Beans Paruppu Usli!

Beans Paruppu Usli is very healthy and nice sidedish combi for sambar rice, vatha kolambu and Mor kolambu. It is popular in Tamilnadu.

Ingredients
Beans/French beans - 1/2 kg
Kadalai Paruppu/Channa Dal - 1 cup
Tavaram Paruppu/Toor dal - 1/2 cup
Dry Red Chilli - 2nos(Adjust as per your spice taste)
Curry leaves - few
Oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard -  1/2 tspn
Jeera - a pinch
Asafotida/hing - a pinch
Turmeric - 1/4 tspn
Salt
Coconut oil - 1 tspn(optional)

Preparation Method
Wash and soak the dals in water for 2 hours. 
Cut the ends and chop beans into small pieces. Pressure cook with little water, salt and turmeric for 2 whistles.
Grind the dals with chilli to a coarse paste in a mixie or blender.
Heat a kadai, add oil, mustard wait till it pops, then add jeera, hing, curry leaves. saute for a min.
Add the grounded dal mix and cook well until it changes the colour. If required add little oil.
Add the steamed beans without water and mix well. Adjust salt..
Let it cook for few mins. Off the stove. Add 1 tspn coconut oil and mix for flavour.

Beans Paruppu Usli is ready to serve. Enjoy this with sambar rice, rasam rice, vatha kolambu, curd rice and Mor kolambu. I like to mix it with hot steamed rice. You can also eat hot as it is for tea time.

Mathan Pachadi | Sweet Yellow Pumpkin | Authentic Kerala Recipe!

Mathan/ Sweet Yellow Pumpkin Pachadi is an authentic Kerala Recipe.

Ingredients
Mathan Sweet Yellow Pumpkin - 250gms
Tamarind water - 1 cup
Fresh grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Green chilli - 1 no(as per your taste)
Coconut oil - 1/2 tspn
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Fenugreek seeds/Venthayam - 1/4 tspn
Dry red chilli - 1 no
Curry leaves - few
Salt

Preparation Method
Wash, deseed, remove skin and cut into cubes.
Heat a vessel, add the mathan, tamarind water, turmeric and salt. Let it cook.
Grind grated coconut, green chilli and mustard with little water to fine paste.(Can also add 1/4 tspn rice while grinding)
Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the paste and mix.
You can mash the pumpkin if you want and allow it to boil.
Season it with1/2 tspn coconut oil, mustard and fenugreek seeds/venthayam, 1 dry red chilli and curry leaves.

Mathan /Sweet Yellow Pumpkin Pachadi is ready is serve. This is a sidedish for Kootu rice. Click here for Kootu recipes.

Dahi Papdi Chaat !

Hope you all had great diwali and enjoyed. I had a nice diwali, but due to unavoidable circumstances I was not able to post recipes and visit your blogs. Will visit them soon. Also will post my diwali recipes.

Dahi Papdi Chaat is a popular in North India Chaat. My hubby's favourite and I like it without curds.

Ingredients
Papdi - 8 nos (For recipe to make papdi at home click here)
Boiled potato - 2nos

Onion - 1no chopped
Tomato - 1no chopped
Chaat Masala - 2 pinches
Fresh Curds/Plain yogurt - 8 tspns
Green Chutney as per your taste(click on name for recipe)
Sweet Chutney as per your taste (click on name for recipe)
Salt
Freshly chopped coriander
Omapodi/Sev

Preparation Method
Arrange Papdi on a plate.
Add one by one above ingredients in the same order on the papdi and enjoy.

Dahi Papdi Chaat is ready to serve.

Notes - You can also add boiled green gram instead of onion.

Mysore Pak | Melt in Mouth | Diwali Sweet Recipe!

Hope all are geared for the Diwali celebrations, heres my first sweet recipe after the savouries posted here, you can choose from Omapodi/Sev, Ribbon/Thattu Pakoda, Kara Boondi and Mullu Murukku.(click on the name for recipe). Yes, Diwali spree has started in my place a week back. This is my father in laws recipe and hes the mentor to me today to prepare this with perfection. Thanks Dad for teaching me:-)

Wish you and your family a very Happy and Safe Diwali. With gleam of Diyas, and the Echo of the Chants ; May Happiness & Contentment fill your life,Let's celebrate the auspicious day of Diwali with fun and frolic ; May this bright day bring Bountiful Bliss and Joy in your life…………

Ingredients

Kadalai Maav/Besan/Chickpea Flour - 1 cup

Sugar - 2 and 1/2 cups

Ghee - 2 and 1/2 cups (Melted and warm)

Water just to cover sugar

 

Preparation Method

Heat a kadai and dry fry kadalai maav till you get good aroma and raw smell is gone. Do not burn it. 

