Announcing Think Spice-Think Coriander Seeds

First i must really say thanks to Sunita for giving me the chance of hosting this famour Think Spice event...Sunita an awesome person who makes us hungry whenever we go through her blog with her beautiful clicks..When i mailed her for guest hosting, she immediately accepted my request, so i choosed the flavourful coriander seeds for this month of October..

Coriander is considered both an herb and a spice since both its leaves and its seeds are used as a seasoning condiment.The fruit of the coriander plant contains two seeds which, when dried, are the parts that are used as the dried spice. When ripe, the seeds are yellowish-brown in color with longitudinal ridges. They have a fragrant flavor that is reminiscent of both citrus peel and sage. Coriander seeds are available in whole or ground powder form.

The name coriander is derived from the Greek word koris, which means bug. It may have earned this name because of the "buggy" offensive smell that it has when unripe. The Latin name for coriander is Coriandrum sativum.

The use of coriander can be traced back to 5,000 BC, making it one of the world's oldest spices. It is native to the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions and has been known in Asian countries for thousands of years. Coriander was cultivated in ancient Egypt and given mention in the Old Testament. It was used as a spice in both Greek and Roman cultures, the latter using it to preserve meats and flavor breads.

Whenever possible, buy whole coriander seeds instead of coriander powder since the latter loses its flavor more quickly, and coriander seeds can be easily ground with a mortar and pestle.Coriander seeds and coriander powder should be kept in an opaque, tightly sealed glass container in a cool, dark and dry place. Ground coriander will keep for about four to six months, while the whole seeds will stay fresh for about one year.

Coriander seeds contain an unusual array of phytonutrients. They are a very good source of dietary fiber and a good source of iron, magnesium and manganese.Coriander seeds have a health-supporting reputation that is high on the list of the healing spices. In parts of Europe, coriander has traditionally been referred to as an anti-diabetic plant. In many parts of India, it has traditionally been used for its anti-inflammatory properties. In United States, coriander has recently been studied for its cholesterol-lowering effects


1)Post any dish featuring Coriander seeds as the main spice. Coriander seeds can be used in any form (finely powdered, freshly ground or whole)..Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian posts are welcome.

2)Post as many recipes of Coriander Seeds as you like on your blog..

3)Link back to this announcement - and to Sunita's blog - http://sunitabhuyan.com/?page_id=341 is a must.

4)Using the logo to the event is also appreciated.

5)Old posts are also accepted if linked back to this announcement post and to Sunita's blog - http://sunitabhuyan.com/?page_id=341

6)E-mail me at Priyasuresh09@gmail.com with SUBJECT as Think Spice-Think Coriander Seeds along with the following details..
Your Name:
Your Blog Name:
Name of the Dish:
Link/URL of the Post:
Attach a Picture of the Dish. Size 300 x 300 .

7)Deadline for all the entries will be the 31st October 2009.

8)You don't have a blog, you want to take part in this event, it’s not a problem. You can send me your recipe along with the picture of the dish to Priyasuresh09@gmail.com with SUBJECT as "Think Spice - Think Coriander Seeds"..

Jantikalu/Murukku~~IC Challenge

Jantikalu/Murukku was our fourth indian cooking challenge for this month of October, already four months since Indian Cooking Challenge been started..This month challenge was the famous indian savoury murukku, which was prepared during festivals like diwali or just as simple snacks..Indians have various style of preparations, some will prepare with gram flour, while other with rice and urad dal flour also many prepare with maida flour..Srivalli went for homemade rice flour and home made urad dal flour prepared with roasted urad dal..My mom used to do the same way and i just love this crunchy treats, but it has been a long i prepared rice flour at home and i have to say thanks to Srivalli for choosing this savoury crispies for this month's challenge...I prepared exactly wat she went for, i didnt changed anything and i got prefect murukkus, we didnt stop munching it..

Raw Rice - 4 cups
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Water - app 1/2 cup or more

For Seasoning:
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds- 1 tsp
Asafetida/ Hing - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Butter - 75 gms

Wash and drain the rice. Shade dry the Rice for 1/2 hr. Dry roast the Urad dal to light brown. Allow it to cool.First grind rice into a fine flour, keep it aside. then grind the urad dal to fine powder.

In a wide vessel, take both the flours along with salt. Mix well. Add cumin, sesame seeds to the flour,mix well..Mix in the hing to the flour and finally add the butter. Gather everything well and you will get more of a crumbling mixture. Now slowly add water and knead a dough which is little more softer than the puri dough.

Heat a kadai with oil enough to deep fry. Once the oil is hot enough, simmer to low flame.

Take the Muruku Aachu, wash and wipe it clean. Then divide the dough into equal balls. Fill the Muruku maker with the dough. You can either press it directly over the flames or press over a paper and gently slide it down the hot oil.Cook over medium flame, using a slotted spoon, turn it over to other side to ensure both sides turn golden colour.

Remove to a kitchen paper and store it in a air tight container.

Dry Green Peas Masala Vadai & Black Channa Sundal

Sunday, we celebrated the Saraswathi pooja with few delicious dishes, i have already posted Tender Coconut Kheer and am posting dry green peas masala vadai and black channa sundal i prepared for this occasion..Fortunately, i get broken dry green peas in local supermarket as french people prepare peas soup by using this broken dry green peas, i usually use this broken green peas for making out samosas etc but very rarely vadais since u can guess that the greenish colour of this vadais, anyhow this dry green peas masala vadais tastes fabulous as i used to add cloves and cinnamon stick while grinding the vada batter..Quiet a different also colourful delicious masala vadais which definitely replace very well the channadal vadais we used to do for...And my next post is black channa sundal, which i prepared also to celebrate Saraswathi Pooja simply with grated coconut..We have a heavy lunch and went to watch out Kamal's Movie at theatre...Had a beautiful sunday...

Dry Green Peas Masala Vadai:
1cup Dry Greenpeas (soaked overnite)
1no Onion (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
1/2tsp Fennel seed powder
1tbsp Ginger (chopped)
2nos Cloves
1no Cinnamon stick (small)
3nos Curry leaves
Salt
Oil for deepfrying

Grind the soaked dry green peas with cloves, cinnamon stick as coarse paste..add the chopped onions, chopped green chillies, fennel seed powder, chopped ginger, curryleaves, salt and mix everything well..heat the oil for deepfrying, take a small golf ball size vada batter and flatten them with ur palms, drop gently to the hot oil and fry until they turns golden brown and crispy, drain the excess of oil with paper towel..Serve hot with sambar or any spicy chutney..

Black Channa Sundal:
1cup Black channa (soaked overnite)
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Urad dal
2nos Dry red chillies
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
1/4cup Grated coconut
3no Curry leaves
Salt
Oil

Pressure cook the soaked black channa with enough salt and water for three hisses, drain the water and keep aside, heat few tsp of oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds, urad dal and dry red chillies and let them splutters, add the asafoetida powder and curry leaves, let it fry..add immediately the pressure cooked black channa to the pan, give a stir and finally add the grated coconut and put off the stove...

Enjoy!

Kollu/Horsegram Rasam

Kollu rasam is one of the famous dish in Kongunadu area of Tamilnadu, its not a special dish but an everyday dish at kongu people's home..They cook many dishes with kollu which is known as horsegram, these peoples makes out wonder with this healthy grain as paruppu, chutney, masiyal, thuvaiyal etc..I was very eager to prepare rasam since i was nt feeling well two days back and my sore throat killed me a lot, i thought making out rasam with kollu and pepper might help me to the enjoy the food and get better from sore throat..When i was searching through the net, most of the kollu rasam went for horsegram cooked water, i dont want to make out so..After a long search, i went through a tamil web and i found this delicious kollu rasam dish prepared with roasted kollu and spice powder, a sort of rasam powder...i immediately tried preparing as though and i got finally a delicious, spicy, tasty and thick kollu rasam we enjoyed a lot with fried papads for our lunch...

