Spinach Kootu

Happy New Year to you all!I am starting this year with a very simple recepie.
Kootu is one of the fundamentals of Tamil cooking...Whenever if you go to any parties/Marriages you will see this kootu..Everyone will have thier own recepie of making kootu..Mine is little time consuming but the end result will make no one resist to eating it..I love Spinach,I think I said it in many post..But thats true not only Spinach all the green Leafy vegetables..You can have this with either rice/chappathi.

Thing you Need

1.spinach- 1 bag
2.toor dhal/Moong dhal-3/4 cup
3.turmeric-1/2 tsp
4.salt
5.oil-1/2 tbsp
6.mustard seeds-1 tsp
7.zeera-1tsp
8.dry chillies-2-4(split it into half)
9.shredded coconut-1 tbsp(optional)
10.shallots/small onion-3(finely chopped)
11.garlic-1 pod(finely chopped)

Recepie

Cook and Mash the dhal along with salt and turmeric and keep it aside.

Cook the Spinach in a microwave high for 8-10 min with very little water.(by cooking the spinach in the microwave it will retains its color and freshness).

In a kadai add some oil and add the mustard,zeera,drychillies,garlic,shallots fry it for few mnts.

Add the Mashed dhal and spinach with the water then close the lid and cook it in a medium flame for just 2 mnts.

If you want you can finally top it of with the shredded coconut.

Spicy egg curry

Hello gals...I am back with lot of enthu..I really missed you gals a lot,I am telling this from bottom of my heart..Now I decided I dont want to loose you all...I hope you gals will understand how hard its to blog daily with a kid with a full time job and house full of chores...So I planned to manage my timmings..I decided to allote some specific timming for the blogging..So I have alloted one hour per day..
Letz talk about the hot topic in town "FLU"...The flu started with my son then to me and then to my hubby..Eventhough we all had very mild symptoms we stayed home for the whole week..It was wonderful..We had lot of fun by watching lot of movies..What else we can do when everyone in the home is doing fine with no work..We dont want go out of the house...because the flu may get severe...so we stayed home until it is completly cured..
Did you guys watched the next Iron chef?..I am obsessed with it...I am glad that chef Mehta was in the final two...I really enjoyed the episode of five course Indian meals..I was little disappointed when chef Garces won that episode instead of chef Mehta..
Letz talk about this spicy egg curry/thokku..This goes well with everything chappathi,rice,parotta,curd rice,even with rasam rice..This can be prepared in no time..If I dont have any vegetable my option will only be this curry only..When it comes to egg I like half boiled very much..It taste so good when you have it with parotta chalna and half boil egg on the side..

From your Pantry:

1.Onion-2(finely chopped)
2.Tomato-3(finely chopped)
3.Ginger and Garlic paste-1 tbsp
4.green chillies-3
5.Sambar powder-2 tsp
6.oil-2 tbsp
7.sombu/fennel seeds-1 tsp
8.Boiled egg-6(cut it into halves)

Method:

Add the oil in the kadai add the sombu and onion fry it until it is translucent.

Add the G&G paste to it..Fry it until the raw smell goes off..

Add the tomatoes and fry it until its completely mashed up..Add the sambar powder and salt to it. add 1/2 cup of water and close the lid for few mnts..

open the lid and add all the eggs and close the lid and put it in a low fmae until the masala mixes well with the egg..

Viola you are all set with quick fix meal..

Long break followed by a short break

Everyday I started something is missing in my life and finally I came to know I didnt blogged for such a long time.:)..I feel little guilty for the uninformed break from the blogging..This time I am going to take a short break.Probably 1-2 weeks.There are so many reason to say why I didnt blogged..Tight shedule at work,camera got repaired,furnishing our home.. so trying to get lot ideas from browsing hgtv.com,Shopping a lot ..:)Guest at home etc..etc..But the actual reason is my laziness and poor time management..Last but not least working mom Bloggers please throw some tips in my blog for time management..

Glad I have seen selected in the food blog roll for Finest foodie Friday(FFF).I am so happy they mention a lot about my blog.Its a really a honor for me to get this.Please check the link to read about my blog.

http://www.foodieblogroll.com/finestfoodiesfriday/finest-foodies-friday-picks-for-august-14-2009



Catch you gals sooner!!

Panner Butter Masala and an Award

Panner butter masala is an exoctic dish for me when I was in my hometown..We rarely go to the near by restaurant in our home town where we get this dish..After coming here to USA this is the common dish in most Indian restaurant..we usually have this ofen..Not only this panner butter masala..After coming to USA which I used to thought exoctic and unaffordable in India became much more common here in USA..

You Need

1.Panner-300 gms(cubed and fried)
2.Onion-2 (medium minced)
3.Tomato-2(medium Pureed)
4.Cashews-2 tbsp
5.chilli powder-1 +1/2 tsp
6.coriander powder-2 tsp
7.red color- a pinch
8.Garam masala powder- a pinch
9.Kasthoori methi-for garnishing
10.cumin powder-1/2 tsp
11.Salt
12.coriander leaves-for garnishing
13.oil-1 tbsp
14.Butter-1+1/2 tbsp

Method

Heat the oil and butter in the Kadai add the minced onion fry until the raw smell goes off.

Add the tomato puree and fry it for few min..

Add all the powders and salt and add water and panner and close the lid and cook it 5-7 mnts.

Grind the cashews with 1/4 cup of water to get milk like consistency add it to the masala and let it simmer for few mnts until you get desired consistency..

Garnish it with kasthoori methi and coriander leaves..

Enjoy!!

Three beautiful friends of mine passed this wonderful award to me Ann,Hema,ShamaThanks a lot..I love this award and it also gave me such a good chance to tell seven things about me..



