White Sauce Pasta, Customized

            The title may sound funny, weird. We customize everything on earth. Why not we, customize our cooking as per our taste and beyond that, with the common ingredients in our kitchen, making it also more heathy. No mixed herbs, no Maida, cheese only if available. It may be argued that Pasta is made of Maida, not said to be healthy. The water is drained after cooking. Ghee and Butter can be taken as lubricants once in a while.

        Hot Pastas with the flavor of Capsicum. pepper, hot milk is very much relished by us during winter days. Our Pasta, I doubt, may not be liked even by my grandkids as they are very much used to the real taste of the Pastas enjoyed in the Italian restaurants. For us, going to such eateries are once in a blue moon. So, unaccustomed to the original taste, my preparation is the best for us. May be a funny logic but an honest one.

White Sauce Pasta, customized

Ingredients :

Pasta 1 cup

Milk 1 cup

Small carrot 1 

Onion 1

Capsicum 1 

Garlic, chopped 1 tsp.

Butter / Chee 1 tbsp.

Chilly powder 1 pinch

Pepper powder 1.5 tsp.

Wheat Flour 1 tbsp.

Chilly Powder / Flakes, Salt

Oil 2 tsp.

Method :

Chop the onion, carrot and capsicum.

Cook the Pasta till it becomes soft by adding a tsp. of oil and a pinch of salt. Drain the water and set aside.

Heat a Tawa, add 1 tsp. of oil, add the finely chopped garlic, onion and sauté , then add the chopped carrot and capsicum. Add salt to taste and 0.5 tsp. of chilly powder or flakes and 1 tsp. of pepper powder. Sauté for 2 minutes. Mix well. Switch off.

Heat another broad sauce pan, add the butter or Ghee. then add the wheat Flour or Maida, depending on the availability. My preference is wheat flour. Sauté for a minute on a low flame for a minute. Add the milk, mix well to avoid lumps. Let the flour get cooked on a medium flame with constant stirring for 1 minute.

Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Keep on stirring well for a minute, with an addition of 0.5 tsp. of pepper powder, again.

Add the onion and vegetables, sautéed. Mix well on a very low flame for a minute. Mixing a tbsp. of grated cheese is optional. 

Now the piping, yummy and creamy white sauce Pasta, healthy and enriched with onion, carrot, capsicum, pepper powder and milk is ready. What else can be a perfect food on a winter day, either for breakfast or dinner. Taking the Pasta, 30 mins. after cooking is ideal on a hot day. Anyway, we take it at least once in a month, with small packets of Pasta, sold even in middle towns. White Sauce Pasta is our comfort food.

Cabbage Vadai

   This Vadai has been tried by me a few times and it is really very tasty. It is an alternate to the onion Paruppu Vadai. Pattani Paruppu also known as Split Peas Dhal is always used by me for crunchy Paruppu Vadais and Adais. Onion, Garlic and Sombu are optional and not used on the days of Pooja.

Ingredients:

Pattani Paruppu / Kadalai Paruppu    1 cup

Finely chopped Cabbage 1/2 cup

Onion (optional )   1  

Sombu (optional )   1 tsp.

Garlic   6 pods

Green Chilly  2 

Red Chilly  2 

Ginger 1 small piece

Salt, Oil, Hing

Method;

Soak the Dhal for 1 hour and grind coarsely adding very little water, chilly, Ginger and salt.

Finely chop the onion, if used. Mix the ground Dhal, finely chopped Cabbage, Onion, Curry leaves, Coriander leaves, hing and 1 tbsp. of hot oil.

Make into small balls, flatten and drop the Vadais in the hot oil, flip and remove from the oil once the bubbles disappear. 30 hot, crunchy and tasty Vadais can be easily prepared in 3 batches very easily and quickly.

Preparation Time  30 minutes.

Vattayappam

                 Vattayappam is one of the delicacies of Kerala, prepared with rice, coconut and jaggery or sugar. It is oil free as it is steamed and easy to make but the taste is really good.

                                               

Ingredients :

Raw Rice    1 cup

Grated coconut 1 cup

Sugar / powdered Jaggery 0.5 cup

Ghee, Coconut Oil, cardamom Powder, cooking Soda

Method:

Soak the rice for 2 hours and grind to a fine paste with the coconut and the water, required for grinding. Add the sugar or jaggery power.

