Oats/wheat pongal March 19, 2008

This is one of the dishes which will be quite tasty for people having diabetes.  

Ingredients

Oats/Wheat rava 1 cup
Yellow moong dal 1/2 cup
Black pepper powder 1 sp
Cumin seeds 1 sp
Curry leaves
Ginger grated 1/2 sp
Asafetida powder 1/4 sp
Ghee 2 sp
Salt

Method

• In a cooker vessel put oats or wheat rava, yellow moong dal together. Add 3 cups of water and pressure cook as usual.
• Take a pan and add ghee. Add the seasoning ingredients and fry well. Mix it well with cooked wheat rava/oats and yellow moong dal. Serve hot!

Paneer methi curry February 21, 2008

Ingredients

Low fat paneer, cut into tiny pieces – 1 cup
Fenugreek leaves (methi leaves), chopped – 2 cup
Onion, chopped finely – ½ cup
Oil - 2 tsp
Garlic and ginger paste- 2 tsp, minced
Chilli powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 2 tsp
Garam masala powder – 1 tsp
Tomatoes – ½ cup
salt to taste

Method
 

• Heat the oil in a non stick kadai. Add onion, garlic and ginger and fry till onion turns brown.
• Add fenugreek leaves. Sprinkle with little salt and keep covered on low heat till it is cooked.
• Mix all the powders with little water to a paste and add. Keep stirring for a couple of minutes.
• Add tomato puree, paneer and salt.
• Add 1/3 cup of water and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Serve hot with rotis. 

Tomato carrot soup February 6, 2008

Tomato carrot soup

This is a delicious and spicy soup and very easy to make. It has all the right elements to fight off cold or cough. Here are the main ingredients

Ingredients

1 blanched tomato
1 diced carrot
1 diced onion
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp corn flour
Salt to taste
Pepper and sugar (1/4th tsp)

 

Method

Boil carrot,onion and garlic. After the mix is cooled down, blend it in mixie along with tomato adding little water. Strain the whole mixture using a strainer.Now pour the mixture into a deep pan and let it boil for awhile. Add salt, pepper and sugar. Mix corn flour with litter water and add it. Boil it for 5 min more. Serve hot with bread sticks.

Cabbage curry November 28, 2007

Ingredients

1 whole Shredded cabbage
1 onion
3 green chillies
1 cup shredded coconut
half cup soaked chana dal
curry leaves
Turmeric
half tsp ginger garlic paste
Salt to taste

For tempering

Mustard seeds
Jeera
Red chillies

Method

Soak chana dal for at least 30 minutes. Take a deep pan and add 1 tbs oil and add the tempering. Add turmeric,curry leaves, onions, green chillies and stir well. Now add ginger garlic paste. Add shredded cabbage, salt and mix it well.cover it with a lid. By doing this, cabbage cooks well with the steam. 

Cabbage takes some time to cook so keep mixing it so that it doesnt get burnt. It will take at least 15-20 minutes to cook. Add the soaked chana dal and coconut and mix it well. Cook for 10 more minutes. You can garnish with coriandar leaves. This curry goes well with rice or chapatis.

kadai paneer November 19, 2007

Ingredients

Paneer – 200gms
Tomato – 1
Red,green and yellow bell pepper – 1 cup
Onion – 1 cup
Green chillies – 2 or 3
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
turmeric powder – a pinch
coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
red chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
salt to taste

Method

 

Pre-Preparation:
Cut paneer into deisred shape(or in long rectangle shaped).
Chop ½ onion finely and remaining half chop into long thin strands.
Repeat the step2 for tomato also.
Cut green & red capsicum into long thin strands.

Heat oil in heavy pan. Add cumin seeds, asfoetida. Stir it.
Add finely chopped onion and stir it until it becomes light brown in color.
Add finely chopped tomato. Mix turmeric powder,coriender powder,salt,red chilli powder. Fry it for 3-4 mins.
Add half green & red capsicum .
Cover it and half cook it.
Now add long thin strands of onion,tomato,red &green capsicum and paneer cubes.
Cover it and cook it for 6-7 mins at medium heat.
Garnish it with chopped green coriender leaves before serving.
 

Rawa Dosa November 2, 2007

Rawa Dosa

Ingredients

1 cup rawa
1/2 cup rice flour
A pinch soda bicarb
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped coriander
3 chopped green chillies
Salt to taste

Method

Blend all the ingredients in a blender.  The batter should be of thin consistency. Add salt and soda bicarb and keep it aside for 15 minutes. Now take a griddle or a tava. Take a spoonful of the batter and spread it around. Apply some oil to the sides and keep turning it over till both the sides are gloden brown. Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambhar!