Rules are :
1. You must thank the person who has given you the award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who has nominated you for the award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.About Me
5. Nominate 7 other Kreativ Bloggers. (Which is not fair, I want to give to all my friends!)
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on which of the blogs to let them know they have been nominated

I love to pass this award to

Sangeetha
Malar
Usha
Sangi
Ramya
Prathiba
Nithya Praveen
For a change, I asked my hubby Senthil to tell something about me he said

1.I am Positive thinker.Yes its true I always think positive..Even some thing is happening negative and I used find the positive things in it..

2.I am go getter..Means If I want one thing I will go any extreme to get it..

3.I am a tech Savi..I love tech talking..Even we both talk hours and hours of technical things..

4.I Just turned into environment saver..Go green..

5.I am an excellent cook..Yes thats true..I am ready to try new recepies..Try to make the recepies more tasty everytime..

6.I am an energetic person...

7.I love helping people..Yes thats true.If somebody needs any help I will be the first one to help them..

According to me...

1.I am an 100% dual mind..Absolute gemini character..I will be Happy and suddendly with an hour or so I feel depressed for no reason..

2.I love Perfumes,dresses,sun glass..I love Indian dresses almost 75% of the closet in our bedroom is mine and the 25% is for my hubby..

3.I love spicy food..Hot Pickles are my favorite..I love to mix it with plain rice have it with chips ..My favorite comfort food..

4.I am an economical person,but that doesnt mean I am stingy..I will think twice/thrice before buying anything..I didnt like to stuff everything inside my home which I barely use..I always have a calculator running inside my mind..

5.I love contemporary style in interior designing..Simple and sleek straight lines..earthy colors..I didnt like much traditional/country style designing..

6.I love uniqueness in everything..Food,Dress,anything you name it...if its different from the regular stuff..I just love it..

7.I am an very emotional person..Even the movies can make me cry..Recent movie which Made me cry was 'Marley and me' climax..You gals wont beleive it..One day my hubby causally started singing an old emotional song..(he is neither an bad singer nor an good singer..)I started crying..He was shocked and asked why are you crying because of my song..I said yes...He burst into laughs..

See you Gals!!

Mushroom Masala Idiyappam

I am back..Sorry gals for not actively involved in blogging...I went to a new company ..new project...Its hard for me to allocate timming..but soon will catch up with you all..So I came here with the an unique recepie..Mushroom idiyappam(thin rice noodles/string hoppers).This is more like an mushroom rice I have used idiyappam instead..Mushroom is my favorite I sometimes feel it taste like a mutton..Sometimes I just boiled it and eat ..My favorite flavor in idiyappam is just tadka with mustard,urad dhal,'uruka millagai'(pickled chillies)...it will taste awesome..
In summer my mom will prepare this along with vadams..I love summer in India.my favorite items in summer are tender green mango and these vadams..I just love the tender magoes soaked in salt water..okay I started drooling by writing this itself...Letz get back to our mushroom idiyappam..

You need

Idiyappam/sevai dried-1/2 pack
onion-1 big(finely chpped)
tomato-2 medium(finely chopped)
green chillies-3-4(finely chopped)
chilli powder-1 tsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
garam masala powder-1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves
Mushroom-1 pkg
Salt-to taste

For Tempering

oil-2 tbsp
cinnamon-1 stick
Fennel seeds-1/2 tsp
anistar-2
Elachi-2


Method

Cooked the Idiyappam/sevai according to the package direction.

In a kadai add the oil and add the items for tempering and add onion fry until it is nicely golden brown add the tomato and fry it very well to make it like a paste.

Add all the powders and green chillies,mushrooms fry it for few mnts in a medium flame.

Add salt and add the idiyappam and close the lid for few mnts.Finally Garnish it with coriander leaves..

Viola...Enjoy!!

Adai Dosa(Lentils thick dosai) and bbq party snaps

Adai Dosai is one of my hubby favorite.I never made it like the exact way he like.My mom she is the expert in this..Her adai used to be awesome taste,crispy and light..you wont feel heavy after eating..Then I called my mom asked the secrets behind it..She said everything like the quanity and soaking and grinding technique.

My mom used to make this only on weekends..When I was a kid me and my brother will wait in the kitchen with the empty plate for the first adai..Eventhough I am the smaller kid my mom used to give the first one to my brother only.. not only one time almost every time.I am always a looser in this...Sometimes I will ask why?..sometimes never.. Sometimes I used to cry for this...After we became a grown up my brother started commenting what I used to do..he itself started giving me the first adai..Then after my marriage I said this to my hubby sorry complain this to my hubby...and my sweet hubby asked this to my mom..my mom just smiled and she didnt replied anything..Yes its a silly story ..Ha..ha..

Most of the people like to have this with aviyal,but I dont like it bcoz adai itself a heavy dish on top of that aviyal makes me feel so heavy...I love to eat it alone..So that you will taste just the adai taste not the chutey/aviyal taste.


you need

Par boiled rice-1 cup
raw rice-1/2 cup
channa dhal-1/2 cup
toor dhal,moong dhal,ura dhal-little bit of evrything to make it into-1/4 cup
Red chillies-5-7(depends on your spice level and spiceniness of your chillies)
salt-as per taste

For Tempering

oil-1tbsp
mustard seeds-1 tsp
urad dhal-1 tsp
onion-1 (medium finely chopped/you can also use shallots for better taste)
curry leaves

Method

Soak the rice and dry chillies together and soak all the dhal seperately for just 45 minutes to i hour.

Grind the rice and dry chillies almost like a rava cosistency and grind the dhal seperately little larger than the rava consistency.

Mix both the batter with some salt.