1cup Tamarind juice
4nos Garlic cloves
1no Tomatoes(small &crushed)
2tbsp Kollu /horsegram
1tsp Peppercorns
1tsp Cumin seeds
1tbsp Coriander seeds
3nos Red dry chillies
Curryleaves & chopped coriander leaves
Salt
Oil
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder

Dry roast the kollu in a pan, grind the roasted kollu, peppercorns, cumin seeds and coriander seeds as fine paste with 1/4cup water..Crush the garlic cloves and keep aside..Heat enough oil in a kadai, let splutters mustard seeds and asafoetida powder..meanwhile mix the grounded paste,crushed garlic cloves,salt,crushed tomato to the tamarind juice and add enough water...pour this to the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder and cook the rasam until the rasam starts bubbling, finally add the curryleaves and chopped coriander leaves..

Serve hot with rice..

Tender Coconut Kheer/Elaneer Payasam

Tender coconut is a wholesome and nutritious drink, prefect drink while its too hot and a thirsty quencher.The water of a tender coconut is liquid endosperm. It is a mild sweet with aerated feel when cut fresh. Depending on the size a tender coconut could contain the liquid in the range of 300 to 1,000 ml.The meat in a young coconut is softer and more gelatinous than a mature coconut, that it is sometimes known as coconut jelly. When the coconut has ripened and the outer husk has turned brown, a few months later, it will fall from the palm of its own accord. At that time the endosperm has thickened and hardened, while the coconut water has become somewhat bitter..This tender coconut kheer is such a delicious, easy and kheer tastes marvellous i prepared to celebrate today's Saraswathi Pooja, wat all u need is just heat the coconut milk and coconut water with sweetened condensed milk with tender coconut pieces with cardamom powder, thats all...i prepared this kheer just by heating coconut water, coconut milk and condensed milk in microwave oven of 5minutes...

1cup Coconut milk( i used tinned)
1cup Coconut water (i used frozen)
1/2cup Sweetened condensed milk
1/2cup Tender coconut flesh(i used frozen)
1tsp Cardamom powder
Nuts if u desire

Take a microwave safe bowl, add the coconut milk, coconut water, sweetened condensed milk and heat in microwave oven for 5 minutes medium, give a stir, add immediately chopped tender coconut flesh and cardamom powder..add nuts if u desire, i didnt add any nuts and we just loved it..

Serve warm or chilled..

Moongdal Laddoos/Pasiparuppu Laddus

Moongdal is actually a bean or pulse and is known as two varieties, one is yellow split moong and the other one is green whole moong..In Inida, moongdal are used in various preparations as dals, in gravies and with rice..moongdal are used to prepare many sweet dishes and this laddoos is one among those sweet dishes..moong lentils are very easy to digest and rich in protein, this lentils are highly praised in India coz of their health benefits, if sprouted this moong lentils suits incredibly as salad and when cooked with spices and served as dal, a real comfort food...This beans are small, ovoid in shape and green in colour,if dehusked this beans are yellow in colour..This moongdal laddoos is quite a easy and delicious as well as quick sweets suits prefectly for festive days..

1cup Yellow moong dal
1cup Sugar
1/2cup Ghee
6nos Green cardamoms
Few Cashew Nuts

Grind together the sugar and cardamoms as fine powder...meanwhile dry roast the yellow moongdal until the aroma comes out..keep aside and let it cool..

Heat few drops of ghee and roast the cashew nuts until brown, keep aside..Grind the dry roasted yellow moongdal as fine powder and add now with already powdered sugar-cardamom mixture,fried cashew nuts...Heat the ghee and add gradually to the flour-sugar mixture and turns them as round shaped balls...

Arrange them in air tightened box and enjoy!

Microwave Eggless Condensed Milk Chocolate Cake

Recently i came across a delicious condensed milk chocolate cake at Ramya's Space and i got hooked with that spongy and moist chocolate cake as its really a simple eggless cake, where she used condensed milk also the cake goes for easy and simple ingredients..i want to try this cake and i prepared it in microwave oven to give a trial also i was very curiousto know how this cake would turn out..for my surprise i got a beautiful, soft and moist cake within 15 minutes in microwave oven and i was really very happy to see the final result.....U can bake ur cakes beautifully in microwave which are always moist and light as they are cooked very quickly in microwave oven..Always line the bottom of your baking mould with a baking sheet to prevent sticking, cakes baked in microwave will be slightly different from the traditional bakes as they needs less time for baking..Try out bakes in microwave oven u will definitely find it more easier and u can bake any cakes even if you have forgotten to bake cakes for any special day within few minutes..Thanks a lot Ramya, for sharing this delicious eggless chocolate cake, we enjoyed having for our snacks and we loved it, i just whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose flour else i followed everything as Ramya's recipe went for...U can see Ramya's eggless chocolate cake with condensed milk here..

1cup Whole wheat pastry flour
1/4cup Dark chocolate powder
1tin Sweetened condensed milk
2/3cup Melted butter
150ml Water
1tbsp Vanilla essence
1tsp Baking soda
2tsp Baking powder
2tbsp Confectioner's sugar

In a bowl, sift together the flour, chocolate powder, baking soda and baking powder..in an another bowl, mix together the melted butter, condensed milk, vanilla essence and water..Add gradually the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, dont overmix but without any lumps..the batter will be watery, dont worry.. line a baking sheet in a cake mould, i used silicon cake mould which suits prefectly for both traditional oven and microwave oven..pour the batter over the lined baking sheet and bake of 15minutes in high, insert a skewer if its comes out clean, the cake is done.

Allow to cool for few minutees, remove the cake from the mould and garnish as per ur wish, i used confectioner's sugar for garnishing and enjoy the cake with hot coffee!!

Savoury Oatmeal Buns

I was planning to prepare a bread with quick cooking oats and finally i turned them as savoury buns with dry parsley leaves, pepper powder,olive oil, fried onions and salt with quick cooking oats..I prepared oat flour with quick cooking oats by grinding them and i used oat flour with a cup of whole wheat flour and half a cup of all purpose powder..This Savoury buns tastes delicious with cheese spread, lettuce leaves and tomato slices for dinner or else suits prefectly with salted butter and a cup of juice for snacks or for breakfast..I got 8buns and they vanished when its still little bit warm, we enjoyed having with cheese spread for our dinner along with tomato soup.Oat flour adds lovely flavor to breads and because of certain natural preservative in the oats themselves, it improves their shelf life. Oats contains no gluten, which is needed for bread to rise, so it must be mixed with a gluten containing flour such as wheat, thats the reason i added whole wheat flour and all purpose flour to prepare this savoury buns. If your recipe is for a quick bread, no addition of other flours is necessary.U can also prepare this oat flour by grinding even the rolled oats..When ever u prepare ur parathas, just add a ladle full of this oat flour and prepare ur parathas or rotis..While preparing this buns, i didnt sieve the oat flour i used directly the grounded flour with wheat flour and all purpose flour..Do prepare this healthy buns and let me know friends...

3cups Quick Cooking oats
1cup Whole wheat flour
1/2cup All purpose flour
2tbsp Active dry yeast
1/2tsp Sugar
1tsp Salt
1cup Luke warm water
1tsp Pepper powder
1tsp Dry parsley leaves
2tbsp Fried onions
3+1/2tbsp Olive Oil

Grind 2cups of quick cooking oats as fine powder, meanwhile add the active dry yeast in luke warm water with salt and sugar, mix it well and let them stay for 5 minutes until the yeast turns foamy..Take the grounded oat flour, quick cooking oats (leave 2tbsp aside for topping),whole wheat flour, all purpose flour,pepper powder, parsley leaves, fried onions and add gradually the foamy yeast and 3tbsp of olive oil..turn everything as soft dough, grease a bowl with olive oil, place the dough in a bowl and keep in warm place for 2 hours until the dough double the volume..

After 2 hours, punch the dough and roll 8 balls from the dough..preheat the oven at 350F..roll the balls in ur palms and give a press over the dough..roll the top of the bun over the 2tbsp of quick cooking oats and place them in a baking sheet lined over a baking tray...bake this savoury buns for 25-30minutes in medium rack until they turns golden brown..

Serve hot or warm with any cheesy spread or veggies..