In a double boiler, melt ghee and keep in low flame to keep ghee hot and warm.

Grease a tray or plate with ghee.

In a heavy bottom kadai, add sugar and water. Let it dissolve and keep stirring till it forms 1 string. Slowly keep checking by your fingers. Reduce flame to low.

Add the kadalai maav slowly and stir by whisk and without forming lumps.

Now increase the flame, it will start to become frothy and bubbling.

(you cannot move your eyes and hand anywhere, keep stirring slowly)

When it becomes thick, add 1/2 cup melted ghee and keep mixing.

Keep stirring well then after few minutes again add 1/2 cup ghee and mix well.

When it becomes thick, frothy and doesnot stick to kadai, add last 1/2 cup ghee. Stir once. Pour in the greased tray. Press lightly by a cup evenly.

Allow it to cool for sometime, then take a greased sharp knife and cut to desired shape.

Let it cool completely, again take knife and cut on the same prints firmly.

Slowly remove the peices and store in airtight container.

Mysore Pak melt in mouth is ready.

My upcoming posts will be Thattai, Mixture, Krishna Sweets Mysore Pak..stay tuned here @ Sara's Corner.

Again wishing all my Sara's Corner readers a Happy and Safe Deepavali!

Cheers,
Saraswathi

Ribbon | Thattu Pakoda | Diwali Savoury Recipe!!!

Ribbon|Thattu Pakoda is another savoury, popular down South India. This is very easy and tasty snack. Perfect for the festive season.

These flower candles were gifted by my dear friend Rekha. Thank you.

Ingredients
Kadalai Maav/ Besan - 4 cups
Arasi Maav/ Rice flour - 1 tspn
Milagai Podi /Red chilli powder - 1/2 tspn(As per your taste)
Peringayam/Hing - 1/4 tspn
Vennai/Butter - 2 tspns (at room temperature)
Salt
Water as required

Preparation Method
In wide vessel, add kadalai maavu, arasi maavu salt, hing and mix dry.
Take butter and mix in the flour by hand, then sprinkle water and make a soft dough.
Leave it for 10mins by that time heat oil in kadai for deep frying in low flame.
Make equal portions of the dough, take one small portion and put in the murukku nazhi/press. Use double rectangle plate.(It will be like pasta fettuchini)
Press slowly in the hot oil in circle. Be careful.
Slow cook on the both sides till brown.
Repeat the same process with rest of the dough.
Allow it to cool, then crush into small pieces and then store in air tight container.

Ribbon Pakoda is ready to serve. This crunchy savoury can be served with Hot Coffee.

This recipe is going to My Diwali my way by Kushi and Diwali Festival of Lights by Anu.

Instant Mullu Murukku | Diwali Savory Recipe!

Mullu Murukku is prepared on festivals, weddings and other ocasions. Here I have prepared using Ready Murukku Mix and found it quiet easy at times. This is the first time I used the mix. Usually I bring the mix milled from India done by my mom:-) When in chennai, I love those crispy and tempting ones from Grand Sweets.

Will post my traditional recipe also soon. This mix is handy when you find difficult to prepare the traditional murukku maav/flour.

Ingredients
Murukku Mix - 1 kg(I used Babas)
Hot Oil - 3/4 cup
Omam/Ajwain/Bishop weed - 1 tblspn(As per your taste)(see notes below)
Hing -  1/2tspn
Water as required
Oil for deep frying
Salt

Preparation Method
In wide vessel, add murukku mix, salt, hing, omam and mix dry.
Make a dent/like well in the flour.
Heat 3/4 cup oil and it should be hot but not smoky.
Slowly pour in the dent, wait for few minutes. It will be very hot(Caution)
Mix slowly the oil in the flour by hand, then add sprinkle water and make a soft dough.
Leave it for 10mins by that time heat oil in kadai for deep frying in low flame.
Make equal portions in the dough, take one small portion and put in the murukku nazhi/press. I used single star one plate.
Take newspaper or parchment paper, cut into small rectangles and keep.
Press slowly upto 4 lines and keep about 5 to 6 ready.
When oil is hot slowly put them and deep fry till brown on both sides.
Repeat the same process with rest of the dough.
Allow it to cool and then store in air tight container.