In a kadai add the tempering items in the order and then add it to the batter.Batter should be thicker then the dosa batter...but dont make it too thick the your adai will be so heavy..

In tava pour batter and make dosa..

Viola..Enjoy..

My Three year old son Adarsh waiting for his chicken



My hubby Senthil a grill pro


chicken on the grill


Corn on the grill,it was so tasty just like the one we used to get it in chennai beach.


Kids in the hawaii costumes..(yes I am behind them)


Kids pool

Strawberry Margaritta and Stuffed mushroom

Last week lot of things came in between,so I couldnt able to do blogging.Hope you are all doing good.Last week I celebrated my birthday,I turned 26(yeah I am pretty young).It was great.Strawberry margaritta and stuffed mushroom are nothing to do with my birthday.These are in my draft for so long time.

In my life I always came across this circumstance like, if there is any good thing is happening to me soon I will face some bad thing.Same If there is any bad thing happening to me,soon I will face some good thing.So instead of worring for the bad thing that happened, I started enjoying it because I know soon, something good going to happen.Ok I dont want you gals to get bore with my stupid philosophy.Letz get back to the margaritta.

I am huge fan of margaritta.I love any margaritta my favorite is lemon lime..I love sour taste.But I tried this strawberry margaritta for the first time I love it.Something to go along with it we had this stuffed mushroom its vegetarian.




For Margaritta You need

Strawberry Margaritta Mix-3 cups
Tequilla-1 cup
crushed ice-1 cup
margaritta salt-to rim the edges(optional)
Fresh strawberries-for garnishing

Method

Mix the strawberry margaritta mix,tequilla and crushed ice in a cocktail shaker.Give it really a good shake.

Rim the edges with fresh strawberries and immerse it in the margaritta salt.

Pour the mix in the glass,add the fresh strawberry in the glass


For Stuffed Mushroom you need

Medium sized Mushroom-8
onion-1(small)
Garlic-2pods
Green chillies-3(small)
potatao-1(medium boiled and mashed)
oil-1 tbsp
cheese-1/2 cup

Method

Gring the onion,garlic and green chillies to a paste.

Remove the stalk from the mushroom and chop it finely

In a wok add some oil and fry the grinded mixture until the raw smell goes off.Add the potato and the stalk of the mushroom.Fry it for few mnts.Stuff mixture is ready

In a oven plate arrange the mushroom and stuff all with the stuff mixture and top all with some cheese of your choice.

Place it in a preheated oven at 375 degree.Bake it until the cheese turns little browm.

Viola its ready!!

Enjoy!!

Four Lovely gals Pooja, Pavithra, sailaja,Shubha pass this wonderful award to me



Thanks a lot gals..I feel so honored..Thanks again.

Barbequed Chicken drumsticks

We just bought these brinkmann four burner gas grill.


Oh my god it was awesome.The chicken grilled in a gas grill was totally different than the oven method,because of the open fire.My hubby dear marinated and grilled the chicken.I have to admit that He did an awesome job.He made it like a pro.This is one of our dish in our barbeque party.But at that time I couldnt find time to take pictures.But my hubby dear made it again for me..its so nice of him..He also promised me that he is going to make it every weekend until the summer..It doesnt have any fat involved so its an guilt free dish..

You need

Chicken legs-1 lb(cleaned all skin removed)
shan tandoori masala-1/2 Packet(use less if you like it mild)
yogurt-1/2 cup
lime juice-from 1+1/2 limes
Ginger garlic paste-1+1/2 tbsp


Method

Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for over night.

Heat the gas grill to 400 degree place the chicken and close the lid.

After few mnts turn and cook in the other side..until both the sides are nicely browned and cooked fully

Garnish it and enjoy!!

You can also add some onion and peppers coated with the remaining mixture and grill it and have it with your chicken.

I am sending this recepie for The potluck-Chicken hosted by viki

Vermicelli vada(Semiya vadai)

I guess I have already mentioned that my hubby is a huge snack fan.Whenever I make him pakoras he will be so happy..When my hubby was a kid he used to love Bajji(deep fried snack),so one day he was crying to his mom to make bajji..but his uncle was thier it seeems he didnt like kids behaving cranky like this .So what he did you know.. he made almost 50 bajji asking my hubby to eat all that..My hubby dear ate all that..So after that you all know ,he never asked his mom bajji in near future...
I tried the same way with my son who used to love choclate like anything..I almost gave 10 chocolates at the same time...He ate all that..After an hour he came to me again and asked can I some chocolates mommmy...I thought oh my god these chocolates and kids are inseperable..
To make this Snack little healthy I added some spinach..Ok girls I can hear you are all saying.. What is a point in making healthy in a deep fried snack..ha..ha..

You need

Semiya-1 cup
Spinach-2 handfull(finely chopped)
Rice flour-2 tbsp
Onion-1/2 (finely chopped)
Green chillies-2(finely chopped)
Ginger-small piece

Method

Boil the semiya and then drain and wash it off with cold water and keep it aside.

Add the rice flour and the remaining item no need to add any water.rice flour will act as an binding agent and give crispiness to the vada.

Heat the oil and and make the vada using batter and deep fry it.

Enjoy!!

Okra in buttermilk gravy(Vendakkai morkulambu)

I always need onion and tomato to cook..Whenever I start cooking my first step is cutting the onion..If I dont have onion/tomato in pantry/refridgerator I feel like like there is nothing to cook.At those time morkulambu is one of my saviour,it doesnt require onion/tomato.You can add vegetables like white pumkin/arvi to this gravy..Even carrot is good.This gravy is tamilnadu speciality..This goes well with the rice,you dont even need any side dish just a pickle will work good..