Puran Poli

Puran poli, is one of the delicious, famous and traditional sweets prepared during festivals and its really very famous in South India, Maharastra and Gujarat..poli can be served as dessert during auspicious occasions..this poli ressembles very much like rotis but its different as they are usually stuffed with sweet stuffing prepared either with channadal and jaggery or else with grated coconut and sugar...I prepared channadal poornam to prepare this poli,this stuffing is made using boiled channadal cooked in jaggery and aromatic spices like cardamom or nutmeg while the dough is prepared with maida flour with little water and turmeric powder..once both the dough and the stuffing is ready, the puran poli can be rolled out..a plantain leaf or a plastic sheet is greased with oil and the dough ball is patted by hand into a circle; a small amount of stuffing is placed at the center of this dough and wrapped around, rolled carefully again as pancakes and cooked in a hot pan on both sides until they get well cooked..Polis are often served with milk which may be flavoured with almonds & pistachios while in some regions served with tamarind based tangy sauces.My mom prepare this delicious puran polis for our snacks very often..while cooking this polis, the aroma of this polis attracts me and my sister even before entering our home, this puran polis brings me loads of beautiful memories.. Kids love puran poli very much.

2cups Maida
3pinchs Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil

For Filling:
1cup Channadal
1cup Jaggery (grated)
1/2tsp Cardamom powder
Pinch of Nutmeg powder

Ghee of roasting

Sieve the flour, take it in a large bowl add oil , turmeric powder and salt, knead everything as soft dough and keep aside for an hour covered with thin wet cloth..make 10-12balls from the dough..

Cook the channadal in pressure cooker upto 2whistles...strain the water and keep aside the cooked channadal,grind as coarse paste..add the grated jaggery, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to the coarse channadal paste, cook everything for 12-15minutes stir continously..once this filling get cooled, make small balls from the filling..

Grease a plastic sheet, pat the dough ball and place a filling ball in the center of the dough ball, wrap the dough around the filling and roll it as round pancakes..drizzle few drops of ghee in a hot pan, drop gently the puran poli, cook on both sides until the puran polis get well cooked..

Enjoy!

Vazhaipoo/Banana Blossom Kootu

Banana blossom , the flower of banana is well know as vazhaipoo in tamil, this flower grows on the end of the stem holding a cluster of bananas, considered as an Asian or tropical vegetable, this banana blossom consits of tightly packed leaves or bracts that wrap around rows of thin stemmed male flowers,  the inner pale colored brats are usued for food dishes..Banana blossom can be sliced and served with rice, as gravies, as stir fries sometime as deep frying dishes..To clean this banana blossom, a particular techinic is followed since ages which goes for time consuming process but its still worth to do when its comed to the final product, buttermilk with a pinch of salt is used to soak this cleaned florets to avoid the discoloration..How to clean the banana flower, apply oil to both hand and take off the purple outer covering and remove the bunch of florets, repeat this until u reach the center of the blossom, separate each flowers from the bunch and remove the steam, chop the florets and soak them in buttermilk with salt to avoid the discoloration, now this banana blossom is ready to prepare,u can either prepare as stir fries or either pressure cook them to make out gravies etc, this banana blossom is a good alternative medicine for stomach ulcers, dysentry, menstrual disorders and painful digestion also rich in vitamin A and C...Here i prepared kootu with this healthy banana blossom and this kootu tastes too fantastic with hot steaming rice served with any sort of spicy side dish..

1no Banana flower(chopped & pressure cooked)
1cup Cooked moongdal
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomato (chopped)
1tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tsp Fennel seed powder
1tsp Coriander powder
1/4tsp Red chilly powder
 Salt
Oil
Curry leaves + Coriander leaves (chopped)

To Grind:
1/4cup Grated coconut
1tsp Cumin seeds
3nos Green chillies

Heat a tbsp of oil, let splutters the mustard seeds & cumin seeds, add immediately the chopped onion pieces and ginger garlic paste, sauté until the raw smells goes on, now add the chopped tomatoes, cooked banana blossom pieces and sauté again with turmeric powder,red chilly powder, coriander powder and fennel seed powder..cook everything in simmer until the veggies get well tossed with the spice powders, meanwhile grind all the ingredients from the list to grind as fine paste, add this paste to the cooking veggies and stir occasionally, after few minutes add the cooked moongdal to the veggies, salt and curry leaves and give a stir..add enough water if u need, cook everything in medium high flame until the veggies get well cooked..finally add the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove..

Serve hot with hot rice, idlis or rotis..

Eggless Tutty Fruity Oatmeal Breakfast Scones

My favourite grain list starts definitely with oats, but unfortunately i can get simply rolled oats and quick cooking oats very easily here, i really want to try bakes with old fashioned & steel cut oats which seems very tough for me, if anyone know where to get old fashioned and steel cut oats in Paris, pls let me know..I saw oats bran in Naturalia but yet old fashioned oats is still a hard task for me..Ok let me stop this blabbering, coming to this breakfast scones i prepared as eggless version with apple sauce but not vegan as i used butter in this scones..If u r in hurry and dont have that much time for ur morning breakfast, u will definitely love this delicious tutty fruity oatmeal breakfast scones..U can conserve this scones in room temperature in air tightened box for a week, just prepare them during ur weekend and this scones will definitely goes prefect for ur breakfast, as a simple snacks with a cup of milk for kids..Initially i want to make out simple as scones with oatmeal but finally i added quarter cup of tutty fruity to my scones, which turned this scones colourful and delicious..Am sending this eggless tutty fruity oatmeal breakfast scones goes directly to Madhuram's Whole Grain (Eggless) Baking Event-Oats..

2cups Quick cooking oats
1/2cup Whole wheat flour
1/2cup All purpose flour+1tbsp for dusting
1/2cup Tutty fruity
1tsp Baking soda
1/2tsp Baking powder
1/2cup Butter (melted)
3/4cup Sugar
1/2cup Apple sauce

Take the quick cooking oats, whole wheat flour, all purpose flour in a bowl, add the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, butter and tutty fruits chunks to the flours and mix until the flour mixture turns as bread crumbs..add gradually the apple sauce and turn everything as a dough..Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350F...Springle few flour over a baking sheet,place the dough over the flour and roll the dough as disc, add few more tutty fruity chunks over the dough..cut the dough as 8-10 triangles..Bake this scones for 20-25minutes or until its turns golden brown..

Let them cool and arrange them in a air tightened box..

Microwave Chocolate Thirati Paal

Thirati paal or thiratti pal, watever its a traditional sweet which need very long process or lot of our time to prepare and also need to stir continously,and u need to boil ur milk for a long time, this thiratti paal which means kalakand usually take more time if they are prepared in stove top and less time in microwave, this is called as a Queen of sweets, as its a royal sweet and this sweet cant ever miss for any important occasions, the most best part is that this thiratti paal can be very well prepared with fat free condensed milk in microwave while u need for whole fat milk if they are prepared in stove top..This thirati paal has an grainy appearance which melt in your mouth, its tastes similar to the palgova.... this thirati paal needs a few ingredients and can be prepared in short time, mostly less than 15minutes, and one more best part of this thiratti paal is when i served this thiratti paal, my H thought that i did chocolate palgova and i have prepared with milk stirring for hours in kitchen to prepare it..When i told him that it took just 12minutes to prepare, he was surprised and finished the bowl with more compliments..he just loved it..

1no Sweetened condensed milk tin (400gms)
1tbsp Ghee
3tbsp Curd
2tbsp Dark chocolate powder
Nuts for garnishing

Take the condensed milk, ghee, curd and dark chocolate powder in a microwave safe bowl..cook for 12minutes high in microwave oven (take in between and stir every 3 minutes), this mixture would have reached the thiratipaal consistency..Pour this mixture in a bowl , garnish with any nuts..micorwave cooking time may change depending upon ur oven..

I used fat free condensed milk and fat free curd to prepare this delectable sweet..

Moroccan Shorba & Cardamom Flavoured Lychee Shake

Shorba is a soup which tastes like minestrone, but with lots of flavour..its a tomato based soup prepared either with small pastas or with bulgur..u can also use very well the chickpeas instead of pastas or bulgur, this is one of the comfort food that is very popular duing Ramadan in the middle east..This delicious soup can be prepared with chicken chunks, lamp meat or either with beef meat,i prepared them as vegetarian version and i went for bulgur, carrot and celery stalks prepare in a soup based with tomato puree and tomato paste..U can go for any other veggies such as Zucchini, turnips, potatoes, bellpeppers to make out this soup as u desire..coming to the lychee shake, i bought a tin of lychee last week, after having them as simple salad, i tried out this shake with cardamom curiously, this shake tastes marvellous with an awesome cardamom flavour, lychee and cardamom both works out wonder, suits incredibly during hot summer when served chilled...Am sending shake to Madhuri's Serve Me Some..Juices, shakes & Smoothies..