After grinding to a fine paste, transfer to a vessel and adjust the consistency to that of Dosa batter. Let it ferment for 5 to 6 hours. Yeast can be added for quicker fermentation within 2 to 3 hours.

After the batter has fermented well, add cardamom powder, a pinch of cooking soda and mix gently. Grease a tray or plate which could fit into your Idly vessel or steamer conveniently.

Pour the batter only up to half of the vessel with space for the batter to expand after steaming. Steam it an Idli vessel or steamer.

After 10 to 12 minutes, check, if the Vattayappam is cooked by inserting a stick. If done, remove from the steamer and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

Gently using a knife along the sides of the cooked Vattayappam, free from the vessel and turn it upside down on a plate. Cut into desired shapes. Jaggery tastes better than sugar. Now the tasty Vattayappam with an aroma of coconut and Jaggery is ready. 

   

Uzhundhang Kanji

   This Kanji can be taken as a simplified version of the Uzhundhang Kali. This is very easy to prepare and has a rich nutritive value.

                                                                     Uzhundhang Kanji.

Ingredients :

Whole or broken Urad Dhal / Uzundham Paruppu   2 tbsp.

Raw rice  1tbsp.

Powdered Vellam / Jaggery / Karuppatty   8 Tbsp.

Cardamom Powder, Sukku Powder

Method :

Rinse the Dhal and Rice and soak for 30 minutes. Grind to a fine paste in a mixer jar as done for Dosai batter by adding water, 

Then transfer to a thick bottomed sauce pan. Add 5 cups of water and boil it. Then slowly add the Dhal, rice paste and keep on stirring on a low flame. The mixture starts thickening in 2 minutes. Keep on stirring to avoid lumps. Add the Jaggery powder, mix well and let it simmer for 2 minutes. Add a pinch of Cardamom powder and 0.5 tsp. of Sukku powder. Mix well and switch off. The easy to make, tasty and healthy Kanji is ready. Even 2 tbsp. of grated coconut can be added with the the rice and dhal for an enhanced taste,

Time taken 10 minutes

Finished product 5 cups.

Maida Biscuit

             Earlier this Maida Biscuit was one of the components of the snack, Mixture prepared by me. Later, may be due to the time constraint, this Biscuit was skipped.

             Now this is prepared by me now and then as a separate snack item. It is very easy to make and the taste is wonderful. These biscuits can be prepared either with Maida or Wheat Flour. But, it is better to use only Maida to get soft biscuits.

                                                                Maida Biscuits

Ingredients:

Maida / Wheat flour  1 cup.

Sugar  1/4 cup.            

Butter/ Ghee 2 tbsp.

Oil, Cardamom Powder,

Method:

Powder the sugar. Mix the powdered sugar, flour, butter and half teaspoon of Cardamom powder. Add water little by little and make a dough as done for Chappathi. Let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the dough into 2 balls. Roll as done for Chappathi with a rolling pin for a thickness of 0.5 centimeter, Cut into small square or diamond shaped pieces. Heat the oil and fry in reduced flame though it takes some extra time, This is very important. Otherwise the biscuits may turn deep brown. Repeat with the other ball of dough. If done patiently, we can get crispy golden colour biscuits. Initially the biscuits may be soft but in 2 or 3 hours, they will become crispy.

Time taken  30 minutes

Finished product 250 grams.

Pottukadalai Murukku

    Pottukadalai Murukkus...…. very yummy....crispy.. With so many years of experience in cooking and having tried some recipes with Idiappam Flour, it is still a big surprise to me that the Idiappam Flour can make the Murukkus so crispy and white in color without adding butter or ghee. Ghee or butter can be used for enhanced taste. 

Ingredients:

Idiappam Flour   2 cups

Pottukadali    1/2  cup

Cummin / Zeeragam   2 tsp.

Oil, Salt, Hing

Method:

Powder the Pottukadalai . Sieve the flours and mix all the ingredients except oil, well. Boil 3 cups of water. After the water starts boiling, add slowly to the the flour and make a dough, not rigid nor very loose. This may roughly require 3 cups of boiling water. It may vary according to the texture of the rice flour. Add 2 tbsp. of hot oil. Mix well.