You need
Dhania-1/2 tbsp
chana dhal-1 tbsp
toor dhal-1 tbsp
Salt
curd-2 cups
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp

To Grind
Green chillies-4(small)
Ginger- a small piece
cumin-1 tsp
Coconut-2 tbsp


For tempering

mustard seeds-1/2tsp
Cumin-1/2 tsp
Dry chillies-2
Curry leaves
oil-2tsp

Method

Soak the Dhal and dhania in water for 30 minutes and grind it along with the ingridient given under the grinding section

Beat the curd well with water and add the grided mixture to it.

In a kadai fry the okra until it slightly turns slightly brown,now add the curd mixture to it and add salt and turmeric powder

Boil the mixture until the bubbles comes out switch off the stove,and tempered it..


Viola your morkulambu is ready...Enjoy it with Hot rice and hot pickle...

Onion and Tomato chutney

This is my throwdown recepie.Actually I got this recepie from my hubby,He made it for my birthday,all of my friends over here started loveing it.All south indians especially tamilians will crave for this chutney with soft idlis.This is very easy to prepare and it will be good for 3-4 days when you store it in a refrigerator.I have used the round(fat) dry chillies,which we used in most of the madurai style cooking.As this chillie is very hot you can add either two/three is enough.Some of my friends tried this recepie,but they said its very hard for them to replicate same color,texture and taste as mine,so thats why I called it as my throwdown recepie.

You need
Onion-2(medium roughly chopped)
Tomato-2(medium roughly chopped)
Dry chillies-3
Garlic-1 cloves
Ginger- same size as garlic
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Urad dhal-1 tsp
Channna dhal-2 tsp
Oil-1 tbsp

Method:

Heat the oil in the kadai add the mustard seeds,urad dhal,channa dhaland dry chillies and fry it until it is sligthly brown(dont turn it into black/dont pass to next step until is golden brown)

Add the onion,garlic,ginger fry it until itis translucent and then add the tomatoes and fry it for few mnts,no need to fry it like paste.

cool little bit and grind it.

Enjoy!!

Hema pass this award to me,thanks a lot Hema.

Tomato rice and my first award

I regret I didnt blogged for the past one week.I miss you all gals..I was little busy by throwing a small barbeque hawaii style party at our backyard this weekend.The party was great, my three year old son Adarsh and all the kids had a great time by enjoying the water sports and eating lots of grilled food..I will post some pictures here for sure..But I couldnt able to take lot of food pictures.Actually I planned but I couldnt make it out..So how you gals spend your long weekend?..
I had this tomato rice recepie in my draft since last week itself.. This tomato rice is very easy to prepare..It requires very less time..Even you can preapare it with some left over rice..It doesnt even require any special side dish...chips goes well with it...

You need
rice-2 cups
onion-1+1/2(medium size finely chopped)
tomato-2(medium finely chopped)
chili powder-1 tsp
garam masala powder-1/4 tsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
green chillies-3
ginger and garlic paste-1 tbsp
salt

For Tempering

oil-2 tbsp
cinnamon-1 stick
fennel seeds-1/2 tsp
elachi-2

Method

Cook the rice and keep it aside.

In a Wok/Kadai add some oil add the items for tempering and add onion fry until it is translucent.

Add the ginger garlic paste and fry until the raw smell goes off.

Add all the powders and fry for few minutes.

Now add the green chillies and tomato and fry it in a high heat fry it until it turns completely into a paste.

If you feel its little spicy at this stage you can add some lemon juice to it.

Mix it with the rice..If you have time you can put it in a dum for 10 minutes..

Thats it..
Enjoy!!

I got this award from Parita.I am so happy to get this award..Thanks a lot parita..Its encouraging me to do a lot..
Thanks again parita..

Egg curry stuffed crossiant

This is the same concept just like egg puffs..Instead of the puff pastry,I tried it with crossiants...I simply love eggs..Which is one of the very easy way of adding protein to your diet..

you need

Crossiant Dough-1 tin
onion-1(big thinely sliced)
Tomato-1(big finely chopped)
chilli powder-1tsp
Coriander powder-1 tsp
turmeric powder-1/4 tsp
garammasala powder-1/2 tsp
Aamchur powder-1/2tsp
ginger garlic paste-1 tsp
green chillies-2
Boiled egg-4(cut it into halfs)
oil-1+1/2 tbsp
salt-as per taste


Method

In a wok add oil and add the onion fry it until it is translucent..

Add the ginger garlic paste fry it for fewmnts until the raw smell goes off..

Add all the powders and salt and fry it for few mnts and the add the tomato and green chillies fryit until it turns out into a wonderful masala.

Now add the boiled eggs and switch off the stove.

Place this masala in each crossiants and bake it for 15 mnts in a preheated oven at 375 degree..

Enjoy!!

Tips

Dont add any water the masala needs to be very thick..

Masala Fish fry

I usually get the live tilapia fish from the Asian grocery store.Where we can select which fish we want,then they will cut it and clean it according to our choice.It will be so fresh.After we have moved to different location its very hard for me to find a new Asian/chinese grocery store.I just bought the fish from the frozen section.
I had a wonderful flasback about the fish fry..One of my neighbour in my hometown madurai gave me a fish fry to eat..I took it back to home and while I was eating.. My grandma asked me what you were eating..as she is a pure vegetarian but she knows we are carnivores..So I said I am eating plaintain fry..She asked me can I have one bite..I said ok and gave a small piece..I know its hard for her to recogonize because she had alil bad sight..You know what she replied..Wow Look how she fried like soft flower..Your mom never makes like this..I laughed immidiately and said it is fish..She was shocked and started calling all the gods name and asking sorry..She is not with me anymore..But I love her so much..
Lot of people say that fish is a sea plaintain..

