Panakam / Indian energy drink

Ingredients:

Jaggery (powdered) - 1/4 cup

Tamarind paste - 1/2 tbs

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

Dry ginger powder (sukku) - 1/4 tbs

Cardomom powder - 1/4 tbs

Edible camphor - pinch (optional)

Salt a pinch

Method:

Dissolve the powdered jaggery in 1/2 cup of water.

Add all the remaining ingredients to jaggery water + 1 1/2 cups of water.

Drain the drink thru a seive for any dust. Serve chilled.

Simple Healthy drink for the hot summer. I am submitting this to Kurinji kathambham healthy summer event.

Moong dal laddu / Moong dal sweet balls

Healthy recipe, suitable for kids.

Ingredients:

1. Moong dal - 1 cup
2. Roasted bengal gram  / dariya dal - 1/4 cup
3. Ghee - 1/4 cup
4. Boiled milk - 6 tbs
5. Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (adjust according to ur taste. this measurement is medium sweet)
6. Cardomom powder - a pinch

Method:

• Dry roast moong dal in a clean pan. Once it cools down grind moong dal & roasted bengal gram into fine powder seperately. Seive them thoroughly and mix together. Keep this mix aside.
• Heat the ghee in a small pan, sprinkle the cardomom powder and switch off the stove immediately. Wait till the ghee cools down to medium heat.
• Take a big bowl - add dal powders, powdered sugar, pour the ghee and mix thoroughly. Quickly make small balls out of this mixture before the ghee completely cools down. If u cant do this, sprinkle the hot boiled milk and make the laddus.

Paal payasam / Vermicelli milk gheer / பால் பாயாசம்

தமிழ் நண்பர்கள் அனைவருக்கும் இனிய தமிழ் புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்.

Today is Thamizh new year. The 'Vikruthi' year ends and 'Kara' year starts. I wish all the thamizh readers a very happy new year ahead.  Here comes the special recipes of new year. From the menu shown above the one is steel tumbler is new year chutney, then vermicelli milk gheer and the bottom one is urad dhal vadai.

1. New year chutney

Learnt this recipe from my ugadhi (ughadi is telugu new year) celebrating friends. This chutney is made from ingredients of 5 prime taste (sweet, salt, bitter, sour and umami). An indication that life is filled with diff experiences (tastes).

Ingredients:

Jaggery or sugar - 2 tbs (Sweet taste)

Tamarind extract - 1 tbs (Sour taste)

Finely chopped raw mango - 1 tbs (the skin of raw mango gives umami taste)

Crushed neem flower - 1/2 tbs (Bitter taste)

Salt - a pinch

Mix all the above ingredients in 1 cup of water. Stir till jaggery dissolves.

2. Vermicelli milk Gheer 

Ingredients:

Vermicelli - 2 cups

Milk - 4 cups

Sugar - 1/2 cup (we eat less sugar. adjust for ur taste)

Cashew nuts - 10 nos

Dry graphes - 10 nos

Ghee - 1 tbs

Method: 

1. Boil milk in a thick bottom vessel .
2. In the meantime, heat 3 cups of water in a vessel. Add vermicelli and bring them to boil & vermicelli gets cooked well. Drain water completly. We can cook vermicelli in milk also, but milk may curdle sometimes. Better cook them separately.
3. By this time milk may came to boil and reduced its quantity. Now add cooked vermicelli and cook for 5 mins in medium flame.
4. Add sugar and mix well. Do not cook for long after adding sugar.
5. Roast cashew nuts n dry graphes in 1 tbs of ghee and garnish. Serve hot / cold. 

3. Urad dhal vada.

Please refer my previous post Urad dhal vada.

FIL with sprouts - Simple spicy sprouted green moong dhal fry

Everytime i am getting excited like going to visit a new born baby whenever i unbundle the sprout knot, which i tied the previous day night. This looks wonderful ryt??? I cant belive that i made this.

Very Nutritious food for kids and expected mothers.

To make sprouts: Soak green moong dhal in plenty of water. After 12 hours drain the water completely and bundle the lentil in a clean cloth. Tie the knot with enough space on top so that the plant can breath. Place the bundle inside a big vessel to have the environment warm. Open the bundle after 12 hours now you can see the lovely sprouts.
If u r planning the dish for tmrw, soak dhal today morning, drain and bundle tonight. Sprouts will be ready tmrw morning !!!

Ingredients:
Sprouted green moong dhal - 1 1/2 cups
Cooking oil - - 1 tbs
Red chilli powder - 1 tbs
Salt to taste
Fresh grated coconut - 4 tbs

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in a pan and add the sprouts. Stir fry for a min.
2. Add chilli powder and 1 cup of water and close the pan with lid for 15 mins. Cook in slow flame.
3. Add salt and grated coconut, mix well and serve hot.