Bittergourd or kakarkaya curry October 25, 2007

Ingredients

2 cups round slices of bittergourd
1 cup chopped onion
3 chopped green chillies
A pinch of Turmeric powder
1 tsp Gram flour or besan
2 tbs Lemon juice

Method

Cut the bittergourd into thin round slices. Place all of them on a plate and sprinkle salt and turmeric and mix well. Keep it like that for at least 15 minutes. Now take a ziplock bag or any bag and put all these pieces into it and squeeze the juice out of the pieces. Sprinkle some oil on the pieces and microwave it for 10 minutes on high (stirring in between).

Take a pan and add popu (urad dal, mustard seeds, jeera and senagapappu, red chillis, curry leaves) Add chopped onion and green chillies and fry them till onions turn transulcent. Now add the bittergourd pieces and cook for 15 minutes stirring in between. Add 1 tbsp of besan or gram flour and mix well so that it absorbs all the oil. The reason why I add besan is it soaks the bitter taste and gives a crunchy look. This curry goes well with chapatis!

Wheat Bran upma or godumulu upma October 24, 2007

Wheat bran upma

I am sure all south indians are all familiar with semolina or rava upma. But there is another variety of upma too…goduma rava upma or wheat bran upma. Its highly nutritious and really tasty.

Here is the recipe :-

Cooking time 20-25 min

Ingredients

1 cup wheat bran
1 cup diced Onion
2 diced green chillies
Curry leaves – 4 to 5
1 potato cut into pieces
1 cup boiled peas
1 cup diced carrot
2 cups water

Popu or Tadka

1 teaspoon sanagapappu
1 teaspoon minapappu
1 teaspoon  mustard seeds
1 teaspoon  jeera
2 or 3 red chilli
half a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste
salt to taste

Method

Pour some vegetable oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add sanagapappu, minapapappu, jeera and red chillies. Stir well. Add onion, green chilies, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and keep stirring until onions are transparent and soft. Add potato, peas and salt and let it cook for a while. Add 2 cups water and let it boil. Now slowly add the wheat bran and mix well. Put a lid on the pan and let it cook for 10 min stirring in between. After it is cooked, garnish it with coriander leaves and savour it!

Dondakaya vepudu or tindora fry with peanuts October 18, 2007

Ingredients

2 pound tindora or dondakaya (preferably boiled)
Curry leaves
Popu or tadka
Popula powder
Peanuts – half a cup
Red chilli powder – half tsp
Salt to taste

Method

Pour two tablespoon of oil in a deep pan and add popu ( chana dal, urad dal, jeera, mustard seeds – half tsp) Add curry leaves, peanuts and fry for a while. Add the sliced dondakaya pieces and mix it well so that oil is covered on all pieces. Add salt and red chilli powder. Do not cover it with lid and keep frying it for at least 15 minutes. In the end add popula powder and again fry for a while. It tastes very well with hot chapatis.

Dondakaya or tindora curry October 11, 2007

Dondakai Curry or Tindora curry

Ingredients

2 Pounds Dondakai
2 tsp Popula karam
2 tbsp Oil

Method

• Chop dondakai in long thin slices.
• Add 2 tbsp oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot enough add all the chopped dondakai. Keep mixing and stirring the curry pieces. After the pieces begin to soften add salt to taste. Do not cover with a lid if you like a fried taste 
• After about 20-25 minutes the pieces would soften and now you can add chilli powder and popula karam.
• Add chopped coriander leaves and curryleaves.  Mix and leave it on for a while.
• This can be served with rice or chapattis.

Popula Karam 
 

Ingredients

1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp urad dal
1tbsp chana dal
1/4 tbsp mustard seeds
1/4 tbsp jeera seeds
6-8 menthulu
tamarind -size of half a lemon
3 tbsp groundnuts
4 pinches HIng (Asefotida)
10 Red chillies

Method

• Take a medium depth pan and add  1/2 tsp of vegetable oil.  Roast urad dal, chana dal, mustard seeds, jeera seeds , menthulu, hing, tamarind, and red chillies. Roast this mixture till the seeds start to turn light brown.
• While this is going on, take another pan and dry roast the peanuts [make sure that they are roasted well and are dry and are not too oily.
• Once both the above steps are complete keep them aside to cool.  Grind them into coarsee powder.
• Store the powder in airtight container.  This powder can be used for most fried version of almost all vegetables. Mostly I use it for potato , dondakai, bhindi, egg plant , cauliflower….