You need

Fish-1 lb
Ginger& garlic paste-2 tsp
Lemon juice-2 tsp
Mint paste-1tsp
Rice flour-2tbsp
Salt
Oil-for Deep frying

To Grind:

Kashmiri chilli powder- 2-3 tbsp
Shallots/small onion- 1-2
Tomato-1/2(finely chopped)

Method

Mix the fish with all the ingridients and the grinded mixture except the oil.

Heat the oil and deep fry it..

Enjoy!!

Urati (rice and dhal dosa)

This one of our family recepie.But I changed the way of preparing it,it needs to prepare it in a very heavy and hot cast iron kadai.... just put handful of the thick batter in all the sides and center of the kadai..Which yields 5 urati at the same time..with very small amount of oil (just a 1tsp is enough)..but the cons is everytime my mom prepares this she will get a burn mark..You need to do it very careful..Even the expert will sometime get burn marks..But my mom makes it ofen..I love you mom..
I dont want to get burn marks.. So I altered the way of preparing it without changing the ingridients..By making it in a regular tava..Its sligtly different in taste..But the good thing is senthil just love this..He never knew about this dish before..He is kind of addictive to this...Mission accomplished!!
By making it in a original method the out side will be very crispy and inside will be so soft..In my method both inside and outside is soft..

you need

Parboiled rice-1 cup
Toor dhal-1/4cup
Coconut-1 cup
Cilantro-1/2 cup
Onion-1(medium finely diced)


For Tempering

Mustard seed-1tsp
Splited urad dhal-1 tsp
Curry leaves
Oil-1tbsp

Method

Soak the water and dhal for 4 hours.Grind it along with coconut and salt into thick batter with less water.

In a small kadai add oil add the items for tempering when it is started splutering add onion and fry it until it is translucent,add this to the batter.

Mix it well along with cilantro.

Heat the tava make it like small dosa..

The original method doesnt need any side dish..In my method you definetly need chutney/spice powder..

Enjoy!!

I am Sending this to JFI-CilantroHosted by Cilantro Originally started by Indira.


Also Sending this to Village special eventHosted by Shama.

Fish kulambu with Raw Mango

Fish and raw mango are inseperable friends in tamilian cooking...I love the fish kulambu to be sour rather than spicy..Everyone knows that a day old fish kulambu taste more than the newly prepared one..So I always prepare more to have it with Idli/Dosa..I just love the combination of fish kulambu with dosa..
Being brought up in Madurai,which is not an seashore area..Fish is rare in my hometown..But I love fish..We will always love the things which is very rare to find ..Correct?..Like here in USA we are access to lot of cuisines..But we all love our hometown specialites like parotta/bhel puri/pav bhaji etc..I know the list will goes on..

You need

1.Tilapia Fish-1 lb
2.Onion-2(medium finely chopped)
3.Tomato-2(medium finely chopped)
4.Kulambu/Sambar powder-1 tbsp
5.Garlic cloves-4
6.oil-2+1/2tbsp
7.Raw Mango-1/2(big chunky pieces)
8.Tamrind-one lemon size(extract the juice from it)
9.Green chillies-2

For wet grinding

1.small/sambar onion-6
2.shredded coconut-3 tbsp

For dry powderfry it in a skillet with no oil and powder it
1.Pepper-1tsp
2.cumin seeds-1/2tsp
3.coriander seeds-1 tsp
4.fennelseeds-1/2 tsp
5.fenu greek seeds-1/2 tsp

For Tempering

1.Mustard-1 tsp
2.cumin-1 tsp
3.red chillies-2(crushed)
4.curry leaves

Method

In a cast iron skillet add oil and add the itmems for tempering.Add the onion and garlic saute it until it turns translucent.

Add tomatoes and green chillies saute it until it turns mushy.Adwet grinding and fry for few mnts..Add some water and boil it for 5 mnts..

Add the raw mango and cook it for 5 mnts.

Add the fish and cook it for 4-5 mnts(depends on the size of the fish,as the fish has an capacity to cook soon).

Enjoy!!

Pongal & vada

This is one of the typical tamilians breakfast.Every restaurant in TamilNadu will default have this item listed for the breakfast.In our home this is the typical Saturday brunch.While writing this I got one of my childhood memories..When I was very small kid probably in 2nd grade..I used to go to the small Ganapath temple around the corner of our street..The priest used to serve the sweet pongal in some specific days..Which is piping hot you cannot get it in hands..There is a banyan tree near to the temple..Some of my friends used to climb on the tree pluck lot of leaves..With the help of the leaves I used to get the pongal and enjoy it like anything..I never ever get a chance to taste the same kind of pongal in my life time..
I made the chutney,sambar,vada in a usual manner..Added lot of kicks to the pongal..So I am going to present the recepie for pongal..

You need

Raw rice-1 cup
moong dhall-1/4 cup
milk-1 cup
water-2+1/2 cup
Pepper and cumin powder-2 tsp
salt

For tempering

peppercorns-1 tbsp
cumin- 1tbsp
green chillie-3-4
ginger-1 inch piece
curry leaves-1 stalk
butter-2tbsp

For garnishing
cashews-2 tbsp
butter-1 tbsp

Method

In a pressure cooker add the rice,dhal,water,milk,salt,Pepper&cumin pwdr.Cook it for 3 whistles.

In a kadai add butter and add the items for tempering.When it started splutering add it to the cooked rice and dhal mixture.(If you want your pongal to be lil bit watery add some milk at this stage and cook it for few mnts)

Top it with some cashews serve it hot with vada,chutney and sambar...

Enjoy!!