Using the Murukku mould with the 3 or 5 holed disc, press into the hot oil, 3 to 5 Murukkus, depending on the size of the Kadai. When half cooked, flip to the other side. Remove from the oil once the bubbles disappear .Repeat till the dough gets over. 

Very important that only Idiappam Flour and boiling water should be used for crispy, tasty and white Murukkus. If only ordinary flour is at home, it can be dry roasted and used.

Repreparation Time: 10 minutes 

Preparation    40 minutes

Finished product   500 grams

Milagu / Pepper Kara Sevu

         Often Kara Sevu with Garlic and Zeeragam is only prepared by me. Now, Milagu Sevu is also prepared by me. It is very easy to make but the taste is very good.

                                                              Milagu Kara Sevu



Ingredients :

Besan Flour / Kadalai Mavu     2 cups
Rice Flour   1/2  cup
Pepper powder  1 tbsp
Salt. Hing, Oil


Method:

Seive the flours and make a dough with all the ingredients except oil. Add water slowly and make a dough, neither rigid nor loose.


Heat the oil, add a tablesoon of hot oil to the dough and mix well. 

Using the Murukku mould, press the dough into the oil,in a circular form, using the disc with 3 holes. Flip to the other side, break into small pieces, using the laddle. Once the bubbles disappear, remove from the oil. The whole dough can be pressed in 6 to 7 batches in less than 30 minutes, using a medium Kadai and 2 cups of oil.

Crunchy Kara Sevu is ready in 30 minutes. For soft Sevu, 1 tbsp. of butter or Ghee can be added instead of hot oil.

Easy Dosai Batter

                      Some 3 decades back, before buying the wet grinder, Idli and Dosai batter were occasionally made in the mixer, soaking  Urad Dhal and Rice in in the ratio of 1; 3. They have to be ground separately and mixed, little bit time consuming and tedious. The Dosais were not bad and the Idlis were not soft. With the advent of the wet grinders, this method went into a state of oblivion.


                   Now the members of the family getting reduced to just three with the children getting married and moving away, our intake is also comparatively getting less with age. So the mixer jar has become very handy and easy. Both Urad Dhal and the Rice are soaked together with a bit of Fenugreek and Toor Dhal. The batter is perfect. Yummy are the Dosais and Idlis are not bad.

                   
                   The batter also gets fermented in 6 to 7 hours. As the salt is not mixed initially and mixed only at the time of making the Dosais or Idlis, the batter never becomes frothy but gets fermented; may be because of the Toor Dhal. Only soaking is a matter of concern. For small families and for kids, this is easier than getting the batter across the counter. Even 2 cups of Rice together with the required Urad Dhal and Toor Dhal can be soaked and ground in two batches. Yummy golden brown Dosais can be prepared after fermentation.

Ingredients :

Idli Rice     3/ 4 cup.
Raw Rice   1/4 cup.
Urad Dhal  1/ 5 cup.
Toor Dhal    1 tbsp.
Fenugreek   1 tsp.


Method :

Wash and soak all the ingredients together for 4 hours.

Grind to a fine paste in the large mixer jar, adding water, just to the level of the ingredients,added  in the jar. Even little more water can be added. The grinding takes less than 4 minutes, that can be done for 2 plus 2 minutes with a pause for a minute. Make to a fine paste and transfer to a container and the let the batter be loose. Add salt at the time of preparing the Dosais after six hours. In winter, fermentation takes more time.

8 medium sized yummy Dosais can be prepared after 5 to 6 hours in Summer and 6 to 7 hours in winter,

Thattai

             Thattai is a very common evening snack item. No idea as to why this recipe has not been by posted me. Well and good that, now there is an easy version, which is also very tasty and crispy.

Thattai

Ingredients:

Idiappam Rice flour 1 cup.
Pottukadalai Flour 1 tbsp.
Urad  Dhal Flour   1tbsp.
Channa Dhal 2 tbsp.
Zeeragam / Black or White Sesame  1 tsp.
Garlic   10 pods
Chilly Powder 0.5 tsp.
Hing,  Salt, Curry Leaves, Oil to fry.


Method:



Soak the Channa Dhal for an hour. 

If Idiappam flour is not available at home, slightly dry roast the ordinary home made or store bought rice flour. Similarly if Urad Dhal flour or Pottukadalai Flour is out of stock, slightly dry roast the Urad Dhal. Powder the Urad Dhal and the Pottukadalai separately in a small mixer jar. Sieve all the three flours and mix well with the salt.

