weekend, especially if I am alone. So I went to the corner vegetable wallah, looked around and my eyes caught a pile of sweet potatoes in the corner. I immediately decided to buy it, not giving much thought to what I would make with them.To my horror, I got back home and came to realise that my internet connection had conked off. I was relying on looking up online for some recipes to cook the potatoes. Since that option was ruled out, I just started putting together my own recipe and it turned out so well that I was sad there was nobody to share it with.Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes With Onion-Carrot Salad What I used: For the Stir Fried Sweet Potatoes:Sweet potatoes cut in round slices - 150gmMarinade:Curd - 1 tbspGinger garlic paste - 1 tspChilly powder - 1/4 tspJeera powder - 1/2 tspCoriander powder - 1 tspPepper - 1/4 tspSalt ...

A Simple Kerala Meal With Fish Curry
2008-01-11 05:34:00
I had posted a 30-minute Kerala meal for Shaheen's Express Cooking Event a few months back. Its was the most popular post till my Low-Fat Sugar Cookies took over. So here is a sequal, a simple lunch at home with Kerala Fish Curry , Cabbage Thoran and Rice.Kerala Fish CurryWhat I Used:Kanambu Fish/Mullet or any other medium sized fish - 1/2 kgCoconut - 2 cupsChilly powder - 1 tbspPepper powder - 1/2 tspJeera powder - 1/2 tspGarlic - 4 clovesShallots - 4Tamarind paste - 1 tbspTurmeric powder - 1/2 tspCurry leaves - 1 strandMustard and fenugreek - for temperingGingelly oil - 2 tbspSalt - to tasteHow I Made It:1. Grind coconut, pepper, garlic, shallots, turmeric and jeera to a paste with some added water.2. Heat oil and crackle mustard seeds. Fry fenugreek for a while and add a couple of chopped shallots. Then add curry leaves.3. Add the gound paste, tamarind salt. Half a cup water may be added at this stage if gravy is too thick. Boil for 2 mins.4. Add the cleaned and cut fish pieces, ...
More About: Simple , Meal

Papaya Burfi
2008-01-09 06:01:00
Since I accounced AFAM this month, many of you have got back to me saying all you do with papaya is cut and eat it. Its not even a favourite among the many fruits available out there. But contrary to what we may have thought about this modest fruit, its loaded with nutrients too. Also, please feel free to use raw papaya also in your recipe!Lets see what whfoods.com has to say: Papaya s offer not only the luscious taste and sunlit color of the tropics, but are rich sources of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamin C and flavonoids; the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid; and the minerals, potassium and magnesium; and fiber. Together, these nutrients promote the health of the cardiovascular system and also provide protection against colon cancer.Now do you need more reasons to start 'cooking' up recipes with this wonder fruit also known as 'fruit of the angels?'.Here is a simple and sweet recipe to get you kickstarted.Papaya BurfiWhat I Used:Grated ripe papaya - 1 cu...
More About: Sweets , Paya

Vellarikka Cherupayar Parippu Curry/Cucumber-Daal Curry - Kerala Style
2008-01-07 06:49:00
I made this gravy last month when I had invited a colleague and her grandmom for lunch, which was me reciprocating for all the dinners I had at their place the previous week. It is simple, easy, protein-rich and requires minimum amount of oil since the little amount of added coconut gives it a nice flavour.Split yellow peas or moong dal is considered one of the most healthiest foods in the world and Indian cuisine uses it extensively, be it North, South, East or West. Kerala Cuisine is definitely not as lentil-rich as its northern counterparts, but there are some wholesome curries which use minimum oil and are still protein-rich.Vellarikka Parippu Curry What I Used:Serves : 2Yellow split peas/split moong dal/mung dal/Cheru payar - 1 cupCubed cucumber/squash - 1/2 cupTurmeric powder - one pinchGrated coconut - 1/4 cupShallots - 4-5Green chillies - 3Hing - one pinchJeera powder - 1 tspMustard seeds - for temperingCurry leaves - one strandSalt - to tasteOil - 2 tspHow I Made It:1. Press...
More About: Cucumber , Style , Paya