Moroccan Shorba:
2nos Carrot (chopped)
2nos Celery Stalks (chopped)
2nos Onions (chopped finely)
4nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/4cup Bulgur
1/4cup Parsley leaves (chopped)
3nos Tomatoes (peeled and pureed)
1/2tsp Pepper powder
1/4tsp Paprika
1/4tsp Ginger powder
1/4tsp Cumin seed powder
2tbsp Tomato paste
5cups Water
Salt
Olive oil

Heat olive oil and add the chopped onions, minced garlic cloves, chopped carrots, chopped celery stalks, chopped parsley leaves and stir everything for few minutes..add the 5cups of water and add the pureed tomatoes and tomato paste, paprika, pepper powder, cumin seed powder, ginger powder and salt, cook everything in medium flame until the veggies get cooked...finally add the bulgur, cook in simmer until they get cooked and soup turns thick..If ur bulgur grains are big, grind coarsely and add them to the soup..

Serve hot!

Cardamom Flavoured Lychee Shake:
1cup Lychee (fresh or tinned)
2cups Cold milk
Sugar as per need
1tsp Cardamom powder
Ice cubes

Blend the lychees, cold milk, cardamom powder and sugar together as shake, i didnt strain this shake..u can strain the shake and serve with ice cubes..

Enjoy!

Microwave Chocolate Coconut Fudge

After few fudges through microwave oven, my next trial goes to again chocolate but this time i tried adding dessicated coconut and almond powder which turned out this new combination of fudge as a delicious, tasty fudge..As my Chocolate and Coconut Laddoos was a big hit at home, i was quite sure to prepare this chocolate coconut fudge...This fudge takes very less time not more than 5minutes and quite a easy fudge to prepare...Everybody at home loved this fudge, vanished within few minutes...Coconut and chocolate both together tastes marvellous again with almond powder which i used in this fudge, its surely a keeper to try again with various version and this fudge is a real feast for chocolate lovers, kids will definitely love this dessert and suits excellent for evening snacks..U can choose any sort of nuts to make out this fudge more rich and delicious, just play with ur creative idea to make out this sort of fudge even with white chocolates and nuts and y not with milk chocolates..This fudge also suits even if you have sudden guests and the most important thing is this fudge needs just 5 minutes if u prepare them in microwave oven, very easy na!

1/2cup Sweetened condensed milk
1cup Dark chocolate (chopped)
2tbsp Almond powder
2tbsp Butter
1/4cup Dessicated coconut
1/4tsp Vanilla essence
1/4tspSalt
Almond flakes (for garnishing)
Dessicated coconut flakes (for garnishing)

Take the condensed milk and butter in a large microwave bowl, cook in high for 1minute, mix both and add the chopped chocolate pieces,almond powder,dessicated coconut, salt and vanilla essence, mix everything with a spatula and cook in high temperature for 2 minutes, take the bowl out from the oven mix everything and keep again for a minute, meanwhile line a baking sheet r aluminim foil in a plate r baking pan.. pour the fudge over the pan or plate, springle the almond flakes and dessicated coconut flakes over the fudge and keep in fridge, let it set for half an hour..

Serve!

Moroccan Vegetarian Couscous, Moroccan Sweet Carrot Salad & Moroccan Almond Milk - Well Balanced Meals

Moroccan cuisine is a very diverse cuisine, with many influences due to the various interaction of Morocco with the world for centuries..The cuisine of Morocco is a mix of Arab, Berber,Middle Eastern Mediterranean and African influences..The most famous Moroccan dishes are couscous, tajine and harira..I learned couscous through my moroccan friend, usually i prepare with chickens or mutton but this time i prepared this couscous as vegetarian version with vegetables.It can also be eaten alone, flavoured or plain, warm or cold, as a dessert or a side dish.The couscous granules are made from semolina (coarsely ground durum wheat) or in some regions, from coarsely ground barley or pearl millet.The semolina is sprinkled with water and rolled with the hands to form pellets, sprinkled with dry flour to keep them separate, and then sieved. The pellets which are too small to be finished granules of couscous fall through the sieve to be again sprinkled with dry semolina and rolled into pellets. This process continues until all the semolina has been formed into tiny granules of couscous. Sometimes salt is added to the semolina and water.Moroccan peoples uses their traditional vessel called couscousier to prepare this dish, which helps to steam cook the couscous grains at the same time to prepare the stew..

Coming to the sweet carrot salad and almond milk, its needs hardly few minutes to prepare, wat all u need is to grate the carrot and serve with honey, lemon juice and orange juice with cinnamon powder, some moroccan peoples also add dry fruits or nuts to add more richness to this salad, while the almond milk is prepared with blanched almonds blend with milk,honey and orange blossom water..Orange blossom water plays an important role in most of moroccan juices and fruits salad..Am sending all these three entries to Yasmeen's Well Balanced 3 Course Meals, Lubna's Joy From Fasting To Feasting and finally to AWED-Morocco guest hosted by Pavani, event started by DK..

Moroccan Vegetarian Couscous:
2cups Couscous
2nos Onions (chopped)
3nos Carrots
2nos Zucchini
3nos Turnips
2nos Celery Stalks
1no Green bellpepper
1no Red bellpepper
1no Potato
1tbsp Garlic (minced)
1cup Cooked chickpeas or canned chickpeas
1/2cup Parsley leaves (chopped)
1/2cup Coriander leaves (chopped)
1/2tsp Cumin seed powder
1/2tsp Paprika powder
2tbsp Tomato paste
1cup Fresh Tomato puree
2cups Vegetable broth water
2cups Water
3tbsp Olive oil
Salt
Pepper powder

Slice all the vegetables as large pieces..heat the olive oil in a large cooking pan, put the onions and stir the onions for a couple of minutes, add the minced garlic,parsley and coriander leaves...stir for a minute, add the paprika powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper powder..now add all the chopped vegetables except the bellpepper pieces to the pan and saute everything for a while.. add the vegetable broth, tomato puree, tomato paste and cook everything until the vegetables are half cooked, now add the bellpepper pieces and cooked chickpeas to the stew and cook until all the vegetables get cooked..u can easily poke them with a fork..

To make couscous:

Add a cup of water and bring boil with olive oil and salt..add the couscous grains to the water, give a stir and put off the stove..keep aside until the couscous grains absorb the water completely..

Serve the couscous, add the sauce then add the vegetables on the top of the couscous..enjoy!!

Moroccan Sweet Carrot Salad:
2cups Grated carrots
1/4cup Honey
2tbsp Orange juice
Few raisins
1/2tsp Cinnamon powder

Make a sauce with honey, orange juice, lemon juice and cinnamon powder...add this sauce to grated carrots and give a stir, serve as salad..

Moroccan Almond Milk:
20nos Blanched almonds
2cups Cold milk
1tbsp Orange blossom water
Honey as per ur need

Soak the almonds in hot water for half an hour..Blend the soaked almonds with cold milk, orange blossom water and honey as per need..

Serve chilled..Am sending this almond milk to Sireesha's Soups N Juice Event..

Channadal Flour (Gram Flour) Kheer

Our festival days cant go for an end without kheers, in case if u dont have any ingredients for making kheers..u can try out this gram flour kheer which tastes like mysore pak kheer,i just loved it...The only thing u have to be careful with this kheer is to stir it continously to omit the lumps, as gram flour tends to turn very thick when they are cooked in milk...Simple ingredients which takes hardly few minutes to prepare this kheer and u will definitely love this kheer, as they tastes excellent and also very different kheer from other kheers we used to prepare often..This delicious, rich and tasty kheer goes to EC's WYF-Festive Treat & Shanthi's Dusshera, Dhanteras & Deepavali and finally to Sara's Sweets & Savouries Event....

1/2cup Gram flour
1tsp Cardamom powder
1+1/2cups Milk
1/2cup Sweetned Condensed milk
1cup Water
1tsp Ghee
Nuts
Few Saffron strands

Heat the ghee and add the gram flour, roast until a nice aroma comes out...Cool aside and mix with water without any lumps..Now bring boil the milk, condensed milk, saffron strands and this gramflour paste, keep stirring until this mixture gets slightly thickens, finally add the cardamom powder and add the nuts as per ur need...if u find ur kheer a bit thick add few milk...