Instant Mullu Murukku is ready to serve.

Enjoy the crunchy murukku with Hot coffee/tea, sambar rice or rasam rice.

Notes - You can use Jeera/Cumin seeds or Ellu/White Sesame Seeds instead of Omam.

I will soon post the step by step photos.

This B & W photo is going to B&W Wednesday by Susan. This recipe is going to My Diwali my way by Kushi and Diwali Festival of Lights by Anu.

100 YUMMY DIWALI SWEETS E-BOOK BY INDUSLADIES!!!

Here's the much awaited "100 Yummy Diwali Recipes" E-book by Indusladies. Happy to share that my sweet recipe Badam Puri is featured in the E-book.

You can download the contributed recipes from here. Hope you try and enjoy this Diwali.

Orange Pineapple Juice | Jugo de Naranja Piña!!!

Orange Pineapple Juice | Jugo de Naranja Piña in Spanish is very refreshing drink.

Ingredients
Fresh Orange Juice - 3/4 cup(Juice of 2 oranges)
Fresh Pineapple - Juice of 4 slices
Sugar  or honey - 1 tablespoon
Water as required

Preparation Method
Take a tall glass, add orange juice and sugar. Mix well.
Slowly add fresh pineapple juice on top.

Garnish with orange and pineapple fruit pieces and ice cubes.

Serve it Chill...Enjoy!!! Slurp....Happy Weekend!!!

Notes - I have used fresh fruit juices, you can replace by store bought juice too.

How to make Papdi for Chaat?

Papdi is very popular in North India. I have been wanting to try, this time when my sister in law was here, we tried and it was very tasty. Its used in chaat. My son loved it as it is.

Ingredients
Maida/APF - 2 cups
Butter - 2 tspns(at room temperature)
Omam/Ajwain- 1 tspn
Salt
Water as required
Oil for deep frying

Preparation Method
Mix all the ingredients and make a dough(like chapathi dough)
Roll a big chapathi evenly using an rolling pin and take a round cookie cutter or cover of any bottle and cut.
Prick it by fork.
Deep fry both sides.

Repeat the same process with the rest of the dough.

Papdi can be had as it is or in chaat.

Store it in air tight container for later use. It will be good for about 1 week. This can be used in Masala Puri a popular Street food chaat in Karnataka.

Keerai | Palak | Spinach Pulao and Tomato Raitha Type 1!!!

Keerai Pulao | Palak/Spinach Rice is very delicious and tasty variety rice. I prepared this for lunch yesterday. My family liked it a lot.

Serves - 4 persons

Ingredients
Keerai/Palak/Spinach - 1 bunch
Pudina/Mint leaves -1/2 bunch or 2 cups
Rice - 3 cups
Water - 6 cups
Green Chilli - 3 nos(As per your taste)
Ginger - 2 tspns
Onion - 2nos
Cashews - few(Optional)
Spices - 1 no each(Krambu,Elakka,Pattai /Clove, Cinamon, Cardamom)
Oil - 3 tablespoons
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
Salt
Garlic(Optional) I have not used

 Preparation Method
Wash and chop keerai and pudina and keep aside.
Chop onions and keep aside.
In a Kadai, add 1 tspn oil saute the keerai, pudina, 1no green chilli with ginger for 5 to 7 mins. Allow it to cool. Grind it to coarse paste 2 to 3 times in mixie or blender.
Heat a pressure cooker, add oil, put spices and fry. Add chopped onion, a pinch of salt and a green chilli,(at this stage if you want you can add ginger garlic paste) and saute till onions are transparant.
Now add grounded keerai mixture and saute for few minutes.
Wash and add rice, salt, garam masala and mix. Allow it to boil and pressure cook for 4 whistles.
Wait for steam to release and slowly mix. Garnish with cashews.

Serve hot or warm with Raitha.