Chuttaracha Chammanthi - Authentic Kerala Roasted Chillies & Coconut Chutne
2008-01-03 09:06:00
Chuttaracha Chammanthi, also known as Chutta Mulaku Chammanthi literally means roasted (chutta) chillies (mulaku) chutney (chammanthi). It is an authentic kerala accompaniment to kanji (rice gruel) and is mostly seen as the common man's food. I especially love the flavour the roasted chillies give the chutney. And what's more, its oil free!What I Used:Grated Coconut - 1 cupDried red chillies - 4Shallots - 4Garlic - 2 cloves (optional)Coriander powder - 1 tspTamarind - half a lemon sizeSalt - to tasteHow I Made It:1. Heat a non-stick pan and roast the red chillies dry (without oil) till it reaches the stage just before burning.2. Add the coconut, chopped shallots, garlic and coriander powder and roast for another 2 mins. The coconut will start getting brittle. At this stage, remove from fire.3. Grind this mixture in very little water with salt and tamarind.Enjoy!This is my first entry to RCI - Kerala Cuisine hosted by Jyothsna of Curry Bazaar. I say first, because I have so many Ke...
More About: Chillies , Chutney , Then

Announcing A Fruit A Month - January
2008-01-02 06:20:00
Event hosting is always special for me. Seeing an entry in my email, checking out the post, compiling it into a label in my gmail account (I am yet to become perfect at not forgetting even a single entry), and everything else associated with it.Its now my turn to host A Fruit A Mont h (AFAM) for January . The event was initiated by Maheswari of Beyond the Usual, and has reached me after the special Christmas edition of AFAM - Dry Fruits over at the Yum Blog.It didn't take me that long to zero in on a particular fruit. The only criteria was that it should be easily available and reasonably versatile.So here it is, the fruit for January, 2008 is PAPAYA.I am not giving out the normal nutritional information or recipes link since all this is just a Google Search away :)Here are the event guidelines:1. Prepare a dish with papaya as the main/one of the main ingredients and post it on your blog in the month of January. You can adopt any cuisine and use the fruit in any form, raw or ripe. Th...

Looking Ahead and Bidding Adieu
2007-12-29 18:42:00
I think Nupur had the brainwave of the year with her event, Best of 2007! Anyway, I think a lot of us would have done it but this way, we are all on board.So here is my round up for the year. 2007 has been an awesome year professionally, very slow year personally but some nice things did happen, but the year has been best for blogging. I already had a personal journal and it took some thought before I started this one. Shaheen's blog was my inspiration and the first food blog I came across.Here are some highlights from the year.- The first post looks silly and so kiddish now. I laugh when I think back to the amount of time it took me to decide how I will write 'ingredients' and 'method'. I wanted a unique style and finally settled on 'What I Used' and 'How I Made It'.- My proudest moment was when I baked my first loaf of bread. That's also the post with the most number of comments.This recipe goes to Zorra's Best of 2007, Food Blogger's Collection.- The most popular post...
More About: Ahead , Bidding , Adie

Darshini's Bread Upma
2007-12-28 05:01:00
I am not an upma lover and haven't been ever since I can remember. But Darsh has made me a convert. With her simple yet elegant, yummy and spicy Bread Upma.The behind the scenes story is that we spent Christmas eve at her place and woke up late the next day. There was nothing in the house to cook with except 2-day old bread and some tomatoes and chillies. With utmost confidence, she chopped, diced and sliced and made this yummy bowl of amazing brunch! So this recipe here is an ideal one for all those bachelors left at home with stale bread in hand and no time to cook a proper meal.I was watching very closely for the ingredients used and the amounts of each but she is an intuitive cook - who does not measure! She was talking and cooking at the same time, hardly looking at the cooking pan! So here is what I could make out in between all the fun we had!Serves : 4What She Used:Bread Slices, cubed - 15Onions, chopped - 4 mediumGreen chillies, chopped - 4Ginger, chopped - a 2" pieceTomat...
More About: Recipes , Others