Serve warm or cold!

Sprouted Methi Seeds Kuzhambu

Methi, the greens and the seeds are my all time favourite, sprouted methi seeds tastes slightly sweet and less bitter when compared with methi greens, its has many medicial values and its recommended to have a couple of teaspoons of sprouted methi with their morning cup of tea or coffee..Fenugreek seeds which is well known as methi ,vendhayam is one the ancient spice which are small,hard, yellowish brown and oblong shaped spice..Pregnant women should be cautious in using methi because of its uterine properties, its relaxes the uterins and generally given to women after childbirth to expedite healing, its also helps to stimulate milk production for feeding moms.

Fenugreeks seeds can be sun dried, powdered and stored, u can use fenugreek seed paste as face pack also which helps to torn the skin and cure acne..Medical research show that fenugreek seeds can lowers blood cholesterol and blood sugar leves, also used as herbal infusion to break up respiratory congestion..This kuzhambu is one of my grandma's special, my mom used to add more garlic cloves and i used to coconut milk to make this kuzhambu more tasty.

1/2cup Sprouted methi seeds
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomato(big)
1cup Tamarind extract
1/2tsp Red chilly powder
1/4tsp Pepper powder
1tsp Coriander powder
Curry leaves
1/4cup Coconut paste
Salt
1/4cup Gingelly oil
1/2tsp Mustard seeds+urad dal

Heat the gingelly oil and add immediately mustard seeds and urad dal, let them splutters, add the onion pieces, chopped tomatoes,curry leaves and saute everything until the onions turns transculent.

Now add the sprouted methi seeds and cook everything for a while..meanwhile add the red chilly powder,pepper powder, coriander powder, coconut paste, salt to the tamarind extract, give a stir and add to the cooking veggies..

Cook this gravy in medium high flame with lid closed, give a stir in between..put off the stove once the oil get separates from the gravy..

This gravy tastes divine with papads and hot steaming rice!

Microwave Egg Pulao

Egg pulao or else egg rice whatever, i just love this simple rice prepared within few minutes in microwave oven and i can definitely say that you wont have any regret to try of this easy egg pulao..To give more colour to this egg pulao u can also add veggies of your choice, i didnt add any veggies except onions with spice powders like pepper powder, garam masala powder which turns this delicious pulao very much rich and a prefect lunch dish...I cooked basmati rice in microwave oven in high for 20 minutes and finally i ended with an awesome rice grains well cooked and separated...U can prepare this egg pulao when u have sudden guests too..This simple egg pulao can be served with simple onion raita or else with simple papads or chips...We enjoyed this egg pulao for our lunch, we just loved it...Obviously am sending this egg pulao to Srivalli's MEC (Microwave Easy Cooking)-Any dishes..

2cups Cooked Basmati rice
3nos Eggs
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
1no Onion (chopped finely)
1tsp Ginger-garlic paste
2nos Green chillies (slit opened)
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1tsp Garam masala powder
1/2tsp Pepper powder
Salt
2tsp Oil

I cooked basmati rice a day before in microwave oven for about 20minutes with few drops of oil...u can also prepare rice just half an hour u prepare the pulao and let them cool completely...Heat oil in a microwave safe bowl, add the cumin seeds and cook for 2minutes in high, add immediately the chopped onion pueces, ginger garlic paste, slit opened green chillies and cook everything in high for 12 minutes (stir in between)until the onions get cooked well and raw smells goes away...beat the eggs with salt and turmeric powder and cook in a flat plate as omelette in microwave oven for 5 minutes in medium...let the omelette get cool and slice it as small pieces and keep aside..

Now add this egg pieces to the already cooked veggies with pepper powder and garam masala powder, also add salt if needed and cook for 5 minutes, finally add the cooked basmati rice and toss gently until everything get well mixed..garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves..

Serve hot with any raitas!

Thenkuzhal Murukku

Murukku known as chakli is a savoury snacks popular in India, Srilanka and among ethnic indian populations...where ever the indians go this savoury snacks goes with them and now u can get this savoury snacks in Indian stores anywhere in the world..Murukku is believed to have its origin from Tamilnadu especially from the town called Manapparai,  from were murukku are best known for it...Murukku can also be rolled into ribbons, shaped by hands or either prepared by special utensils called murukku presser or murukku achu..Murukku is typically made from a mixture of urad flour and rice flour with chilli powder, asafoetida,ajwain,sesame seeds or cumins seeds.

Many peoples also go for chickpeas flour,roasted chickpeas flour, sometimes to greengram flour...This thenkuzhal murukku i prepared goes for rice flour, roasted urad dal flour, gram flour with sesame seeds, cumin seeds,butter and asafoetida powder, u can very well prepare this thenkuzhal just with rice flour and urad dal flour but the murukku u will get at the end, looks really white and i always prefers murukku as golden brown..So i have added a cup of gram flour to give more taste and colour.

2cups Rice flour
1/4cup Roasted urad dal powder
1/4cup Gram flour
1/2tsp Asafoetida powder
1tbsp Butter
1tsp Sesame seeds
2tsp Cumin seeds
Salt
1cup Water
Oil for deepfrying

If u dont have roasted urad dal, dry roast urad dal in a kadai until they turns slightly golden, grind it as fine powder.

Take rice flour, urad dal,gram flour,salt, butter, asafoetida powder, cumin seeds, sesame seeds in a large bowl and knead well to form a smooth dough with water.

Meanwhile heat the oil for deepfrying..Use the murukku press with round nozzle.

Take take a small portion from dough n squeeze out over a greased plate in circular shape...drop the murukku in the medium hot oil n fry on both sides until they turns brownor else the oil stops bubbling...drain the excess of oil with paper towel..

Arrange these delicious crispy murukkus in air tightened box.

White Radish Omelette

Omelette with white radish?? Yeah!! i have tried out today for our lunch, a simple omelette with sauteed radish pieces..today i bought a fresh white radish from chinese stores, i really thought of preparing radish raita as this white radish was that much fresh and crunchy when i chopped..but i was really curious to try out as omelette..Without any idea i started preparing omlette, instead of grating white radish, i chopped them as fine pieces and sauteed with onions, chopped green chillies, pepper powder...For my surprise, this radish omelette tastes as mush as onion omelette and suits as excellent side dish for sambar rice..I just loved it...Yummy, delicious and quite a different omelette with white radish chunks...Am sending this white radish omelette to Divya's Show me You Omelette...

1/2cup White radish pieces (chopped finely)
1no Onion (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (chopped)
2nos Eggs
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/4tsp Pepper powder
Salt
Curry leaves
Oil

Heat a few drops of oil and sauté the chopped onions,chopped green chillies,curry leaves and finely chopped white radish pieces until they get half cooked..meanwhile whisk together the eggs, turmeric powder, pepper powder and salt..add the already half cooked veggies to the whisked egg and give a stir..

Heat half a teaspoon of oil, pour a ladle full of this radish-egg mixture, cook on both sides until the omelette turns golden brown..

Serve hot!

Harira - Traditional Moroccan Soup

Harira - A Traditional Moroccan Soup served usually during the month of Ramadan to break the fasting day and its considered as a meal itself..This soup also been served while grand ceremonies like marriage, it can be prepared anytime but some moroccan peoples sticks to the tradition and serve it on special occasions...Usually this harira will be prepared either with beef, mutton or with chicken chunks,this famous traditional moroccan soup can also prepared without meat..My version of Harira is without meat and this delicious soup tastes marvellous, really nutrtious, fulfilling and suits prefect for dinner..This flavourful soups goes for veggies, chickpeas, lentils, rice or any sort of pastas with some spices which enhance the flavour of this yummy and really filling soup..I choosed small pastas to prepare this soup while some goes for vermicellis or either with rice.

Cooking time goes for more than an hour, the aroma and the taste of this soup make you crave for more... am damn sure that this moroccan soup will take a better place in your menu if you try once.This harira is quite simple to prepare if u want more for veggies u can either go for turnips, bellpeppers, zucchini chunks, or u can add more spices like saffran,harissa (red chillies paste)..U can either increase the veggies, spices, nuts or dry fruits as per need to give more richness to this delicious soup, mine is a simple and very common way of preparing this traditional moroccan soup...