Drain the water from the soaked Channa Dhal and using the whipper button, break them a little in the small mixer jar. Add with the flours. Grind the Garlic pods in the same jar and add.

Add the Curry Leaves, Hing, Chilly Powder and 1 tbsp. of hot oil. Mix well. Add water and knead into a dough, not very hard and not very loose. Make into small balls.

Take 2 plastic sheets of 12 x 10 inches. Smear with oil. Place 6 or 7 balls with space for expanding, when pressed. Cover with another oil smeared sheet. Press using a flat bottomed bowl, preferably, a coffee dhabara. 

Heat oil moderately, remove the Thattais gently from the sheet and drop in the oil. Flip to the other side. Remove from the oil once the bubbles disappear. The frying will be over in 4 or 5 batches. Now the very crispy Thattais are ready.

Preparation Time 10 minutes.
Frying Time   25 Minutes.
Finished Product   25 Thattais

Oats Dosai Mix

          This Oats Dosai has been common, nearly for the last one decade but not in our menu for some reasons.  Now various combinations were tried by me for past 6 months and found one easy and good recipe. The taste is very good and Oats is recommended very much,especially as a low carb food item.

  If the mix is prepared, it comes very handy for immediate use.

                                                                  Oats Dosai

Ingredients :

Rolled Oats :   2 cups
Rice Flour 1 cup
Sooji/ Rava   0.5 cup
Pepper   2 tsp.
cummin / Zeeragam  2 tsp.
Hing , Salt

Method :

 Dry roast the Oats in a Kadai for 2 to 3 minutes with the Pepper, Zeera and Hing.Cool.

 Powder the Oats in a big mixer jar. Add the Rice Flour and the Rava/ sooji( not 
 necessary to roast, if only roasted is available at home, it is okay) and Salt to taste.
 Blend well and we get a very good aroma of ground Pepper, Cummin and Hing.
 Store in an airtight container and use, when needed.

 For making the Dosai, mix 1 cup of the mix with water into a Dosa batter consistency 
 and set aside for 20 minutes.Add finely chopped Onion, Curry Leaves,
 Coriander Leaves and Ginger. Mix well and add water and make a watery batter as 
 for Rava Dosai. Heat the dosai Tawa, pour the batter and pour as done for the Rava 
 Dosai without touching the Tava. Pour oil as per taste, flip to the other side and remove
 when get roasted, The very tasty Oats Roast Dosai is ready. About 5 Dosais can be
 prepared from 1 cup of Mix.

Pachaipayaru Kuzhambu

              This gravy was learnt from one of my collegues.  This is very popular in Coimbatore and is known that Pachaipayaru is also very good for health. Most of the people dry roast  the Payaru and pressure cook. My preference is to soak the Payaru for 4 to 5 hours and then cook for 2 or 3 whistles. That seems soft and tasty for me. Nowadays, once in a week, the grain is soaked and sprourted by me. That is used for salads, sundal and gravy. This Kuzhambu tastes very well, mixed with hot rice, ghee and a little bit spicy Poriyal as a side dish or with Vathal or vadagam.

Pachaipayaru  Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Pachaipayaru   0.5 cup
Small onions   15
Garlic  8 pods.
Coriander seeds, Zeeragam  1 tsp each
Coconut Oil 2 tbsp
Green chillies 4
Tomatoes  3
Salt, Curry Leaves,  Coriander seeds, Turmeric powder

Method :

Dry roast the Payaru and pressure cook by adding 2 cups of water,Turmeric Powder, Garlic, Green chillies and Tomatoes for 6 to 8 whisles,

Heat the oil in a Kadai, add the Mustard and the Coriander seeds. Then add the Curry Leaves and the small onions. If the small onions are big, can be sliced. Saute on medium flame till it becomes golden brown.

Open the cooker, once the steam subsides. Add the onion and salt. Mash with a wooden laddle or an electric blender for a few seconds.The tasty and healthy Pachapayaru Kuzhambu is ready,

Kadalai Mavu Murukku

          This is again a very easy version of Murukku. Two varieties of Murukku, I uesd to prepare. First one using, dried rice flour and Urad Dhal flour. The Urad Dhal Murukku has a unique flavour and this is very much relished by some of my friends, hailing from our hometown, Tirunelveli, may be termed even as biased. The other variety was known to me after we started living in Coimbatore. Here the people make Murukkus by grinding the Idli Rice in a wet grinder and mixing it with pottukadali powder. This has a very good taste where as the Urad Dhal Murukku has an aroma. Anyway, both come handy for me.