Need a break have a 'Sandwich'

Everyone of us need a break from the kitchen sometime rite? I do feel that some time..Not to feel like entering into the kitchen and cooking something...Also not feeling like going outside and eat..At those times my saviour is this spicy chicken sandwich..
When I was in India I was not familiar with all these western foods....I am a person who loves to try new cuisines/food..so after coming to this country I tried out lot of cuisines..I love every cuisines..But you know what out of all these cuisines.. easiest way of preparing food is the american cuisine..So I made this recepie for 'less time cooking and more time enjoying'

I used the tyson spicy chicken breast patties..which is very juicy and restaurant style..


you need

1.Tyson Spicy chicken Breast patties-1
2.Sandwich buns-1
3.Mayo-1 tbsp
4.lettuce-1 leaf
5.cheese-1 slice
6.tomato-2 slice
7.Pickled Jalepeno-4 pieces

Method

1.Cook the chicken patties in microwave(1.5 mnts)
2.Toast the Sandwich buns.
3.Apply mayo on the buns and arrange all these items in the bun.

Have it with some chips!Enjoy!

Egg fried rice with toasted egg on side

I got this recepie from my sister in law.She is an wonderful cook.Before her marriage she is an OK cook.After her Marriage with the courtesy of my brother she became an wonderful cook.Not by means of my brother helping her in kitchen,by critizing the food she make.My brother is a very picky eater..If the food is not good he wont even touch it..If the food is good he will finish everything..:)
Senthil is not like that, if the food is spicy or if the food is salty,he wont even complaint it to me.Even If I said 'Senthil I guess its lil bit salty'he used to say'yeah thats Ok..No pblm..its edible only'..If I prepared the food in a really excellent..He will appreciate me like anything..'Super da..Excellent da..Blah..Blah..This egg fried rice is one of his favorite..

You Need
Basmati Rice-2 cups
water-3+1/2 cups
Shredded Cabbage-1+1/2 cups
Carrot and peas-1 cup
Onion-1(big thinely sliced length wise)
Ginger and garlic paste-1 tbsp
Bell Pepper-1/2(big thinely sliced length wise)
Egg-3
oil-2-3 tbsp
All spice powder-1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper-as per taste

Method

Cook the rice in the rice cooker(Make sure rice dont turns mushy add water accordingly..or else it will spoil the taste)

In a wok add 1 tbsp oil saute the onion until it is translucent..Add the g&g paste fry it for few sec until the raw smell goes off..put it in a bowl..

In the Same wok add some 1/2 tbsp oil saute cabbage until desired consistency..I like mine b/w overcooked and undercooked(means perfectly cooked:)..Put it in same bowl...

In the same wok add some 1/2 tbsp oil saute bellpepper,peas,carrot for few mnts..Put it in the same bowl..

In the same wok add pam/oil..Saute the egg with pepper and salt and put it in the same bowl

In the same wok add pam/oil .. saute the cooked rice for 2-3 mnts..add all the sauteed veggies and egg to it..add the salt and pepper and all spice powder..

Serve it with some Toasted boild egg seasoned with salt and pepper..

Enjoy!!

I am sending this recepie to Sudeshna's Bengalicusine 'Events for Egg'

http://bengalicuisine.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/announcing-event-for-eggs/

Bajji

What is better than a evening with a bajji and hot filter cofee? When you walk through the streets of madurai during evening you can see a lot of street food vendors busy making these bajji.I really amazed by the way they make..they usually make in a jet speed.With the same speed the bajji will also get sold..
I used to make lot of snacks for Senthil.People here call me snack expert.Due to health concern rarely I am makin snacks these days.Bajji mostly made with plaintains but using potatoes is for a change.
When I was a kid, we used to go to kourtallam for every season,which is a picnic spot near madurai.We used to take bath in the falls,which may sound weird for some of them,but honestly its whole lot of fun.After taking bath we used to starve like anything.The street vendors there used to sell the spicy chilli bajji.Which is super duper hot.Thinking of those makes me drool a lot.

You need
Besan flour-2 cups
Rice flour-1 cup
Idly batter-2 tbsp
Asofoetida-a pinch
Chilli powder-2 tsp
Red kesari color-a pinch
salt-as per taste
Potato(any vegetable)-thinly sliced
oil-for frying

Method

Mix all the ingridient except potato in a water.Make sure it will be in dosa batter/pancake batter consistency.

Dip the potato and fry it in oil until it is nice and crispy.

Enjoy!!

Note:
Adding a idly batter helps to make bajji a little bit fluffy and for different taste.

Vegetable Briyani

Most of the times I used prepare only non-veg briyani.I love the mutton briyani which is the king of all briyani,my hubby didnt like mutton so I never cooked mutton in my kitchen in US.I studied in national engineering college,tirunelveli.Which is muslim organization,nobody can beat the muslim mutton briyani.During our hostel day function we usually order outside food from a very well known muslim caterer in tirunelveli.There is no words to express the taste of that mutton briyani.That is the best briyani I ever had in my life.

I got bored of making chicken briyani all the time.So for a change I decided to make vegetable version.I had lot of left over veggies in my refrigerator like yellow squash,brocolli,zucchini so I added all these in addition to the usual peas,carrot,cauliflower,potato.It turned out into a healthy veggie meal.If you have the veggie briyani with some raita and some nice and rich eggplant curry,It sure will be a feast.

you need:

BasmatiRice-2 cups
water-4 cups
veggie-(your choice I added a lot)
onion-1(big finely chopped)
tomato-1+1/2(medium finely chopped)
ginger and garlic paste-1 tbsp
ghee/butter-2tbsp
oil-1 tbsp
turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
salt-as per taste

To grind
green chillies-5-6
coriander leaves-1/2 cup
mint-1/2 cup
cinnamon-1/2 stick
fennel seeds-1/2 tsp
cloves-2
elachi-2

For Tempering

star anise,fennel seeds,cinnamon,elachi,bay leafs-your choice

Method

Heat the oil and butter in the Pressure cooker add the items for tempering when it started spluttering add the onion and fry well until it is translucent.

