Thenga Boli

This is a traditional sweet done on New year and on many occasions like wedding. In kannada its called Kai Holige. I am giving recipe made with coconut which is very tasty.

Ingredients
Maida (all purpose flour) - 1 cup
Rava small (Chiroti Sooji) - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1/4 tspn
Grated thenga (coconut) - 1 1/2 cups
Jaggery (Vellam) - 1 1/2 cups powdered
Cardamom (Elaichi) - 1 tspn powdered
Oil - 1/2 cup
Preparation Method
In a bowl Mix maida,rava, turmeric with little water to make soft dough.
Now add oil and kneed well.
Leave it for 1 hour.
For stuffing (Puran)

In a kadai, put grated coconut and add powdered jaggery and mix well in low flame keep stirring it. When it mixes well and becomes thick add cardamom powder and mix. Remove from stove.
Take small balls of the dough spread a little and stuff this sweet mixture and close all sides
Spread like chapathi slowly with little oil by hand.
Heat a pan put boli and cook both sides till brown in low flame.


Thenga Boli is ready serve with ghee.

Poori

Poori (Puri) is one of the famous breakfast/tiffin in India. This is prepared from wheat flour.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour - 2 cups
All purpose flour (Maida) - 1/4 cup
Cooking oil - 4 tspns
Oil for deep fry
Salt
Water as requried
Preparation Method
In a bowl mix both flour, oil and salt with slight water
Make a soft dough like for chapathi
Make small balls and spread smaller to the size of chapathi
Heat oil in a kadai medium-low heat
When its coming to smoking hot slowly drop the dough in kadai and slightly press it with spatula(jara)
Once its fried it will rise then turn on reverse side and fry for few seconds
Remove it on absorbent paper

Poori can be served with Potato masala, Channa masala or
Potato sagu - http://simplysara07.blogspot.com/2008/11/potato-sagu.html

Health

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Sweet Chutney(Tamarind)

Sweet Chutney is a multi purpose chutney used as a side dish for many chaats like samosa, bhel puri, etc.....

Ingredients

Thick Tamarind water - 2 cups
Jaggery - 2 tspns
Seedless Dates - 6 nos
Grind dates and jaggery with little water in mixie to a fine paste
Salt a pinch.

Method

In a vessel add tamarind water, salt with the paste and allow it to boil well till its semi-solid paste. Stir occasionally.

Allow it to cool store in a container and use.

Note - If dates are not available you can just do it with tamarind water and jaggery.

Cabbage with Jackfruit seed Kootu

A different style of cabbage kootu with Jackfruit seeds tastes very delicious.

Ingredients
Cabbage - 1 no(medium)
Jackfruit seeds - 10 nos
Toor Dal - 1 cup
Grated Coconut - 2 cups
Dry red chilli - 4 nos
Cumin (Jeera) - 2 tspns
Curry leaves - 15nos
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1 tspn
Urad dal - 1 tspn
Salt


Preparation Method
Cook toor dal in pressure cooker and keep separately.
Chop cabbage into small pieces.
Wash jackfruit seeds remove skin and cut into 2 pieces.
In a thick bottom vessel, add cabbage and jackfruit seeds add little water, turmeric and salt. Allow it to cook in low flame.
Grind grated coconut, dry red chilli and jeera.
Once cabbage is cooked add this grinded mixture and boil.
Then add toor dal,and curry leaves and boil
Season it with oil, mustard and urad dal.

Cabbage Kootu is ready. It can be served with rice or chapathi.

Lemon Rice with Leftover Rice!

Lemon Rice is one of the Coloured Rice which is easy to cook. done on many occasions. The lemon(limon) gives tangy taste.

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup

Groundnuts - 1/2 cup

Oil - 2 tspns

Mustard - 1 tspn

Bengal gram - 1 tspn

Green chilli - 2 nos - Chopped

Turmeric pwdr - 1/4 tspn

Lemon - 1 no Medium Size

Curry leaves

Salt

Preparation method:

Cook rice with water little less than the usual in order to avoid sticky texture. Allow the rice to come to room temperature.

In the mean while

Heat oil in a curved pan. Add mustard seeds. Once it splutters add bengal gram, groundnuts and turmeric powder. Saute till bengal gram turns light brown.

Add Chopped Green Chilli / Curry Leaves and stir fry a little.

Turn the stove off.

Add the above mixure to rice, Squeeze Lemon and Mix well and allow it to settle for a while so that the taste of Lemon/ Chilli and Salt to gets obsorbed into the rice .

Lemon rice is ready to serve. This can be served with fried papads and vadams.

Variations:

1. You can also add onions. Stir Fry finely chopped onions along with the above mixture prior to adding Rice.

2. Stir fry grated coconut and green chilli along with the spluttered mustard and Bengal Gram, Peanuts.

Green Chutney

Green Chutney is a multi purpose chutney used in many dishes. It can be spread for bread/sandwiches, chaats, etc.

Coriander leaves(cilantro) - 1 cup

Pudina(Mint leaves) - few
Green chilli - 3 nos (as per taste)

Grind in mixie to a fine paste.



Green chutney is ready. It can be stored in a container for about a week.