      This Kadalai Mavu Murukku was tried by me some four months back; the Murukkus were very crispy and tasty. Just by taking 2 cups of rice flour and 1 cup of Beasn Flour, the work gets over in 30 minutes, No grinding, no powdering. Both flours are available across the counter, right from small shops.

                                                 Kadalai Mavu Murukku

Ingredients :

Rice Flour    2 cups
Besan Flour/ Kadalai Mavu  1 cup
Salt  1 tsp.
Hing, Cummin, Oil


Method :

1. Seive both the flours. Mix well. Add salt to taste, Hing and 1 tsp of Cummin and 2 tsp.    of hot oil. Mix well. Add water little by little and make a dough, neither very hard nor   loose.

2. Press the dough into the hot oil using a Murukku mould in round shapes in batches of      four of five depending upon the size of the Kadai. Flip to the other and remove from oil, once the bubbles disappear.

Wheat Flour Dessert

               This is a very easy to prepare dessert in a short time with the common ingredients in the kitchen. Yet the taste is rich.

Ingredients :

Wheat Flour      1/2 cup
Milk                  1 cup
Sugar               3/4  cup.
Milk Powder       2 tsp.
Sooji                 2 tsp.
Cardamom Powder, Oil.


Method :

1. Mix the wheat flour, milk, milk powder, Sooji and a pinch of Cardamom powder with a whisker to a fine batter like Idli batter.

2. Mix the sugar with 3/4 cup of water and let it boil for 2 minutes.Add a pinch  
    of Cardamom Powder.

3. Heat oil in a kadai.Pour the batter with the laddle in round shapes in batches  of four of five. Flip to the other side in a low flame. Once the bubbles dissappear, remove from the oil and squeeze the oil by pressing in between   two perforated laddles.
    
4, Soak in the sugar syrup for 20 minutes, remove and arrange in a tray.
   Garnish with finely chopped, dry nuts. A tasty and rich dessert is ready.

Corn Flour / Karachi Halwa

          Back again from Hibernation ! Mainly due to my son's persuasion; he is really much concerned that my access to the computer may get into a state of oblivion as I have got relieved from my profession and with the mobile in the palms,all errands are executed.Real thanks to him.

      Only after trying this Halwa for Saraswathi Pooja, could I find out that it is one of the easy and quick desserts, yet a very tasty one! Honestly speaking, compelled to try this sweet as my better half got a big pack of corn flour, when requested to buy a little for soup.

              

Corn Flour Halwa

Ingredients :

Corn Flour      0.5 cup
Sugar             1 cup
Ghee              5 tbsp
Cardamom powder, Nuts, Yellow or Red Colour, lime juice

Method :

1. Mix 1 cup of water with the corn flour using a whisker without any lumps.


2. Add 2 cups of water to sugar and boil it on medium flame, stirring in 
    between  till a single string consistency is reached.

3. Add a tsp. of lime juice to the sugar syrup to avoid crystallization; add the          food colour. I added only Turmeric Powder as I always avoid chemicals.No          need to panic about the Turmeric. I can vouch that the aroma of the                  Turmeric  powder is completely lost.

4. Keep on stirring on medium flame. The mixture becomes translucent and            also starts thickening. Add the Ghee slowly. When the mixture starts leaving      the sides of the vessel, preferably, a non stick or a thick bottomed Kadai,          add cardamom powder and the chopped nuts. Transfer to a greased tray and      cut into desired shapes. 

Vazhaipoo Nethili Kuzhambu

                    The name sounds like a fish curry; yet it is a purely vegetarian gravy. Nethili is nothing but the florets of the banana flower, that is Vazhaipoo.
So far, only Poriyal, a side dish for rice and Vaizhaipoo Vadais have been prepared by me. After watching a cookery demonstration, this is the first time, that a gravy has been prepared using the banana flower.

                  This gravy goes well with rice, dosais and chappathis.