Add the tomatoes and fry well until it turns almost into a paste consistency,now add the g&g pasteand fry until the raw smell goes off.

add the salt and turmeric powder and mix well.add the grinded paste and fry well.now add the rice and fry for few mnts finally add the veggies mix it well

add the water and close the lid and cook it for two whistles and sim the stove for 10 mnts(this is similar to dum method)

Serve hot!!Enjoy!!

Note:

By the adding the veggies last makes the veggies look in its natural color.

frying the rice for few mnts will not make the rice turns into mushy.

Simmimg the stove for to mnts its very important which will add all flavors induced and for nice aroma..

Tai pan@clifton park,ny

This is an oriental cuisine which has dishes from indonesia,thai,chinese,japenese.We went for the lunch they offered us dim sum as well as lunch menu,but we deceided to go with the lunch, because we didnt we have much option with dim sum,we only eat chicken and veggies.Most of the dim sum dishes are pork.

I went for crispy shrimp with green noodles in a coconut creamy sauce its a total disaster for me,it tasted awful.The noodles was cooked al dente perfection,but the the shrimp was not crispy it was very soggy and the sauce was worse.



Senthil went for Evil jungle prince chicken its nothing but a chicken with vegetable in a spicy sauce.It is also not that good.It tasted bland.I felt the vegetables was not fresh enough.It comes with vegetable fried rice and hot & sour soup.Both are totally bland.




we went to lot of restaurants in the capital region,ny some of them are worst so this tai pan is one among them,we never ever return to this restaurant again.

Kadai chicken

Kadai chicken is nothing but,the chicken needs to cook with its own liquid without adding any water or pressure cooking them.But the taste is very different from the regular method and it please everybody palette.This needs very simple ingriedients and also very easy method.It goes well with the curd rice.

You need
1.chicken thigh -1 lb(bone/boneless)
2.onion-1+1/2(finely chopped)
3.tomato-2(finely chopped)
4,green chillies-4-5(finely chopped)
5.ginger and garlic paste-1 tbsp
6.turmeric powder-1tsp
7.chilli powder-2 tsp
8.coriander powder-2tsp
9.curd-2tbsp
10.oil-2tbsp
11.salt
12.garam masal powder-1/2 tsp

Method

In a heavy base kadai add oil,add onion fry until it is sligtly brown.

Add the ginger garlic paste when raw smell goes off add the tomato and fry it until it is completly mashed up.

Add all the powders and curd and fry for few mnts.

Add the chicken pieces to it and fry it in a medium flame until the chicken is cooked completly.it will take around 15-20 mnts.

garnish it and enjoy!!

Chilli Chicken/Lassoni Chicken

We used to have the same kind of chicken in our local indian restaurant Karavalli,latham. so thought of trying the same at home.Actually I have tried so many times,but I cant able to get the same taste.But luckily this time,I got almost the same taste by adding some extra sauces and changing the flour batter etc etc..Senthil said it taste like an five star restaurant dish...Ok I can hear someone saying stop "Bragging"..Also my 3 year old said its so tasty mom..you can also use gobi instead chicken.

You need:
Chicken thigh/breast (boneless)-1 lb
rice flour-2 tbsp
besan flour-1 tbsp
egg-1
oil-for frying
onion-1/2 big(big chunky pieces)
garlic-2 cloves(finely chopped)
Bell pepper-1/2(big chunky pieces)
tomato ketchup-3 tbsp
knorr sweet and spicy sauce-2 tbsp
soy sauce-a dash

Method:
Beat the egg in a bowl.Mix the besan and rice flour in a seperate bowl.

Heat the oil for frying,dip the chicken pieces in the egg and then dip it in the flour mix and fry it well.

Heat the wok with oil,add the garlic,onion and bell pepper saute it for 3-4 mnts.

Add all the sauces to it fry it for 1 mnt.

Add the fried chicken pieces and saute it for 1-2 mnts.

Garnish it and enjoy!!

Yellow pumkin pachadi

Pachadi means curd with some vegetable that is what everybody know,but this one is totally new.Actually this is one of the very authentic recepie from our family.when there is any function/festival in our home we will prepare this dish.This goes well with the hot rice and tadka dhall.Actually it has all the taste in it sweet,sour&spicy.so everybody love this dish.My husband who is totally new to this dish when I prepared this for the first time,he said it is like bhel puri..thats weird right? the reason he said is becoz it has all the taste(spicy,sour,sweet) just like bhel puri.


Ingriedients

yellow pumkin-1/2 lb (cut into small pices)
tamrind extract-from one lemon size.
rice flour-1/2 tsp
jaggery-1 tsp (grated)
salt

for wet grinding

1.dry chillies-5-7
2.pepper corns-1 tsp
3.cumin seeds-1/2 tsp
4.mustard seeds-1/2 tsp
5.curry leaves-4
6.methi seeds-1/4 tsp


For tempering

oil-1 tbsp
mustard seeds
cumin seeds
curry leaves

Method:

In a small pot add the grinded paste,tamrind extract,water and salt.

add the pumpkin to it,when the pumpkin is cooked fully.

add the rice flour in a little amount of water whisk it and add to the pachadi.

add the jaggery to it.

Finally add the oil in a small pan add the items for tempering when it splutters add this to the pachadi.

Have it with tadka dhall, rice and papad.

Enjoy!!

Chicken kulambu

Chicken/mutton kulambu is the predominant dish in sundays in most of the houses in tamil nadu.My mom usually makes this chicken kulambu along with some chicken 65.Me and my brother usually finish the chicken65 before the lunch itself.obiviously this kulambu is bit spicy it goes well with rice.It can be easily done with the pressure pan.

