Chocolate Pudding (Eggless)

Ingredients

1. Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
2.Milk - 1/2 litre (3 cups)
3.Vanilla Essence - 1/2 tsp
4.Salt - a pinch
5.Sugar - 1/2 cup (or as per your taste)
6.Corn Flour - 3 tbsp
7.Butter -1tbsp

Method  

1. Boil 2 1/2  cups milk  in a thick bottomed saucepan. In the mean while, whisk together corn flour, cocoa, sugar and salt and stir the mix into 1/2 cup milk at room temperature making sure to avoid dry lumps from forming. 

2.When the milk comes to a boil, reduce heat and stir in the cocoa milk. Let simmer stirring continuously until thick and creamy for about 10-12 mins. . Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract and butter until butter melts and blends in.

3.Pour into individual serving dishes or bowls of your fancy. L et it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or store up to 2 days. Serve cold .

Butter Cookies

Ingredients

Maida/Flour - 1 1/2 cup
Cooking soda - 1/4 tsp
Powdered Sugar - 1/2 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup
Milk-1/4 cup
Vanilla extract-1 drop

Method:

1.Preheat the Oven at 180C

2.Blend sugar , Ghee and milk nicely.

3.Sift the flour with the cooking soda. Add this to the sugar-ghee-milk mixture.

4.Finally add the vanilla extract and mix it nicely.

5.Make a dough and divide into small balls.

6.Shape it into small balls of the required size and flatten it between the two palms.

7.Keep the balls onto a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 180 C.

8.Allow to cool and store in airtight containers.

Courtesy:Divya's Cooking

Fish Pickle!

Ingredients:-

Tuna Fish diced – 2 kg
Thinly sliced Ginger – 3/4 cup
Thinly sliced Garlic – 1 cup
Green Chillies Slices – 10
Pearl onion(Shallots)-1 cup
Kashmiri Red Chilly Powder – 4 Tbs
Vinegar – 1 cup
Water-1 cup
Curry leaves - 4 stems
Fenugreek powder-1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds – 2 tsp
Salt – to taste
Oil – as needed

Marination

Turmeric Powder – 1/2 tsp
Red Chilly powder -1 tbs
Pepper powder-1 tbs
Ginger-Garlic paste-1 tbs(optional)
Salt – 1 tsp

Method:-

Clean and cut fish into small cubes.Marinate it with turmeric powder,red chilly powder ,Pepper powder and salt . . Keep it in a refrigerator for half an hour or more.Then shallow fry the fish pieces.

Heat oil in another pan,pop mustard seeds,add curry leaves and fry for a while.Now add ginger,garlic ,pearl onion and green chillies into it.Saute it for 5 mts in medium heat.Now add red chilly powder and let its raw is gone..Then add the vinegar and water ..let it boil.Put the fried fish pieces into the gravy and turn off the stove.Finally add the fenugreek Powder...Fish Pickle is ready.

Keep it in an air tight Container.

kadamutta masala ( quail egg masala)

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer/tofu - 2 cups of small cubes
Onion - 1 medium-sized one, chopped fine
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
Methi leaves - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup
Cream - 1 cup
Oil - 2 tbsp
Butter or ghee-2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat 2tbsp of butter or ghee in a pan and fry the paneer/tofu cubes until golden brown. Drain and set aside.
2. In the same pan, add 1 more tbsp oil and fry the onions until golden brown.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for a minute.
4. Next, add the corriander powder, garam masala, chilly powder and some salt. Fry for few minutes.
5. To this, add the tomato ketchup and methi. Mix well and add the milk.
6. Lower fire and cook covered for 5 mins.
7. Open lid, add the fried paneer/tofu and the cream. Mix well and simmer for 3-4 mins.
8. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves .
Serve warm with Chappatis or pulav.

Tip : If paneer is fresh one no need to fry it...otherwise better fry it with little butter or ghee.

Rava ladoo...

Ingredients:
1 cup fine wheat sooji/rava
1 cup sugar
2-3 cloves
1 tea spn raisins
1/2 tea spn cardamom powder
1/2 cup water
1-2 tbl spn Ghee

Method:

Slightly crush cloves and keep aside.
Heat ghee and add cloves, raisins. The cloves and raisins slightly puff up in hot ghee. Add sooji and fry on medium heat mixing continuously till a nice aroma comes out of it. Take out the sooji in a plate. In the same pan, add water, sugar and heat. . Boil it for few minutes. Switch off the heat and add sooji and mix well. Add cardamom powder and mix well. At this stage, the mixture becomes too watery which is perfectly fine. It gets dry as time passes. Close the lid of the pan and let it sit for about 15-20mins. Once almost dried and can be handled, apply some ghee to hands and make ladoos.