Mom's Delight - The Easiest and Yummiest Chocolate Dessert
2007-12-26 06:00:00
Its been raining chocolate in the blogosphere for a while now. Not to mention all those delicious looking fruit cakes and yule logs.The moment I read about Bindiya's 'These are a few of my Favourite Things - Chocolate ' event and AFAM - Dry Fruits, I knew what I had to make. This is my favourite, my best and the yummiest of all desserts. Its so easy to make that I used to make it when I was in the 8th standard. And many times over after that too.For some reason, we have always called it Mom's Delight at home. So here it is, presenting to you..Mom's DelightWhat I Used:Powdered Marie Biscuits - 1 cupGrated Coconut - 4 tbsp (optional)Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1/2 cupBittersweet Chocolate Shavings - 1/2 cup**or Cocoa Powder - 3 tbspDried Chopped nuts - 1/2 cupButter - 2 tbspHow I Made It:1. Melt the butter and pour it into a pudding dish.2. Layer the powdered marie biscuits and press lightly.3. Sprinkle the coconut over it.4. Pour the condensed milk gently on top of this.5. Next la...
More About: Dessert , Desserts

The one that 'CLICK'ed
2007-12-24 04:30:00
Jugalbandi is one of my favourite blogs. For a variety of reasons. So when they started their monthly food photography event and aptly named it 'Click', I was pretty excited. I was already a fan of their beautiful pics and tried to draw inspiration from them. Now we are going to have all those great pics in one place.The first theme was 'eggs' and I clicked close to 50 pics of eggs on different days, in different ways. None of them satisfied me and I ended up not sending in any.Then came 'noodles'. I went wild this time and had close to 100 pics by the end of the 20 days and still didn't find one I thought was good enough to send in. I was kicking myself for not thinking 'out of the box' and for not having those brilliant yet simple ideas that most in the blogosphere seemed to find came as second nature to them.When the 'nuts' theme was introduced, I made a decision. It doesn't matter if my pic sucked. It doesn't matter if the lighting is not right, that I didn't have ...

Cinnamon Flavoured Tomato Rice/Thakkali Sadam/Thakkaali Choru
2007-12-22 06:43:00
When Sunita announced her event Think Spice..Think Cinnamon for this month, I groaned inwardly cuz this is one spice I use only in Biriyani and other flavoured rice dishes. That too, with other spices. But the event kept prodding the back of my mind and soon I decided to read up a bit on the spice to see if it can be used in any other simple dish.To my utter surprise and delight, I found so much material on this humble spice that I was quite astounded. Here are some quick facts on the benefits of Cinnamon.Cinnamon has a long history both as a spice and as a medicine.It has a lot of health benefits like anti-clotting abilities, anti-microbial qualities, ability to control blood sugar levels and its mere scent can boost brain activity.Cinnamon has also been used to provide relief when faced with the onset of a cold or flu, especially when mixed in a tea with some fresh ginger.source: whfoods.comWhen I realised this, I decided to try one of my favourite flavoured rice dishes - Tomato R...
More About: Rice , Tomatoes , Namo

Chicken Noodle Broth
2007-12-20 09:01:00
I spent 10 mins trying out different names for this post. Chicken soup, Chicken noodle soup, Chicken soup for the soul (yeah, I know!), Noodle chicken broth, etc etc. Finally settled on Chicken Noodle Broth.If you check recipes of chicken noodle broth online, you will invariably find chicken pieces added to it or atleast shredded ones. What I have here is just plain chicken broth with noodles in it, spiced up with some pepper and salt.Wikipedia says that Chicken broth is the liquid part of chicken soup. Broth can be served as is, or used as stock, or served as soup with noodles. Broth can be milder than stock, does not need to be boiled as long, and can be made with meatier chicken parts.Its great to have when you have a cold or a bad throat. As the weather is cold these days, its great to have a hot cup of chicken broth to curl your fingers around and watch some TV.Chicken Noodle BrothWhat I Used:Maggi Chicken Stock Packets - 2 (150 gm)Noodles - 100gmWater - 4 cupsPepper powder - 3...
More About: Pasta