Tomato Onion Raitha Recipe

Ingredients
Tomato - 2nos(deseeded and chopped)
Onion - 1 no (chopped)
Fresh curds/Plain yogurt - 2 cups
Green chilli - 1no (chopped)
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves - 1 tspn(chopped)

Method
Take a bowl and mix all the ingredients one by one.

Tomato Onion Raitha is ready to serve with the Pulao.

Notes - You can add ghee for flavour with the oil.

This recipe is going to CWS Rice by Reva and Priya. My other entries for this event are Peas Pulao Restuarant Style, Kothamalli/Cilantro Sadam, Vegetable Dum Biryani and Masala Veggie Pulao 

Homemade Oma Podi /Sev | Step-by-Step Diwali Recipe!!!

Oma Podi / Sev is a simple and tasty fried savory. It tastes great as it is and widely used in chaats and mixture. Its aromatic with Omam/Ajwain/Bishop weed. This is popular in all sweet and savory shops in India. This is my kids and in-laws favourite as its not spicy.

This recipe is taught by my in-laws.

Step-by-Step Photos

Testing the flow

Recipe
Ingredients
Kadalai Maavu/Besan/Chickpea Flour - 4 cups
Rice flour - 1 tablespoon
Omam/Ajwain/Bishop Weed - 2 tspns
Salt as required
Oil for deep frying

Preparation Method
Soak Omam in water for 1 hour and then boil it with water to get Omam water. Allow it to cool. This is for mixing the dough.
Then filter the water and keep.
In a wide vessel, put kadalai maavu, salt and mix with omam water as required to a soft dough. Make equal portions of the dough.(1tablespoon rice flour to get crispy)
Heat oil in a kadai/wok, take a small portion of the dough, put in murukku/omapodi nazhi/hand press gadget.
Press in the hot oil fully in a circle wide.
Let it cook, turn around and deep fry.
Take it on a tissue paper and just press by hand and make small pieces.

Homemade Oma Podi is ready. I love this with sambar rice and rasam rice.

Notes :
- Do not put the whole omam as it will block the holes of the murukku nazhi/ gadget.
- Use the fine and small hole sevva nazhi.

- Adding Rice flour(optional), it will be crispy.

Indusladies E-book for Diwali!!!

For the upcoming Diwali on October 26th, 2011, Indusladies is compiling an E-Book called “100 Yummy Diwali Sweet Recipes”. We are collecting Sweet/Dessert recipes from various bloggers to be featured in this E-Book.

This E-book will be made available as a free download to our community's 1.3 Lakh+ members. In addition, they are also be making this E-Book available to our 9000+ Facebook fans and Twitter followers. It's LOTS and LOTS of exposure to those food blogs entering the E-Book!!

We believe this would be a nice way to get the word out about a wonderful blog to the entire membership of IndusLadies!!

Are you a Food Blogger? Or do you have friends who are Food Bloggers? Here's a great news for the Food Bloggers out there who have been blogging  for alteast 1 year now...

Those bloggers interested in submitting a recipe for this E-Book...all you need to do is as follows:

1. Send a link from your blog for a sweet /dessert recipe. It should also include the picture of the sweet/dessert. Your recipe, food picture, recipe URL as well as the entire blog URL will get featured in the E-Book.

2. In return, we need you to do two things:

Now make a blog post in your blog announcing the E-Book compilation by IndusLadies and the recipe you are sending for this E-Book. That way inviting your co-bloggers interested to send in their contribution by Oct 10th,2011.

Any blogger interested can send their entry to partners@indusladies.com by October 8th.

My sweet entries to the event are here.

Sweet Karamani/Black Eyed Bean Sundal | Navarathri Special!!!

Hi Friends,

Hope you are having great time this Navarathri. Have been quite busy with the festive season and couldnot blog. Just posting this recipe I prepared today. This sundal is special for Navarathri as it is a sweet one.

Sweet Karamani Sundal is a sundal prepared with vellam/jaggery and this is very tasty.
Tomorrow is Saraswathi Pooja, Kondakadalai/Chickpea/Garbanzo Sundal is prepared and offered to God with other menu for festivals. To read more on Navarathri click here.