You can use milk in place of water.

Mani Kozhukatta

Steam kozhukatta the usual way. Make sure you make small balls than the usual ones for kozhukatta.

Shallow fry the steamed kozhukatta in little coconut oil after spluttering mustard seeds with some curry leaves and dry chillies

Serve it hot with sugar or honey !!!

Potato Bonda!

Ingredients:
1.Potato-2
2.onion-1/2 (finely chopped)
3.Green chilly-2
4.Ginger-1 tbs
5.turmeric pdr-1 tsp
6.Curry leaves-1 stem
7.corriander leaves-1/4 cup(optional)
8.mustard seeds-1 tsp
9.oil
10.salt

For Batter:
1.Besan flour-1 cup
2.Baking powder-1/2 tsp
3.Chilly powder-1/2 tsp
4.Asafetida-1/4 tsp
5.Salt
6.Water

Method:
Cook and mash potato.
Heat oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds.Saute ing:2,3,4 with salt.
Add turmeric powder,curry leaves and corriander leaves.Mix it well with mashed potato.
Let it to cool and make small balls.















Make batter with ing: flour,baking powder,chilly powder,asafetida,salt and water.Keep it aside for 15 mins.














Heat oil in a pan for frying .Dip small balls into the batter and fry it.

Courtesy:Priya's Kitchen

Upma!

Sooji-1 cup
Shallots-4
Ginger-1tsp
Green chilly-2
Shredded carrot-1/2 cup
Shredded coconut-1/2 cup
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Curry leaves-1 stem
Mustard seeds to splutter
Red Chilly-1
Oil -1tbs
Salt
Water-2 cups

Method:
1.Boil Water with turmeric powder and salt
2.Heat oil a pan and add mustard seeds.When mustard seeds starts spluttering red chilly and curry leaves.
3.Saute shallots,ginger ,green chilly and carrots.
4.Add sooji into it and fry.
5.Pour boiled water little by little into it and mix it well.
6.cover it and allow it to cook for 5 minutes.
7.Add coconut and again mix it and cover it for 2 minutes.

You can have it with banana.

Vanilla Muffin!

Dry Ingredients:
1.All Purpose Flour -2 cup
2.Sugar-1 cup
3.Baking powder-2 tsp
4.Salt- 1/2 Tsp

Other Ingredients:
1.Butter-1/2 stick or 4 Tbsp
2.Vanilla Extract- 1 Tbsp
3.Milk -1 cup
4.Egg -1

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
Whisk the other ingredients in another bowl until it turns to fluffy.Then add the dry ing: into it little by little and mix it well.
Preheat oven in 400F for 10 minutes.
Pour the mix in a greased muffin tray(fill it half).
Bake it for 20 minutes.
A tasty tea time snack is ready....

tip:Butter and Egg should be in room temperature.
Courtesy:kaipunyam

Thank you Meera !!!!

Thank you Meera for passing on the Excellent award for my blog. Thank you and all who supported me. I am on a break now and will be back in full swing in couple of months :)







I would like to pass this award to my excellent blogger friends
Shn for Mishmash
Bharathy for Spicychilly
Sagari for Indian cooking
Anamika for The sugar crafter

Egg Puffs!

I think its time to give up my laziness. This is my first entry in 2008...So lets start my new year by wishing all my friends a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!
Today we were relaxing at home i was thinking what to make for tea time snack. Suddenly easy and tasty egg puffs came to my mind. I always make puffs with Pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets and it comes out as tasty as the ones we get in our bakeries. So I made it .

The recipe goes like this..

Ingredients:
1.Puff pastry sheets-1
2.Egg-3
3.Onion-1 meduim
4.Meat masala-1/2 tbs
5.Chilly powder-1/2 tsp(paprika
6.Turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
7.Egg white(for polishing)
8.Salt




Method:
1. Saute Onion and add meat masala ,chilly powder,turmeric powder and salt.
2.Boil eggs
3.Pre-heat oven for 10 mins in 350 F.
4.Thaw the sheets for 30-40 mins.Once it thawed open and cut it into 6 sheets.
5.Cut the egg into halves.
6.Put the Onion masala mix in the sheet and keep an egg half on top of it.
7.Then fold it and apply beaten egg white on it to get polish look.
8.Bake it for around 30 minutes.