Ingriedients:
Chicken thighs-1 lb
onion-1 + 1/2 finely chopped bigger ones
Tomato-1(finely chopped bigger ones)
ginger and garlic paste-1 tsp
curd-1/2 cup
sambar/kulambu powder-2+1/2 tsp
oil-2+1/2 tbsp
salt-as per taste

for grinding
coconut-3 tbsp
cashews-1 tbsp
dry chillies-3
fennel seeds-1/2 tsp

For tempering

cinnamon,cloves,elachi,fennel seeds,anistar,bay leaf-as per your need

Method

1.Add oil in the pressure when it is hot add the items for tempering.

2.When it started spluttering add the onion when it is translucent add ginger garlic paste.

3.when the raw smell goes off add the tomatoes and cook it nicely.

4.Add the kulambu powder and fry it when the oil seperates add the salt,chicken and curd and fry it for few mnts until the water oozess out from the chicken.

5. finally add the grinded paste and little amount of water and close the lid.

6.After two whistle switch of the stove.

if you feel it is bit watery then let it boil gor few mnts on high flame until it reach desired consistency.

Enjoy!!

Sushi Thai Restaurant @Halfmoon,ny

We used to pass by this restaurant almost daily,actually it is in the strip mall so I thought its kind of boring chinese take out restaurant,by looking from the outside it looks like though.I dont like take out chinese foods..But I love Chinese food when it is prepared good.I also love Thai food...It has much Indian flavors in it.

We usually go to the restaurant once in a week bcoz I love eating outside same as senthil obiviously my son adarsh too will enjoy it.We were so hungry on saturaday afternoon,but we already planned to go out for lunch..Somehow it was very late...so we deceided we can try something near..Then I said letz try this thai restuarant..Senthil also said OK..We entered to this restaurant almost like 2:30 p.m..so they had lunch menu..they also provided the dinner menu..

When I looked through the menu I can see lot of thai items like pad thai,red curry,green curry,Paneng chicken etc..I thought of trying something different other than pad thai,red curry..we usally go for that in thai restaurants..I forget to tell you thier decor was so good..it looks very earth friendly thay had a lot plants and a bif flat screen tv displaying all the images of Thailand...the waitress and waiter dressed in traditional Thai dress..Then I think ohh my god what I thought about the restaurants from the outside was totally wrong..

We first order vegetable tum yom soup for me the taste of the soup was lil bland but Senthil Loved it..He said it was very tasty..




Chicken Satay with peanut sauce and cucumber sauce This was totally awesome...Especially the sauces were so good. My son Adarsh really loved this He ate one immidiately asking for the other one..



Drunken noodles This is a flat rice noodles kind of like chow fun in chinese.With shrimp and chicken..It was good but little bit greasy.which also has lot of vegetables in it like zuchini,squash...which is very rare to find in a noodles/lo-mein..I am a huge noodles fan so for me this noodles is heaven..



Basil and Chili Chicken AS I said I dont want to try the normal red/paneng/yellow curry.We tried this.It is little bit spicy...But when we have it with rice it was Yummy..It has good basil aroma and chili taste in it..Chicken is cooked good..



Popcorn chicken We ordered this because Adarsh was keep on asking more chicken..Whenit can came he was so happy..It is panko breaded (japenese bread crumbs) and fried nicely..It was so crispy..the Sauce was OK..




So overall our meal @ SushiThai was excellent..The price was also nominal..Our overall bill including tax and tips came to $34..Thats what we need in this economy right..

Rocket Dosai

Restaurant dosa are always special than home made....Not the one that is in US here...I am saying about the restaurants in madurai and chennai...Most of the time I will go for dosa in the restaurants..My brother he is a dosa fan...you cant beleive he will eat dosa for all the three times a day...all 365 days...He wont even get bored...thats interesting rite...I am not that kind...Same as Senthil...secret behind Dosa is the batter and heat in the tava..Batter needs to be lil watery and the tava needs to be hot not very hot...when you add lil water to the tava you should hear hear the sound...that is the ideal heat for the tava..When the batter is in hand there is no time neede for preparing these rocket dosa..




Click here for the batter

Shrimp coconut curry

I love sea food soo much but my hubby doesnt..so Seafood in my kitchen is once in a while..Compare to fish he is ok with the shrimp...I like the smaller shrimp compare to the larger one...here the people like the larger one but for indian dishes the smaller one will be tasty..I usally make shrimp without any coconut...but this time tried it in a different way along with adding some coconut..I am kind of person who wont stick with the same recepies..I like to try new recepies everytime...Even if I am seeing recepies from tv/net I will make some modification..I wont follow in the same way..you know what that will sometime will turn to be big hit and sometimes na..na..

you need:

1.shrimp-1/2 lb(small)

2.onion-1 big(diced finely)

3.turmeric powder-1/4 tsp

4.green chillies-2

5.coriander powder-1+1/2 tbsp

6.pepper-1tsp

7.oil-2tbsp

to grind:

1.red chillies-5

2.zeera seed-1/2 tsp

3.mustard seed-1/2 tsp

4tomato-1 big(chopped)

for spluttering

1.cinnamon,Elachi,staranise-as per your choice

Method:

1.In a wide pan add some oil and add the items for spluttering..once it started spluterring.

2.Add the onion once it is translucent add the turmeric powder.

3.Add the gridned items,grenn chillies , pepper powder, coriander powder.

4.once the oil oozes out add some water and add the shrimp.

5.Let it cook for few mnts..

6.Finish it of with nicely chopped coriander leaves..

Simple huh..Enjoy!!!