IngredientsKaramani/Black Eyed Beans - 4 cups (Brown or white, I used white)
Vellam/Jaggery - 4 cups(powdered)
Fresh Grated coconut - 1 cup
Elakka/Cardamom powder - 4 pods

Preparation Method
Soak karamani/blackeyed beans overnite with enough water. Pressure cook for about 4 to 5 whistles with water and a pinch of salt in medium flame. (We should not cook anything without salt)
In a kadai or wide vessel, put vellam/jaggery with 1 cup water and boil well. Let it dissolve fully. Then filter it if any dust or mud particles are there. Wash the kadai and add the filtered jaggery, again boil it well till the raw smell goes and it reduces a bit.
Once its boiled, add grated coconut and mix.
Add boiled karamani and mix. Stir in intervals. Let it boil well and until no water left. Off the stove then add elachi powder mix.

Sweet Karamani Sundal is ready to serve to God.

Soya Bean Sundal | Navarathri Recipes!!!

Soya Bean Sundal is very healthy. This time I have not added coconut. Its good for lowering cholestrol.

Ingredients
Soya Bean - 2 cups (Available at supermarket in Dried Food section)
Olive oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1/2 tspn
Urad dal - 1/2 tspn
Jeera - a pinch
Curry powder - 1/2 tspn(As per your taste)
Asafotida/hing - a pinch
Dry Red Chilli - 1no (As per your taste)
Curry leaves - few
Salt as per taste

Preparation Method
Soak Soya bean overnite with enough water. Pressure cook for about 4 to 5 whistles with water and salt in medium flame.
Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard wait till it splutters then add asafotida, urad dal, dry red chilli, jeera and curry leaves. Saute till urad dal is brown.
Add cooked soya beans without water.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and curry powder mix well. Cook for 5mins and Off the stove.
Soya Bean Sundal is ready to offer to God, later enjoy.

This is good with sambar rice as sidedish and for lunchbox.

Notes - I have not used coconut here, if you wish you can add.

Try my other Sundal recipes for Navarathri

Kondakadalai/Chickpea/Garbanzo Sundal
Rajma, Soya, Green Gram Sundal
Pacha Payar Karamani Sundal
Verkadalai/Peanut Sundal

Sorakkai/Bottle Gourd Rava Ladoo Repost!!!

I usually make Rava Ladoo, this time tried with Sorakkai/Bottle Gourd. Sometime back this was showed on TV and tried by my friend.  It was different, tasty and moist.

Ingredients
Sorakkai/Bottle Gourd - 1/2 cup
Rava - 2 cups
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup(as per taste)
Elachi/Cardamom - powder of 2 pods
Ghee - 1 tspn + little more
Cashews/Pistachoes - few
Milk - 1 to 2 tspns

Preparation Method
Grate Sorakkai and squeeze just little water but not fully. Keep it aside.

Heat a thick bottom kadai, add 1/2 tspn ghee, add rava and roast till its slightly brown and gets good aroma. Transfer it to a wide vessel. Add sugar, press and mix well with a spoon.

In the same pan, add 1/2 tspn ghee, add grated sorakkai saute till the raw smell goes. Add this to the rava mixture.


In the same pan, add little ghee and fry chopped nuts till brown. Add this also to the mixture.


Now mix everything finely with a spoon.


Sprinkle little milk as sorakkai is little moist and mix to a soft dough by hand.


Take lemon size of the mix to get round shape.


Store it in an air tight container and enjoy. This will be perfect to eat next day or rests for a 2 -3 hrs. Its good to prepare for guests and festivals.

This recipe along with my Carrot Rice Payasam, Dumroot Halwa and MW Low Fat Carrot Halwa, Carrot Halwa, Jackfruit Payasam are going to Celebrate Sweets Fruits n Veggie by Raks and Nivedita.

This recipe alongwith the following is going for
"IndusLadies.com eBook for Diwali.

Badam Puri - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2009/05/badam-puri.html

Seven Cup -  http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2009/06/seven-cup.html

Maaladu/Besan Ladu - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2009/03/maaladubesan-laadu-recipe.html

Holige/Obattu - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2011/04/holigeobattu-step-by-step-recipe.html

Sorakayi Rava Laddu - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2011/04/sorakkaibottle-gourd-rava-ladoo.html

Carrot Rice Payasam - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2011/04/carrot-rice-payasamkheer.html