2nos Tomatoes (big) - peeled and pureed
1no Onion(chopped)
1/3cup Coriander leaves (chopped)
1/3cup Parsley(chopped)
1no Celery stick(chopped)
2tbsp Tomato paste
2tbsp Butter/Olive oil
Salt
1/2tsp Pepper powder
1tsp Ginger powder
1 can Chickpeas (or 1 cup of dry chickpeas soaked in water over night)
1/2cup Lentils (soaked in water for 1 hour)
1/3cup Vermicelli /Rice /Pasta
1/3cup Flour
2 liters Water

Add the tomato puree, onion, cilantro, parsley, celery, butter, salt, pepper, ginger powder, lentils, and water in your cooking pan. Cover the cooking pan and let all the ingredients cook for 45 minutes on medium heat. Stir them occasionally.

If you are using dry chickpeas, add them to the other ingredients else if you are using canned chickpeas,keep aside coz we need to add them towards the end..After 45 minutes, add the canned chickpeas and the tomato paste.

Make a thin paste with the flour and some water and slowly pour the flour mixture to the harira while stirring. Add the pasta or vermicelli. Cover and let the harira cook for another 10 minutes.

You can serve the harira with dates.

Chocolate N Coconut Laddoos

If you have sudden guest and u are really blinking wat to prepare as dessert, you will definitely love this easy, simple and delicious chocolate and coconut laddoos..I prepared already coconut laddoos with sweet condensed milk and dessicated coconut, u can see this recipe here..I prepare often these coconut laddoos whenever i dont have mood to prepare sweets or desserts after a delicious lunch..My pantry always have condensed milk, dessicated coconuts and this coconut laddoos takes hardly half an hour to prepare, this time i have added few chocolate chips and prepare the coconut laddoos..This chocolate and coconut laddoos vanished within few minutes, we enjoyed having warm chocolate and coconut laddoos, i have prepared already twice..Needless to say these laddoos vanished very quickly once i prepared, this laddoos can suits incredibly as festive sweets also.

1cup Sweetened condensed milk

1/2cup Water
2cups Dessicated coconut +1/4cup dessicated coconut for rolling
1/2cup Chocolate chips or grated chocolate pieces
2tsp Ghee
1tbsp Cardamom powder

Melt the chocolate chips in microwave oven safe bowl for 2 minutes in high..meanwhile heat the condensed milk and water in a heavy bottom pan..now add the melted chocolate, dessicated coconut, cardamom powder and ghee to the sweetened condensed milk..stir continously until this mixture turns as a dough and get off from the bottom of the vessel..

Take a small quantity of the dough n make them as small balls, roll them in dessicated coconut..store them in a air tightened box..can keep them in room temperature for 2 to 3 days...

Enjoy!

Arisi Paruppu Sadham(Dal rice)-Authentic Kongu Dish

Arisi Paruppu Sadham or Arisim Paruppu Saatham, a traditional and an authentic kongunadu rice dish, if u have visited kongu people's home, the first and the main rice dish they used to serve to their guest will goes directly to this arisi paruppu sadham, its such a famous kongu dish everyone at kongu nadu prepare this rice according to their taste with many variations, some will go for simple dish with veggies and dal cooked with rice, while others prepare a simple masala with spices, tomates and grated coconut and cook everything with rice and dal in pressure cooker, after a long and few search to try out this famous dal rice through net i finally finished this rice dish in pressure cooker without veggies but with a simple spice masala and cooked everything together in pressure cooker, for my taste this arisi paruppu sadham tastes like dal briyani since the spice masala i used to make this delicious rice was quite as same i used sometimes to prepare for making some briyani or pulao dishes...Arisi paruppu sadham tastes simply delicious with papads, chips or fryums and its a quick, nutritious and a complete lunch also a real comfort food, suits incredibly for lunch box menu..We just loved this healthy dal rice with spicy potato roast and onion raita..

1+1/2cups Basmati rice or any other rice
1/2cup Toor dhal or moong dal
1no Onion (chopped)
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
5nos Garlic cloves (minced)
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
Salt
Oil

To Grind:
3nos Dry red chillies
1no Tomato chopped (big)
1nos CInnamon stick
2nos Cloves
1/4cup Grated coconut
5nos Curry leaves
1tsp Coriander seeds

Grind everything as bit coarse paste from the list 'To Grind'..Take a pressure cooker, add enough oil and let splutters the mustard seeds, add the chopped onions and minced garlic cloves and saute everything until the onions turns transculent..Meanwhile wash thoroughly the dal and rice together and keep aside...Add the grounded paste,turmeric powder to the cooking onions and sauté until the raw smells goes away, now add the dal and rice, stir for few seconds,finally add 4cups of water(if u want the rice mushy, u can add one more cup of water) and salt..Close the cooker and cook upto two whistles...

Serve hot with papads, fryums or potato chips..

Cornflakes & Banana Milkshake N Fresh Pineapple Juice

I was planning to prepare cookies with some left over cornflakes and finally finished as milkshake with bananas, initially i was really scared to prepare this milkshake,but i definitely say that i was wrong..this milkshake tastes tremendous and delicious..Its was a complete, healthy, easy and simple breakfast and suits prefect for a lazy sunday morning breakfast..We just love it, but only thing its better to have immediately preparing this cornflakes and banana milkshake..We have loads of packed juices here, but nothing will beat fresh juices..my favourite choice always goes to fresh pineapple juice, i prepared few days back with fresh pineapple chunks and honey..Delicious refreshing juice yet a simple juice..Voila! am sending the cornflakes a banana shake to Madhuri's Serve me some..Juices, shakes & smoothies..

Cornflakes&Banana Milkshake:
1cup Cornflakes
1no Banana(big)
2cups Cold Milk
Maple syrup or Sugar as needed

Blend together banana, sugar or maple sryup and cold milk...While serving add the cornflakes as per ur need to the blended shake and blend again..Serve immediately with ice cubes..I used few pistachios pieces while serving...

Fresh Pineapple Juice:
1cup Pineapple chunks
2cups Cold water
Honey as per need

Blend pineapple chunks, cold water and honey as per need as juice, strain the juice and serve with ice cubes..

Beet Rasam & Chanadal and Bulgur Sundal - T& T from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking

I crossed this beet rasam before month in Madhuram's Eggless Cooking and immediately i bookmarked it..Today i bought few fresh beets and i prepared immediately this beet rasam with beets cooked water...I thought earlier to prepare beets rasam by pressure cooking beets and preparing rasam with spice powders and grounded pressure cooked beets paste...But i loved the simplicity of Madhu's Beet rasam which hardly need few ingredients to prepare this delicious and tastiest colourful rasam...I used moongdal water instead of toor dal, else i prepared exactly as same as the recipe goes for..And my next choice goes to chanadal and bulgur sundal, wat a healthy and nutritious sundal which i never ever thought until i crossed this healthy snacks again in Madhu's blog..I usually prepare channadal sundal whenever i dont have any dried beans at home, as its really very easy and simple to prepare, but when i crossed this chanadal and bulgur sundal i was surprised and very much interested to try out this particular sundal..Today i prepared Arisiparuppu sadham, beets rasam, chanadal and bulgur sundal with radish poriyal for our lunch..We just enjoyed everything and my H was particularly surprised when he saw the channadal and bulgur sundal, while serving i told about Madhu's blog and served it for our lunch..He just loved it..Thanks Madhu for sharing this delicious sundal and colourful rasam, obviously this both dishes goes to T&T-Madhuram's Eggless Cooking guest hosted by Poornima of Tasty Treats, event started by Zlamushka...

Beet Rasam: U can find the original recipes here
2cups Beets cooked water
1/4cup Moongdal water
1no Tomatoes (big)(crushed)
1/4tsp Turmeric powder
1/2tbsp Ghee
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/2tsp Cumin seeds
2nos Garlic cloves
2nos Dry red chillies
1tbsp Coriander leaves

Combine together the beets cooked water, crushed tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder and let it boil..meanwhile in a small frying pan, heat the ghee and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, let them splutters..add the red chillies and garlic cloves and sauté..

Add the moongdal water and tempered spices to the boiling beets water, keep in simmer and boil for few seconds..Add the chopped coriander leaves and put off the stove...