Arusuvai Friendship Chain - Triple Chocolate Fudge Brownies
2007-12-17 16:45:00
The Arusuvai Friendship Chain has been inspired by the Amish Friendship Bread Starter chain doing the rounds outside of India. More details about the chain, here. It has been quite active and as part of it, I received a surprise ingredient from Lakshmi of Yum Blog. It was none other than my favourite - Chocolate !!!It was a 500gm bar of Morde Dark Chocolate. I received her packet in office and throughout the day, me and my cube mate were treated to the lovely smell eminating from the box.There are so many things I could have made with this amazing ingredient and I started the search. Zeroed in on an easy, yet popular dish, Chocolate Brownies . Recipes adapted from Jugalbandi and Lakshmi's basic brownie recipe which she sent me via email.Triple Chocolate Fudge BrowniesMakes 10 medium sized browniesWhat I Used:Bittersweet chocolate - 125gmButter - 6 tbspSugar - 5 tbspMaida - 1/2 cupCocoa powder - 2 tspInstant coffee powder - 1 tspEggs - 2Vanilla - 1 tspSalt - one pinchHow I Made It:1...

Low Fat Christmas Sugar Cookies
2007-12-14 09:26:00
The Christmas spirit is really beginning to settle in with carol practices and white gifts and fruit cakes and cookies all around. I have a list of events happening in the food blogosphere this month and the one thing that has been upmost in my mind is Susan of Food Blogga's event, 'Eat Christmas Cookie s '. I mean, when else do you eat them.I haven't baked much cookies in my life. The one recipe that clearly comes to my mind is the butter cookies I used to make often when I was in college. It called for copious amounts of butter so I was on the lookout for a low fat Xmas cookie recipe. Found a simple one here and tried it out. Came out nice and crunchy and yummy. I halved the ingredients amount.Low Fat Christmas Sugar CookiesMakes 15 medium-sized cookiesWhat I Used:Softened butter - 2.5 tbspSugar - 5 tbsp (Add more if you like sweet cookies, after all they are called sugar cookies!)Egg - 1Flour - 1 cupBaking powder - 1/2 tspVanilla essence - 1/2 tspSalt - one pinchHow I Made It:1...

Weekend Breakfast Blogging - Cornflakes Roundup
2007-12-12 12:12:00
Weekend Breakfast Blogging is the brainchild of Nandita of Saffron Trail and it was my turn to host the event for November 2007. WBB #17 saw some exciting and unique recipes with the ingredient cornflakes - the mother of all breakfasts.Without further ado, let me take you through the wonderful array of delicious recipes that are sure to give you a 'kick' for the rest of the day.Pushpa's Cornflakes Bread PuddingLissie's Pineapple Cornflakes PuddingRenuka's Cornflakes MilkshakeSagari's Crispy French ToastRaaga's Miracle BarsMocha's Strawberry Banana Dates ParfaitDhivya's Cheesy Baked Potatos With CornflakesRP's Date BarsAsha's Orange Cornflakes MuffinsRajitha's Creamy LasagnaBharathy's Cornflakes CookiesHima's Crispy PancakesBee's Indian CornMansi's Nut Spiced Cereal BarsAparna & Akshaya's Cornflakes CookiesDo try out these yummy breakfast ideas and let us know what you thought.Remember: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It gets us started and keeps...
More About: Roundup , Weekend , Flake

Mochakottai Sundal/Butter Beans Tempered With Grated Coconut
2007-12-10 07:00:00
Mochakottai is one of my dad's favourite additions to any gravy or 'pulusu' that we make at home. I was home on vacation last week and mom had made 'mochakottai kozhambu' with it. There was some left over, so the next day evening, our maid, Mary made this simple, yet extremely popular, tamil preparation with the beans. Was a nice evening snack with some hot tea.Mochakottai SundalYou Will Need:Mochakottai/Butter Beans - 100gmGrated coconut - 1/2 cupRed chillies - 5Urad dal - 1 tspMustard - 1/2 tspCurry leaves - 1 strandOil - 1.5 tbspSalt - to tasteHow Its Made:1. Pressure cook the beans till its soft.2. Heat oil, add mustard seeds and let them cackle. Add the urad dal, red chillies and curry leaves and fry for a min.3. Add the cooked butter beans, coconut and required salt. Stir well and cook for another 2 mins.Serve warm with a hot cup of tea/coffee.Sundal is also prepared as a festive dish in tamil festivals and is more commonly prepared with chickpeas.
More About: Coconut , Temp