Have it with hot tea!!!

Thiruvathira Puzhukku!

Today is Thiruvathira. It is a Festival celebrated in kerala on the Thiruvathira day of Dhanu masam (December-January) according to Malayalam calendar. There are many stories regarding the origin of this festival. It is said to be the day on which Lord Shiva agreed to become the husband of Goddess Parvathi, as a reward for her severe penance.

An observance called Thiruvathira Noyambu is kept by women on this auspicious day, with the prayer to get good husbands ( of course the married ones pray for well being of their better halves :) ) . That day they wont take any rice meals.On Thiruvathira day at home we make a puzhukku called Thiruvathira Puzhukku with eight different tubers . It is also called ettangadi ('ettu' - is eight in Malayalam, angadi- shop in Malayalam where you get the tubers).

So this time I thought to try the puzhukku. I collected the recipe from my mom and tried it.I was limited with the vegetables I got from Indian store . Chinese potato(koorka) is one of the main ingredient.But I didn't get it.

Here is the recipe..

Ingredients:
1.Elephant Yam (Chena)-2 small
2.Taro (Chembu)-2
3.Asiatic yam (Kachil)-1(small size)
4.Sweet potato-1
5.Raw Banana-2
6.Potato-2 (small size)
7.Green chilly-4
8.Pearl onion-8
9.Red moong dhal-1 cup
10.Grated coconut-1 cup
11.Cumin seeds-1/4 tsp
12.Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
13.Curry leaves-6 leaves
14.Coconut oil-1 tsp
15.Salt

Method:

1.Cook red moong dhal with little salt.

2.Cut all roots (1- 6) into 1 inch cubes.

3.Grind green chilly,salt and turmeric powder.

4.Cook all roots with 5 pearl onions and the ground paste in a pressure cooker by adding 1/2 cup water(don't add more water since the veggies have water our dish is not a watery one). Wait for 3 whistles. Turn of the stove and keep it for 10 minutes.

5.Blend coconut,cumin seeds and 3 pearl onions.

6.Add the cooked dhal, blended mix and curry leaves.

7.Mix well and keep on low flame for 5 minutes.

8.Turn of the flame and add coconut oil and mix it again.

U have it with pickle or coconut chutney and also use as a side dish with kanji!

I am submitting this post for RCI-Kerala event and Susan’s My Legume Love affair.

Happy X'mas-Plum Cake!

Ingredients:
1.Sugar-1 cup
2.Butter-1/4 lbs(one stick unsalted)
3.Egg-3
4.Maida-1 cup
5.Baking powder-2 tsp
6.Salt-1/2 tsp

7.Spice powders:
a)Cinnamon-1/4 tsp
b)Ginger-1/4 tsp
c)Cloves-1/4 tsp
d)Nutmeg-1/4 tsp


8.Dried Fruits-1 cup(Dates,Black raisins,cherries,plums,tutty-fruity etc)
9.Nuts-1/2 cup(cashews,almonds,walnuts)
10.Orange or lemon zest-1/2 tsp(grated skin of orange or lemon)

For Caramel:
1.Sugar-1/4 cup
2.Water-1 tbs
3.Warm water-1/4 cup
4.Vanilla Extract-1 tsp

Method:
1.Soak dried fruits in rum or imitation rum(it is available in all american grocery stores..i tried with this) for atleast few days or a week or a month in advance.

2.Caramel: In medium heat, heat ¼ cup of sugar with 1 tbsp of water and keep stirring until the color changes from light brown to dark brown. This would take minimum 15 minutes. Once the color becomes darker, remove the pan and pour ¼ cup warm water. To this add the 1tsp vanilla extract. Keep it aside.

3.Take a big bowl and add 1 cup sugar, ¼ lb butter (room temperature) and 3 eggs (room temperature).Blend sugar and butter by adding the eggs one by one.

4.In another bowl, mix maida with baking powder , salt, and all spice powders.Add caramel water and blend well.

5.Add step 4 mixture to step 3 mixture and blend well.

6.Add soaked dried fruits(drain the liquid), nuts and orange or lemon zest into the final mixture.

7.Preheat the oven for 10 minutes in 350F.

8.Pour the mixture into a greased baking pan, and bake at 350F for 50 minutes to 60 minutes. Once done, remove the cake and keep in a cooling rack and allow it cool and store in a air tight container. Allow to set all flavours.So cut it after 4-5 days.

Courtesy:Priyas Kitchen

Unniappam with Wheat Flour!