Note:

Good combination for Rasam rice / Curd rice.

Can be served as a evening snacks also.

We can make sprouts from other lentils too like whole channa / Horse gram in the same method.

Healthy rava idli (ரவா இட்லி)/ Semolina-vegetable steamed cake

Rava idli - one of my hubby's favourite. I would say its a healthy breakfast especially for kids.For those who doesnt under the term idli , dont miss to click the link.

Ingredients:
To saute:
1. Rava/semolina - 1 1/2 cups (this holds good for 2 people)
2. Cooking oil - 1 tbs
3. Perungayam / Hing / Asafoetida - pinch
4. Mustard seeds + urad dal - 1/2 tbs
5. Green chilli - 2 nos - finely chopped
6. Ginger - small piece - finely chopped
7. Curry leaves - 6 nos
8. Peanuts / Cashew nuts - 1/2 handful (optional)
To cook:
1. Yogurt / Curd - 1 cup
2. Baking powder - a pinch
3. Grated carrot - 1/2 cup (you can use ur choice of grated vegetables cabbage, chopped - half cooked brocolli or cauliflower) - make sure vegetables quantity doesnt exceed 1/2 of the quantity of semolina.
4. Cilantro - chopped
5. Salt and water - as required
To Garnish
1. Sliced tomato
2. Chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Heat cooking oil in a pan, add mustard seeds + urad dal, hing, nuts, curry leaves, chilli, ginger one by one (dont change this order). Once the nuts are golden brown add rava / semolina and saute till nice aroma comes. Allow this to cool down.
2. Batter preparation- To the sauted rava add all the ingredients mentioned under To cook together, mix and keep this batter aside for 30-40 mins. If required add water while soaking. Make sure no excess liquid remains on top. Beat the batter well after 30 mins.

3. Grease the idli plate with a drop of cooking oil, place the garnishing and pour the idli batter into the mould (as shown above). Cook the idli in steam for 10 - 15 mins (Rava idli takes bit more time to get cook).
4. Serve hot with chuttney / sambar / idli podi. Enjoy!!!!

Modhakam - Ganesha chadhurthi special

Ganesha chadhurthi - Birthday of Lord Vinayaka.

Modhakam - Considered to be the favourite dish of Lord Ganesha. Hope kids will like this dish very much...

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1 cup

2. Channa dal / Kadala paruppu - 1/2 cup

3. Finely chopped fresh coconut - 1/2 cup

4. Grated Jaggery - 1/2 cup

5. Ghee - 1/2 tbs

6. Salt - as required

7. Cardomom powder - pinch

Method:

1. Wash & soak the channa dal in water for 30 mins and half cook it in 1 cup of water. Drain water completely & Use this drained water for making the dough later. Grind the half cooked channa with a pinch of cardamom powder & keep this aside.

2. Heat 1/2 tbs ghee in a pan and saute the chopped coconut in it.

3. Now add all the ingredients together and make a soft dough out of it. Use the water drained from channa for making the dough.

4. Make small balls from the dough and cook in steam (idly maker) for 10 mins. Serve hot.

Paruppu soup / Chettinad dal soup / Indian lentil stew

Famous soup recipe of karaikudi. Can be eaten as conventional soups by adding salt & pepper. Can be served for hot steamed rice also. In case of serving with rice, any spicy side dish could be the best combination. Healthy recipe and a good appetizer.


Ingredients:

1. Ghee - 1 1/2 tbs
2. Cooking oil - 2 tbs
3. Bay leaves - 1
4. Cinnamon stick - 2 small
5. Mustard seeds + urad daal (white lentil) - 1 tbs
6. Jeera / Cumin seeds - 1/2tbs
7. Curry leaves - 5 nos
8. Turmeric powder - pinch
9. Big brown onion - 1/2 sliced
10. Tomato - 1 sliced
11. Splited green chilies - 3 nos
12. Tuvar daal / red gram - 1 handful
13. Moong daal / splited pigeon peas - 1 handful
14. Cilantro / coriander leaves - 1/2 handful (need not chop)
15. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash the daal (lentil) & Soak in water for 20 mins.
2. Heat oil + ghee in a pressure cooker and add the ingredient nos from 3 to 8 together and wait till mustard seeds pops.
3. Add chopped onion + green chilies and cook till onion is trasparent. Now add tomato & saute for a min. The tomato need not get smashed.
4. Strain water completely from daal and add it into the pressure cooker. Saute well the daal in medium flame for 7 - 9 min. Stir consiously for every 2 mins. Now add the cilantro.
5. Add 3 1/2 cups of water + salt. The soup should be very watery before cooking. After the daal gets cooked, the soup will come to a eatable consistency.
6. Close the cooker lid with whistle and cook in medium flame for excatly 10 mins. The cooker need not whistle. Switch off the stove and remove from fire.
7. Open the cooker lid after the pressure goes off and sprinkle some more cilantro leaves and boil in medium flame for 2 mins.
Thats it. Delicious soup ready. Serve hot.