Stir Fried Chilly Noodles
2007-12-06 15:51:00
I belong to the class of people who believe that Maggi Noodles is one of the best of human creations. During many weeknights I have found solace in that one bowl of quick-fix dinner, often reminding myself of how my mom would disapprove of the preserves and other stuff added in their masala. Recently, I found plain noodles in the stores, called Chinese Egg Hakka Noodles. I bought two packets and made quick and light noodles for dinner one night. Came out so well that I photographed it immediately :DStir Fried Chilly NoodlesWhat I Used:Plain noodles - 1 packetCrushed garlic - 4 clovesCoarsely ground red chillies - 4Garam Masala - 1.5 tspTurmeric - one pinchCoriander leaves - for garnishingSalt - to tasteHow I Made It:1. Cook the noodles in sufficient water with added salt. Adding a little oil to this makes the noodles not stick together. One done, drain the water and keep aside.2. Heat 1 tbsp oil. Lightly fry the garlic, chilly, masala and turmeric and then add the noodles. Adjust oi...
More About: Pasta

Potato-Cabbage 'Grindless' Gravy
2007-12-05 04:41:00
I don't know how many of you have actually been over to Sra's blog to check out her unique event Grindless Gravies. I read through her instructions with great interest till I reached the line where it said 'It can't be all lentils or all curds...' Now that makes it really tough. So I put on my thinking cap.It was a weekend and I had nothing to do except cook. Opened the fridge and saw an entire cabbage sitting there. Its very difficult to cook for one and I really hate that. This cabbage made me feel lonely because whatever I make, its going to be extra, and eventually will go to waste. I sighed and took it out, and then rummaged through my potato-onion-garlic basket kept in the kitchen. Most of the potatoes had small shoots coming out of it, a sign that it has spent one too may days in the kitchen, waiting to be cooked. Without thinking much, I chopped up the cabbage, peeled and halved the potatoes and dunked both into my pressure cooker.Thus was born the idea behind this lip-...
More About: Potato , Cabbage , Gravy

Dates-Biscuit Pudding
2007-12-02 10:55:00
This month I was determined to do a fairly good job with all the events. I mean, in terms of participation, of course. One of my favourites is AFAM but unfortunately I wasn't able to participate in the last one because of the unavilability of peaches in the near vicinity of my home.This month's fuit, dates, is a real delight because it is so readily available and in so many different varieties and prices. I bought a tub of lion dates from Food Bazar yesterday. I am going home in vacation for 10 days and may not be able to cook with dates at home, so was determined to come up with something simple for this month's AFAM, hosted by Chandrika of Akshayapatra.I love puddings with biscuits in it. Soggy, crunchy, however they may taste. I especially love Marie biscuits for its subtle crunchiness and added flavour. So this is a humble attempt from me to make something nice with biscuits and dates.Dates -Biscuit Pudding What I Used:Dates - 10, choppedMarie biscuits - 8, crushed coarselyButt...

Ginger Tea - Let's Get It Started!
2007-11-25 16:58:00
Tea is my morning drink. I know most people get started on coffee but it has always been tea for me. And if its with a tinge of ginger - nothing like it! I regularly add ginger to hide the raw smell of tea leaves in my drink.When Sunita announced her Think Spice Event this month and when I saw it was ginger this time, quite a few recipes went through my mind. But the honest truth is, I can't stand the smell of raw ginger. Its ironic, cuz I do like ginger chicken and stuff, but if you tell me that the antidote for nausea is chewing a piece of ginger, then I beg to differ! Raw ginger causes nausea in me. But I love ginger-flavoured tea. Yeah, I know, its tough to 'digest' this weird like-dislike circle of mine.This is not much of a recipe, just a habit of mine that I wanted to share and hopefully, Sunita would accept this as an entry to her event.This is my cup of Ginger Tea that gets me started every day morning. Just add a few pieces of shredded fresh ginger into your tea while i...