Ingredients:
1.Wheat Flour-1 cup
2.Banana-1
3.Brown sugar(or jaggery)-1 cup
4.Cardamom powder-1/2 tsp
5.Water-1/2 cup
6. Cut cocunut pieces - 1/4 cup
7.Oil for frying











Method:
1.Blend all the ingredients until it has the consistency of idly batter and add cut coconut pieces
2.Heat the unniappa kara and pour oil in each slot .Let the oil heat-up.
3.Pour the batter in each slots.
4.Let it get cooked.
5.Once one side is cooked flip it to other side
6.Cook until dark golden brown color and drain in kitchen paper towel

Idly

Ingredients:
1.Idly rice-2 cups
2.Urad dhal-1 cup(whole)
3.Cooked rice-1 cup
4.Salt-to taste









Method:
1.Soak rice for 8 hrs and urad dhal for 1 hr.
2.Grind urad dhal first.
3.Then grind rice and cooked rice with sufficent water according to the idly batter consistency.
4.Mix grinded dhal and rice then add salt .
5.Keep the batter overnight to ferment.
(Tip: during winter its very difficult to ferment ..so try to do this ..pre-heat the oven for 10 mins in 350F...and keep the batter inside the oven..leave the light in the oven on.The cooked rice also make the batter to ferment within 1 night)
6.Spray pam oil on the idily moulds and pour the batter .Close the idly cooker and let it to cook for 10 mins.

U can have this soft idly with hot sambar and chutney!!!

Stuffed Wheat Rolls!

Ingredients:
1.Wheat rolls-4
2.Onion-medium size
3.Meat masala-1/2 tsp(any curry masala)
4.Salt-to taste












Method:
1.Preheat the oven for 10 mins.
2.In the meantime saute onion and add salt and curry masala ...keep it aside.
3.Keep the wheat rolls in a baking tray and bake it for 8-12 mins or till it turns golden brown.
4.Then take out from the oven and let it cool for few mins.
5.Cut the middle and fill the onion mix into it and have it with a cup of tea.

This is a very simple and healty tea time snack...and tasty too!! .

Trout Fish curry!

Ingredients:
1.Trout fish-2
2.Onion-1/2
3.Green chilly(big)-2
4.Kudampuli-3
5.Ginger-2 tbs
6.Garlic-3 tbs
7.Chilly powder-2 tbs(paprika)
8.Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
9.Corriander powder-1 tsp

10.Methi powder-1/4 tsp
11.Curry leaves
12.Salt
Method:
1.Remove skin of the fish(if frozen one it will easy to remove its skin).Cut into meduim slices.
2.Soak kudapuli in hot water.
3.Heat oil ina pan and saute crushed ginger and garlic .Then add onion ,green chilly(cut onto big pieces on lengthwise) and saute it.
4.Add all ing 7,8,9 ,10 and 12.mix it well and wait till the oil come out.
5.Add the kudampuli with water and allow it to boil.
6.Then put the fish slices into it and close the lid.Keep the flame low and allow it to cook.
7.Once it cooked add curry leaves and rotate the pan .

U can serve this simple fish curry with kappa(tapioca)or with rice!

Choclate Roll!

Ingredients:
1.Cocoa-Powder-1 cup
2.Grated Coconut -1 cup
3.Butter-1/2 cup
4.Cashew nuts-2 tbs
5.Arrow Root biscuits- 4
6.Foil paper










Method:
1.Smash the biscuits.
2.Mix all the ingredients and make a dough like for chappathi.
3.Place a foil paper on a board and spread the dough on it.
4.Then roll it and keep it in the freezer for few hours.
5.Once it become hard take out from the freezer and cut it into small rolls..

Kids will like the crunchy and yummy choclate rolls!

Cabbage Mezhukkuvaratti!

Ingredients
1.Cabbage-1/2(cut into lengthwise)
2.Pearl onion-4 or 5
3.Green chilly-2
4.Pepper powder-1tsp
5.Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
6.Corriander powder-1tsp
7.Mustard-1/2 tsp
8.Dhal-1/2 tsp
9.Salt-to taste
10.Curry leaves-4


Method:
1.Cut cabbge,pearl onion and green chilly into lengthwise.
2.Heat oil in a Pan and splutter dhal and mustard.
3.Add ingredients 4,5 and 6.
4.Then add ingredients 1,2 ,3 9 and 10.Mix well
5.Close the lid for few minutes to let it cook.

The Healthy Cabbage Mezhukkuvaratti is ready to eat with rice!