Chanadal and Bulgur Sundal: U can find the original recipe here
1/2cup Chanadal
3/4cup Bulgur
1tsp Grated ginger
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
1/4tsp Asafoetida powder
1nos Green chillies(slit opened)
1/4cup Grated Coconut
Few Curry leaves
Salt
1tsp Oil

Soak bulgur with half cup of boiling water and a pinch of salt,keep aside until the bulgur absorb the water..bulgur is ready..Pressure cook the washed chanadal, salt and grated ginger for a whistle and put off the stove..Once the bulgur and pressure cooked chanadal ready, heat the oil in a kadai and add the mustard seeds, asafoetida powder,curry leaves and slit opened green chillies, let them splutters..add immediately the channadal and fry for a minute, add immediately the bulgur and toss gently and keep in simmer for another few seconds, finally add the grated coconut ,stir and put off the stove..

Enjoy!

Kiwi N Coconut Milk Pannacotta

Needless to say that pannacotta is a creamy, delicious and simple Italian custard prepared usually by simmering milk, cream and sugar..After trying out pannacotta with strawberries and apricots, this time i went for coconut milk simmered with low fat cream, dessicated coconut ,with kiwi chunks and agar agar powder..Kiwi fruits are rich in vitamin C when compared to orange,also they are rich in potassium and low in sodium...Kiwi fruits got their name from a bird that is native to New Zealand. This fruit consists of a hairy, brown peel containing green flesh, with white pulp in the center, surrounded by black, edible seeds. There are approximately ten varieties of kiwi fruits,the common varieties that you can find in the market are generally the large, egg-sized, sweet, green kiwi and the less common gold kiwi. The gold kiwi is smaller, sweeter and it can be identified by its bronze skin and its bright yellow fruit inside.Kiwi fruits are available on the market from April through December, but are most abundant from June to October..

Kiwi is rich in phytonutrients which prevent blood clotting and control fatty acid levels in your blood.Kiwi's black seeds can be crushed to produce kiwi fruit oil, which is very rich in Alfa-Linoleic Acid ..Kiwi offers a very good source of fiber which is why it is useful in decreasing the probability of colon cancer.Coming to the recipe, this kiwi and coconut milk pannacotta tastes delicious and incredibly flavourful coz of coconut milk and dessicated coconut flakes i used to make out the mouthwatering pannacotta..Am sending this pannacotta to AFAM-Kiwi guest hosted by PJ of Seduce ur Tastebuds, event by Maheswari..

1cup Coconut milk (fresh or tinned)
2tbsp Dessicated coconut flakes
1tbsp Agar agar powder
1/2cup Low fat cream
2nos Kiwis
1/4cup Sugar
1/4cup Water

Bring boil the water,a tablespoon of sugar and half a teaspoon of agar agar powder, meanwhile chop the kiwi fruits as small chunks..pour the water-agar agar mixture to small bowls or small ramequins,add the kiwi chunks to the bowl and keep aside..Now bring boil together the coconut milks, dessicated coconut flakes, low fat cream and remaining agar agar powder, sugar together..pour this coconut milk mixture over the kiwi-agar agar mixture and keep in fridge for an hour..

Serve chilled!!

Kamban Koozh(Pearl Millet Porridge)

Pearl millet known as Bajra, Kambu is largely grown as grains under hot, dry conditions on infertile soils where other crops generally fail...Pearl millet is a food crop in developing countries like Asia, and particularly in Africa.It is estimated that over 95% of pearl millet production is used as food, the remaining being divided between animal and poultry feed, other uses as seed, bakery products, snacks, etc.With a texture much like brown rice, pearl millet can be cooked like rice. After it has been soaked for a couple of hours, pearl millet in it’s whole grain form cooks like rice in about 20 minutes.Increasing in volume more than any other grain, a cup of dry millet expands to three cups of cooked millet which takes on the form of a fluffy, delicate flavored hot cereal you will definitely appreciate.Pearl millet is used in flat breads or mixed up to 25% with wheat flour for use in yeast breads.Dry flour when mixed with biscuit, bread and roll dough adds a crunchy texture and brings variety to the baked goods...Pearl millet grain is comparatively high in protein and has a good amino acid balance....Pearl Millet is a principal source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals for millions of the poorest people in the regions where it is cultivated.This porridge is one the traditional kongu dish where people prepare either for their breakfast as porridge and for lunch as main dish with pickles or any gravies..Its a real complete food for a long day, as pearl millets are really high in calorie as they do wonders to growing kids and pregnant ladies.Pearl millet is a gluten free grain and is the only grain that retains it’s alkaline properties after being cooked which is ideal for people with wheat allergies.This simple porridge goes to RCI-Kongunadu Cuisine guest hosted by me, event started by Lakshmi..

1cup Kambu flour/Bajra flour
3cups Water
Salt
1cup Buttermilk

Mix a cup of bajra with a cup of water as smooth paste, allow to ferment overnight..Next day, bring boil two cups of water with enough salt and once it starts boiling, add the bajra paste and keep stirring continously on medium heat for 15 minutes, wet you finger and dip ur finger in the porridge, if the porridge sticks to your finger, its not yet cooked..

Let cool the cooked bajra porridge..mix in a cup of buttermilk and serve with onions, pickles or thick coconut chutney..

Pineapple N Microwave Chocolate Sauce Skewers

Pineapple is one of the fruits which tastes delicious to eat. A good, juicy ripe pineapple can satisfy a sweet craving tooth.. In addition to being a delicious food, there are many health benefits of pineapple.he obvious benefits of pineapple are all the vitamins and minerals the fruit is loaded with. Its nutrients include calcium, potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. In addition it is low in fat and cholesterol.The benefits of pineapple can be achieved through eating fresh, canned, or frozen pineapple or by drinking as juice.

One of the benefits of pineapple is that it helps to build healthy bones. Pineapples are rich in manganese, an important mineral which is needed for your body to build bones and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can effect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people. Pineapple is Good for Colds and Coughs...While many people often take extra vitamin C or drink extra orange juice when they have a cold, few consider eating pineapple. The benefits of pineapple when you have a cold or cough are the same as the benefits of orange juice, but there is an additional benefit of pineapple. Bromelain, which is found in pineapples, has been found to help suppress coughs and loosen mucus.I have combined both pineapple chunks and a delicious chocolate sauce prepared with low fat cream and dark chocolate chips prepared in microwave,which tastes marvellous as desserts or simply as a evening snacks..its such a best and neat way to enjoy this sweet fruits chunks with chocolate sauce if ur kids doesnt like this healthy fruit...

1cup Pineapple chunks
1/4cup Dark chocolate chips
2tbsp Low fat cream
1tbsp Sugar
4 nos Bamboo Skewers

Take the dark chocolate chips, low fat cream and sugar in a microwave bowl and cook for 3 minutes in high, take the bowl and stir well, chocolate sauce is ready..Place the pineapple chunks on the skewers, pour gently the already prepared chocolate sauce over the pineapple chunks and immediately or else serve chilled..

Kids will definitely enjoy this delicious skewers!

Carrot Milkshake & Rosemilk With Caramel Jellies

If u are searching something really simple, delicious, healthy and refreshing drink, my choice goes immediately to rose milk, i just love rosemilks..I never put my hands to prepare homemade rose syrup, but its seems that making homemade rose syrup wasnt that much hard..Anyhow its quite enough hard to gather all the ingredients for preparing rose syrup at home and i goes always for storebought rose syrup..Storebought rose syrup are really handy and its really easy to prepare rosemilks at home very quickly with cold milk, even a 12years kid can prepare in few seconds..I prepared the rose milk with storebought syrup but to change the usual way of serving i made few caramel jellies with agar agar powder and storebought caramel sauce..Those cute heart jellies  suits marvellously while serving and everyone at home enjoyed it..Coming to carrot milkshake, i pressure cooked the carrot pieces and blended together with milk, ice cubes and maple syrup with few saffron strands..Its tastes too fabulous with a delicate saffron flavour..This both drinks goes directly to Sireesha's Soup&Juice Event and to Sanghi's FIL-Milk....