Rava kesari / Suji halwa

Kesari - tooks place in almost all the indian festivals. Easy to prepare indian sweet.

Click here for the recipe. Just replace vermicelli by semolina / rava. Others measurements and procedure are same.

Strawberry milkshake

Healthy recipe, more suitable for kids.

Ingrediants:

1. Strawberry
2. Fresh milk
3. Powdered sugar

Method:

1. Remove the stem and wash strawberry.
2. Put it inside a blender / mixi and pour milk till the fruit gets immersed. Add 2 tbs powdered sugar (for 3 strawberry's 1 tbs of sugar). Grind well and serve as a dessert.

Ribbon pakoda

South indian snack recipe in the shape of ribbon. Crispy and medium spicy. This dish very famous in my hometown karaikudi. Quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Kadalai mavu / Gram flour / Besan flour - 1/2 cup
3. Perungayam / Hing /Asafoetida - 2 pinch
4. Butter - 1/2 tbs
5. Red chilli powder - 1 1/2 tbs (adjust as per ur choice)
6. Salt to taste
7. Cooking oil for deep frying

Method:

1. Add all the ingredients together except oil and make a soft dough out of it by sprinkling water.
2. Heat oil in a pan for deep frying. Take a small ball of dough and sqeeze it using a idiyappam press (use ribbon pakoda mould instead of idiyappam mould) into the oil for deep frying. Flip and cook the pokada for 2 mins on each side (the cooking time is totally 4 mins only). Remove from oil and store on a tissue paper to remove excess oil sticking to it.
3. Complete the remaining dough in the same way in batches.
Serve hot.

Aval laddoo / Poha laddoo / Flattened rice laddoo

Laddoo is a common sweet recipe of india prepared to celebrate festivals. It can be made of basen flour (gram flour), Semolina (sooji). This version is made of poha (flattened rice) and its very crispy inside like wafers. Very simple to prepare.

Ingredients:

1. Aval / Poha /Flattened rice - 2 cups
2. Powdered sugar - 1/2 cup (the recipe requires very less sugar even 1/4 cup is also enough)
3. Dry graphes - roughly 1 handful
4. Ghee - 3 tbs
5. Hot milk - 5 tbs

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbs of ghee in a pan and add 2 cups of poha. Saute till it turns golden brown colour. Coarsely powder the sauted poha using a mixer or blender. Keep this aside.
2. Heat 1 tbs of ghee and saute the dry fruit. Add this to powdered poha.
3. Add sugar and hot milk to poha and mix well. Make small balls out of this when the mixture is hot. Cool down the laddoo and serve. Tip:- Arrange the laddoo in a air tight container and can be kept in the fridge upto 10 days. In that case before serving, heat for 10 sec.

Paal kolukattai / Traditional steamed rice balls in coconut milk

Kolukattai is a traditional indian recipe and it is believed that lord Ganesha loves this dish. Usually rice balls will be stuffed with jaggery coconut mix, but this variety of kolukattai is more popular in chettinad (south india). Simple to prepare and more apt & healthy dish for kids.

Ingredients:

-for dough

1. Rice flour - 1 cup
2. Salt - a pinch
3. Grated coconut - 1/4 cup
4. Crushed cardamom - 2 nos

- to cook

1. Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
2. Luke warm water - 2 1/2 cups
3. Milk - 1/2 cup
4. Powdered sugar - 3 tbs

Method

1. Mix everything mentioned below for dough with half cup of luke warm water and make a soft dough. Make small balls out of this dough and keep aside.
2. Boil the remaining water in a pan and drop the rice balls. Cook in medium flame. Cook till the outer layer of rice balls are trasparent (1st pic in 2nd row). This takes 4 mins.
3. Mix 1/2 cup coconut milk + 1/2 cup milk + 1/2 cup water which is used for steaming rice balls together and bring them to boil. Drop the cooked rice balls from step 2 to this boiled mixture and add sugar immediately. Cook this mixture for 2 mins in medium flame and remove from fire. Serve hot.