Vazhaipoo Nethili Kuzhambu

Ingredients:

Banana Flower florets   1 cup
Besan Flour  3 tbsp.
Rice Flower   1 tbsp.
Tomatoes  2
Big Onion  2
Tamarind 1 lemon size
Oil  0.5 cup.
Chilly Powder   2 tsp.
Coriander Powder  2 tsp.
Grated coconut 0.5 cup.
Turmeric Powder, Salt, Mustard, Split Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves

Method :

1. Mix the Besan flour, rice flour, salt, turmeric powder and 1 tsp. of chilly  powder .Make a batter,  similar to that of the Bajji batter.Dip the florets one by  one in the hot oil and deep fry on medium flame in two or three batches. Set aside.

2. Heat 2 tbsp of the same oil, add the sliced onion, saute with some garlic if 
 preferred. Then add the sliced tomatoes and saute till they shrink.

3. Add three cups of water, extracted from the tamarind.Add 1 tsp. of chilly powder, 2 tsp. of coriander powder, salt to taste and turmeric powder. Mix  well and let it boil on medium flame. Add the fried florets.

4. When the gravy becomes thick, add a fine paste of coconut, ground in the 

 mixer, Simmer for 5 minutes. Season with mustard, Split Urad Dhal and  curry leaves.

Poosanikkai Eriseri

       This is a popular side dish in Onam sadhya. It is somewhat similar to the Poosanikkai kootu, we make.In the Kootu, we don't add Thattapayaru. We add Urad Dhal.

                                                      Eriseri



Ingredients:

Cubed Poosanikkai / Yellow Pumpkin    1 cup.
Thattapayaru  0.5 cup
Grated coconut    6 tbsp
Cummin Seeds / Zeeragam  1 tsp
green Chilly   2
Small onion  4
Chilly Powder   1 tsp.
Red Chilly 2
Coconut Oil, Salt, Turmeric Powder, Mustard, Curry Leaves.

Method :

1. Soak the Payaru for 4 hours. Cook the Pumpkin, Payaru, one Green Chilly, 
    Chilly Powder, Salt and Turmeric Powder till the Pumpkin and Payaru become 
    soft by adding enough water.Pressure cooking can be done, if preferred..


2. Make a fine paste of 4 tbsp. coconut, one green chilly, Zeeragam, onion and      little curry leaves. Mash the cooked Pumpkin and Payaru little.


3. Add the coconut paste to the cooked Pumpkin and simmer for 5 minutes 
    stirring in between.Mix 2 tbsp. of coconut and simmer for a minute.
    Heat 2 tsp. of coconut oil and season with Mustard, broken red chilly and
    curry leaves.Add 1 tsp. of coconut oil. The tasty Eriseri is ready.
  

Beetroot Kichadi

         During my visit to my son's place in New Zealand, had the wonderful opportunity to be close with two of the families from Kerala who were experts in preparing the delicacies of the Onam Sadhya.

      One such acquaintance was so kind to treat with the Onam Sadhya of nearly twenty dishes; it happened to be one of the best and tastiest meals, partook ever by us.Beetroot Kichadi is one among that.

      The other, though had hosted many sumptuous dinners for us, Barbecue party was something new to us and hence, fascinating.

                                          Beetroot Kichadi



Ingredients :

Grated Beetroot   1 cup
Grated coconut    0.5 cup.
Mustard   2 tsp
Zeera   1 tsp
Green chilly   2
Red Chilly   2
Small onion   4
Coconut Oil  4 tsp
Curd   0.5 cup
Curry Leaves.

Method :

1. Heat 2 tsp. of the oil, saute the peeled and grated Beetroot till it is half                cooked.

2. Grind the coconut, green chilly, Zeera, 1 tsp. of mustard, small onion to a 
    fine paste by adding half of the curd. Add it to the Beetroot and let it 
    simmer.Add salt.Then add the remaining curd and simmer for a few 
    minutes.

3.Heat 1 tsp. of oil and season with the mustard, broken red chilly and curry
   leaves.Add the remaining coconut oil and stir.

An aromatic and tasty side dish that goes well with rice, Dosai or 
Roti is ready.   

      

Rava Laddu - New

                      A post after nearly 3 years.Incredible yet true.Even in those days, when cooking videos were not so common in YouTube,I was not for any advertisements for my blogs; now unimaginable, the You Tube is flooded with the videos of so many recipes, for a single dish, each with some variation and zeroing in on any required recipe may not be that easy.