Rose Milk & Caramel Jellies:
2cups Cold Milk
1tbsp Rose syrup
Ice cubes
Sugar as per need

For Jellies:
1tbsp Agar agar powder
1/4cup Caramel sauce (storebought)
1tsp Sugar
2tbsp Water

Blend the ice cubes and cold milk together with sugar...Add the rose syrup and stir in until the syrup get well mixed...For jellies, bring boil the caramel sauce with agar agar powder ,sugar and  water..stir until the agar agar powder gets well dissolved, pour gently in any mould, i used heart shaped ice cubes mould....To make out milk-caramel jelly, just add few tablespoon of milk instead of water..Keep the mould for an hour in fridge, while serving take off the jellies and drop gently in rose milk while serving...

Carrot Milkshake:
1cup Carrot pieces
2cups Cold Milk
Maple syurp as per need
Ice cubes
Few Saffron strands

Pressure cook carrot pieces for 2 whistles..soak the saffron strands in hot water and keep aside..Once the cooked carrot pieces get cool, blend them together with cold milk, maple syrup, ice cubes and soaked saffron strands and soaked water..No need to strain..

Serve immediately!!!

Spicy Bottlegourd Chutney

Bottlegourd is one of the earliest vegetables cultivated by man, believed to be originated in Africa. Bottle gourd, not very familiar to the western world, is one of the favorite vegetables in Indian Cuisine. It grows in humid weather of India, Sri Lanka and other tropical countries. The bottle gourd is low in fat and cholesterol yet high in dietary fibre. It contains 96% water and 100gm of it contains around 12 Kcal. It is rich in iron and also has vitamins C and B complex.it is excellent for light, low-cal diets, as well as for small children, people with digestive problems, diabetics and convalescents. its high water content makes it very cooling. The cooked Bottle Gourd is cooling, calming, diuretic and easy to digest. It is also effective against constipation and other digestive disorders.Ayurveda suggests Bottle gourd juice once daily in the early morning for treating graying Hair.The Bottle Gourd juice is used in treatment of stomach acidity, indigestions and ulcers. A glass of lauki juice with a little salt added to it prevents excessive loss of sodium, quenches thirst & helps in preventing fatigue,excessive loss of sodium, satiating thirst and keeping you refreshed in summer.Here is a simple,spicy chutney with bottlegourd chunks grinded with dry red chillies, grated coconut,urad dal and tamarind, suits prefect with hot idlis,dosas,curd rice and rice porridge...

2cups Bottlegourd chunks
4nos Dry red chillies
1tbsp Urad dal
2tbsp Grated coconut
1no Tamarind (blueberry size)
Salt
1/4tsp Mustard seeds
5nos Curryleaves
Oil

Heat few drops of oil, fry the urad dal, dry red chillies until golden brown...keep aside..sauté the bottlegourd chunks in the same pan for few minutes,dry roast the grated coconut..take the cooked bottlegourd chinks, roasted coconut,tamarind,fried urad dal,salt and redchillies in a mixie and grind as fine coarse paste..Heat the remaining oil,splutters the mustard seeds,curry leaves and pour over the grounded paste and serve as side dish...

Multigrain Zucchini Rotis, Lauki N Black-eyed Peas Kurma,Nuts & Dryfruits Nectarine Salad & Chocolate,Strawberry N Banana Milkshake - Well Balanced Meals

A healthy meals is usually prepared with carbohydrates,proteins, fats, vegetables, fruits and dairy products...Carbohydrates or grain group goes for wheat, rice, oats, barely and many other cereals, while the proteins goes for dry beans, nuts, meat, fish, poultry, eggs and many other peas..Fats goes for vegetable oils, and finally the dairy products goes for milk, yogurt etc..Vegetables and fruits are well recommended for 5 times in our daily menu..When you are pregnant or a feeding mom, you must have a higher need for some vitamins and minerals which are really very much available in cereals,in many vegetables, greens and fruits..Good nutrition before you are pregnant will mean a healthier you and baby. If you are already eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet , few changes will be necessary during pregnancy.At least four servings of fruits and vegetables, this is important for making sure you consume enough vitamins and minerals through food,At least four servings of whole-grain or enriched bread and cereal to ensure you have enough energy during your pregnancy.At least four or more serving of milk and dairy products (not including butter or margarine) for the calcium you need during pregnancy.Pregnant ladies also need to consume at least three servings of meat, fish, poultry, chicken, eggs, nuts, dried beans, or peas to ensure an adequate level of protein in their diet..Even for kids its well recommended to give vegetables for their lunch and fruits for their snacks everyday..

Many of our daily menus have been changed quite a long as i really want to cook healthy, most of my bakes goes immediately to whole wheat flour or oatmeal instead of all purpose flours, thats the first attempt i tried to change my way of baking now my family members can have easily any bakes with oats or with wheat flour which was very much impossible few months back..Yea nowadays we are having rice dishes quite rarely and our daily menus goes sometimes to simple salads, soups, rotis, simple vegetables sandwiches, even some of our desserts goes to healthy version like adding oats, maple syrup or honey instead of sugar, adding nuts and dry fruits... i can see so many difference in our eating habits nowadays and i was happy to say its was really impossible for me before few months if i didnt crossed this blogsphere..Really i learned so many healthy versions of many our indian dishes through many of my blogger friends..Coming to my multigrain zucchini rotis, i used ragi flour, soya flour, whole wheat flour,bajra flour, quick cooking oats and grated zucchini, for the kurma i used cooked black-eyed peas and lauki simmered with spices and cooked in yogurt, poppyseeds and almond gravy, and for the salad i prepared a delicious nectarine fruit salad with dry fruits like dry apricots,raisins, dry cranberries, dates and with almond flakes served with maple syrup..finally for the milkshake, i went for frozen strawberries, chocolate powder and banana...Lovely and healthy dishes na!!

Multigrain Zucchini Rotis:
1/2cup Whole wheat flour
1/2cup Ragi flour
1/4cup Soya flour
1/4cup Bajra flour
2tbsp All purpose flour for dusting
1/4cup Grated zucchini
1/4tsp Cumin seeds
1/2cup Yogurt
Salt
1tbsp Olive oil

Take a large bowl, add all the flours, grated zucchini, cumin seeds, salt together, gradually add the yogurt and oil and knead as a soft dough(add water if needed),take care not to add more water else this multigrain flours may turn watery...make 12-15 balls from the multigrain flours dough, dust with all purpose flour and roll them as rotis..Heat a pan, springle some water and place gently the roti over the hot pan, cook the roti in simmer flame on both sides until they get well cooked..Serve hot!

Lauki N Black-eyed Peas Kurma:

1cup Cooked black-eyes peas
1cup Lauki/bottlegourd/surakaai (chopped)
1no Onion (chopped)
1no Tomatoes (chopped)
2nos Green chillies (slit opened)
2nos Bayleaves, cloves, cinnamon sticks and cardamoms
1tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1/2tsp Garam masala
1tsp Coriander powder
1/4tsp Red chilly powder
2tbsp Coriander leaves (chopped)
Salt
1tbsp Olive oil

To Grind:
1cup Yogurt
1tbsp Poppy seeds
5nos Almonds

Grind the ingredients from the list 'To Grind' as fine paste and keep aside...Heat the olive oil, put the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cloves and cardamom, fry until brown, add the chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, ginger garlic paste, slit opened green chillies and sauté until they get well cooked..add the chopped lauki and cooked black-eyed peas to the cooking veggies and stir continously until the lauki pieces get half cooked..immediately add the garam masala powder, salt, chilly powder, coriander powder and stir continously for few minutes, finally add the grounded paste,chopped coriander leaves and add enough water..cook everything for few minutes until the oil get separates..Serve hot

Nuts & Dry fruits Nectarine Salad:

1cup Nectarine chunks
2tbsp Almond flakes
1tbsp Dry apricots (chopped)
1tbsp Raisins
1tbsp Dry cranberries
2tbsp Dates (chopped)
1tbsp Maple syrup

Take the nectarine chunks, almond flakes, chopped dry apricots, raisins, dry cranberries, chopped dates in a bowl, add the maple syrup and toss gently..Serve as fruit salad..

Chocolate, Strawberry & Banana Milkshake:

1cup Frozen strawberries
1no Banana (chopped)
1tbsp Chocolate powder
1cup Milk
1/4cup Fresh cream (low fat)
Icecubes
1tsp Honey

Blend together frozen strawberries, chopped banana,chocolate powder, milk, low fat cream and honey..serve with ice cubes.