KIDNEY BEANS(RAJMA)

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and, yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Pepper Rasam

I was thinking which recipe from my list I should post next for my readers. When I also added “simple” to this thought, what came to my mind immediately is RASAM. Though various kinds of Rasams are being made, one simple, easy to make yet famous one is Spicy Pepper Rasam. This is my real favourite dish which you can have as a starter with Fried Papads as appetizer.

Ingredients
Tamarind water- 1 cup
Water - 4 cups
Black pepper - 1 tspn
Cumin(Jeera) - 2 tspns
Toor dal - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 tspn
Oil - 1 tspn
Mustard - 1 tspn
Curry Leaves - 10nos
Salt
Tomato and garlic (Optional)I have not used.

Preparation Method

Cook toor dal in cooker.
Grind pepper and cumin in mixie to fine powder
In a vessel, add tamarind water, plain water and pepper jeera powder
Allow it to boil till raw smell goes
Now take toor dal add little water to it and blend well
Add it to tamarind water and boil well
Add curry leaves and salt
Season it with ghee, oil and mustard
Check on salt once you season with ghee salt will reduce. Add little before serving if required.

Pepper rasam is ready to serve with rice. This is very tasty to drink and very good for digestion says my granny. This is also good recipe for rainy season.

Variation - For quick rasam you can skip adding dal and keep the rest of the recipe same.

Paal Payasam

Paal Payasam is popular in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is a traditional sweet done on weddings and festivals.

Ingredients
Milk - 1/2 Litre
Rice - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Condensed milk -1/2 cup(optional)
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Cardamom powder(Elaichi) - 1 tspn
Ghee - 1 tspn
Cashew and raisins - 2 tspns

Preparation Method
In a vessel, keep milk in low flame.
Wash rice and add to the milk.
Keep a close watch so its not over cooked and burnt. Stir frequently.
Once rice is cooked in milk if it is too thick in consistency add little water. Since it will become thick later.
Add sugar and stir.
Add condensed milk(Optional I used milkmaid)

Allow it to boil and become thick in consistency
Add cardamom powder
Fry cashews and raisins in ghee and garnish it.

This is very tasty you can serve hot or chilled.

This is also famous in latin america called Aroz con leche with slight variation by adding cinamon.

Vengaya Sambar(Onion Sambar)

A yummy mouth watering Vengaya sambar(onion sambar) with vendakka poriyal or beans poriyal combination is very tasty.

Ingredients

Onion - 2nos (Big)

Toor dal - 1 cup

Curry leaves - 2 tspns

Oil - 5 tspns

Tamarind - 1 lemon size

Jaggery - 1 small piece
Salt

For masala(grinding)

Coriander seeds (daniya) - 2 tablespoon

Dry red chilli - 4 nos

Kadala parap(Bengal gram) - 2 tspn

Urad dal - 1 tspn

Venthayam(Methi seeds) - 1/4 tspn

Grated coconut - 2 cups
Cinamon (pattai) - 1 small piece
Preparation methodSoak tamarind in hot water for few mins and squeeze it.
Chop onions to medium size pieces.
In a Kadai, add 2 tspns oil and fry the above masala ingredients without coconut till dal is brown. Add coconut while grinding in mixie and grind it to a fine paste with little water.
In the same kadai, add 2 tspns of oil add onion and saute till soft. Add little salt.
Cook the toor dal and keep ready.
Keep a vessel on stove and add tamarind water. Now add onion to this and allow it to boil.
Add the grinded masala to it and boil.
Add curry leaves
Add dal mix well and allow it to boil. Add water if necessary.
Add salt
Add jaggery for taste. Stir well and boil.
Season it with mustard.

Vengaya Sambar is ready to serve. It can be served with idlis, dosai or rice.

CURD RICE

CURD RICE IS VERY DELICIOUS. IN SOUTH INDIA MOST OF US END THEIR DINNER OR LUNCH WITH CURD RICE. THIS IS GOOD FOR REDUCING THE ILL EFFECTS OF SPICY FOODS.


INGREDIENTS
RICE - 1 CUP
CURDS - 1 CUP
MILK - 1CUP
POMAGRANATE - 1/2 CUP
MUSTARD - 1/2 TSPN
OIL - 2 TSPNS
SALT

METHOD
COOK RICE LITTLE SOFT BY KEEPING 1/2 CUP EXTRA WATER. ALLOW IT TO COOL.

SEASON THE RICE WITH SPLUTTERED MUSTARD SEEDS.

NOW MIX SALT, MILK AND CURDS, POMOGRANETS TO THE RICE AND MIX WELL.
BEFORE SERVING YOU MAY GARNISH WITH ADDITIONAL POMOGRANATE ON TOP.

TASTY CURD RICE IS READY TO SERVE.

ALTERNATE MIXINGS -

1. SEEDLESS GRAPES AND CASHEWS.

2. FINELY CHOPED RAW MANGOES

3. WITH GREEN CHILLI, GINGER, CORIANDER LEAVES AND CURRY LEAVES

TIP:

FOR RICH TASTE AND THICK CURD RICE, YOU MAY POUR THE HOME MADE YOGURT TO THE CLEAN WHITE CLOTH, MAKE A BALL LIKE, TIE IT TIGHT AND HANG IT INSIDE YOUR FRIDGE. KEEP A BOWL BELOW FOR THE EXCESS WATER TO GET COLLECTED. AFTER COUPLE OF HOURS THICK CURD WILL BE READY TO USE.