             To me, writing these recipes is to save for me, something that tried for the first time for future use; it is pretty much easier than turning the pages of our cookery book.Gone are the days of the laptop;that too with the mobile phone, it is a child's play.

                                               Rava Laddus

Ingredients :

Roasted Rava / Sooji     1 cup.
Sugar      1.5 cup
Grated coconut   1.5 cup
Ghee  3 tbsp.
cardamom Powder, Raisins, Cashew, Almond.

Method :

1. If the Rava is roasted already, well and good. If not, heat 1 tbsp of Ghee and      roast the Rava. Set aside.

2.Heat 1 tbsp. of Ghee, saute the coconut slightly.

3.Add half cup of water to the sugar. Place on the stove, keep on stirring until a 
   single string consistency is formed.

4.Add the Rava, coconut, cardamom powder, roasted raisins and nuts to the 
   syrup.Mix well.It may be watery; don't panic.As time goes, the syrup is 
   absorbed. Smear the palm with Ghee and make into balls.

With 1 cup of Rava, nearly 25- 27 laddus of 600 grams can be made.

Badam Cake

                    This is my 300th post.Again the same story. Full time employment and a very fundamental idea about how to use a basic model of a camera and the same with the computer. It is surprising to me to have traversed a long path ,only with the passion of pursuing my interest in cooking, reading and writing.Moreover there cannot be a better panacea than keeping ourselves always engaged.

                   Mysore Pak, the evergreen sweet was earmarked for the 300th post but it turned out to be Badam Cake.This Badam Cake is easy to make but has a rich taste.

                   My daughter, an expert in this sweet happened to be the supervisor as this Deepavali was celebrated at her home with her family.This also is the first Deepavali for the sweet little Prince Arjee and the fifth for the beloved Jiji. 

Badam Cake

Ingredients:

Badam   1 cup.
Sugar   1 - 1.25 cup.
Ghee  2 tbsp.
Cardamom Powder
Milk  1/4 cup.

Method :

1. Soak Badam in hot water for 1 hour.The skin comes out easily and remove it.

2. In a mixer, grind the Badam with the milk to a fine paste.In the end, add sugar and blend for a minute.

3. Heat the Ghee in a thick Kadai, add the blended Badam and Sugar. Keep on stirring on a medium flame till the mixture becomes thick and starts leaving the sides of the Kadai.

4. Switch off, add Cardamom powder and stir for a minute or two. Pour into a greased tray and flatten with a greased cup to a thin sheet of 1/4 inch.

5. After it cools, cut into desired shapes.

Thayir / Curd Vadai

                Thayir Vadai is a very delicious variety of Vadai.Whenever Uzhundha Vadai is prepared by me, I always reserve atleast four Vadais for soaking in the Curd as we always have curd in the fridge.Only Kara Boondhi may not be there.

               Similarly whenever mixture is made by me, I set aside 2 tablespoons of Kara Boondhi for Thayir Vadai or Boondhi Raitha.

            Two handfuls of Oma Podi is saved for Bhel Pori or any Chat item.

Thayir Vadais

Ingredients :

Uzhundha Vadais    5
Curd    1 cup.
Green Chilly   1
Ginger   1 small piece
Oil, Salt, Hing, Mustard.

For Garnishing :

Kara Boondhi  5 tbsp.
Coriander leaves.

Method :

1. If the Vadais are very cold, heat the oil,drop the Vadais in the oil for a minute and take from the oil.No need of flipping to the other side or waiting for the bubbles in the oil to disappear as it is already fried in the oil.

Most of the people advise the Vadais to be soaked in hot water for a minute, so that the oil comes out, the Vadais may absorb less curd and the Vadais may be soft.However soaked in hot water, only soft Vadais become soft after soaking in curd.

If the Vadais are hard, Thayir Vadais will also be hard.


2. Whisk the curd well.Season with Mustard, Hing and add to the curd after cooling for a minute.Grind the Chilly, Ginger and salt in a mixer.Mix with the curd well.


3. Soak the Vadais thirty minutes before serving.While serving, garnish with the Kara Boondhis and Coriander leaves.

The tasty Thayir Vadais are ready.