Eggless Banana Walnut Bread

Hot chocolate with Banana Walnut Bread......sounds Yummy right....

Here is what we need.

All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups

Ripe Banana - 3

Flax Seeds - 2 tsp

Sugar - 1 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Curd - 2 Tsp

Baking Soda - 1Tsp

Salt - a pinch

Walnuts - a cup

Unsalted Butter - 4 Tsp

Method

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees for 15 mins.

Pour all the ingredients in a bowl & beat together with a mixer or just mix them all with your fingers till you get the consistency of thick dosa batter.

Grease an oven safe dish & pour the batter. Level them and keep it in the oven for up to 50 mins. Do not fill the tray up to the rim, because the cake expands and rises up when its heated. Check if the cake is done by poking it with tooth pick or fork . If the tip sticks, leave it to cook for some more time.

Once done. Allow it to cool & enjoy.

Tips on Storage:

You can leave the cake in an airtight box for up to 3 days at room temperature.

If you have made a lot, you can refrigerate it for up to 7-8 days.

If you want to store it for a longer time, just freeze it in an air tight box.

When you are ready to eat, just keep it at room temperature for a while and warm it if necessary before serving.

Lauki Kofta / Sorakai curry/ squash in a creamy gravy

As I scan the Indian grocery store, I used often wonder what to do with this vegetable. Thanks to my friend Sulbha, I was able to come up with this dish. Its rich & yummy.

Things we need

For the lauki balls

Lauki / Soraikai - peeled & grated - 3 cups

Besan / Chickpea flour - 1 cup

Salt

Cashews

Red Chilli powder

Turmeric powder

Ginger minced

Dry Mango powder

Corriander leaves chopped.

Oil to fry

Extract the water from the grated lauki & mix all of the above ingredients & lastly the besan four. Add enough to make small balls of it. Fry them in oil like a vada till they are golden brown & keep it aside.

For the gravy

Onions - 1/2 well chopped

Tomato - 2 pureed with 2 green chillies

Little ginger (or) Ginger garlic paste

Poppy seeds - 1 spoon soaked in water

Cashew - 5/6

Whole garam masala - Cardamon 1, cloves 2, cumin 1/4 spoon, corriander seeds 1/4 spoon, black pepper 4 , a very small pinch of nutmeg, 1 pinch cinnamon powder.

Cumin seeds - 1/2 spoon

Red chilli powder

Garam masala powder - 1/4 spoon

Turmeric powder

Dried Kasturi Methi

Milk / cream

Oil

Salt

In a kadai, take a little oil. When its hot fry the whole garam masala & the chopped onions. Take them out & grind them well with the soaked poppy seeds & cashew.

Then in the kadai, take a little oil. When hot add cumin seeds, ginger, then the tomato puree. Allow them cook well till the raw smell is gone. Add the Onion paste ,red chilli powder, turmeric powder, the garam masala powder & salt. Allow it to boil well. Now add the Kofta balls. & then add a little milk/ cream & crushed kasturi methi.

Kofta Curry is done. Its goes well with Chapatti, roti or naan , Veg pulav.

Have a wonderful meal..

Mixed Vegatable Soup

I had been wanting to try out a mixed vegetable soup for a while. I just thought about a couple of ingredients & information bagage from my mom, I could arrive at this recipe

Things we need

Broccoli - 3-5 heads

Cauliflower - 3-5 heads

Onion - 1/2 well sliced

Corn fennels - 1/2 spoon

Green peas - 1 spoon

Beans - 3 0r 4 cut into midium pieces

Carrots - 1 cubed

Grated ginger

1/2 spoon butter / olive oil

Salt

Pinch of dried Oregano & Basil for flavour (optional)

Crushed Pepper

1/4 Tbs of Corn flour

Procedure

In a vessel, take some butter. When it is hot, add the onions & saute till they are translucent, then add ginger & fry well. Then add all the vegetables & salt & saute well. Cover the vessel with a lid. Stir them often. Add crushed pepper & add about a cup of water. Close & allow it to boil for 15 to 20 mins. Then add the dry basil & oregano. Add 1/4 spoon butter to this & allow it to cook for 5 minutes & switch off.

I like the soup watery. If you want a little thicker consistency, dissolve the corn powder in nomal water, add it to the soup & bring it to boil.

Soup can be served in a bread bowl & with just some bread or a baguette.

Bon Apétit.

Akkara Adisal - Rice, Jaggery & Ghee Pudding

This is one dish, I always loved preparing. I made this dish on Thiru aadipuram, which is andal's(Godha devi's) b'day. She loved Lord Krishna . Anything with Ghee is really delightful to eat.

Things we need

Rice- 2 cups

Milk - 6 cups

Jaggery- 5 cups (well grated)

Ghee - 1 cup

Cashews - a handful

Raisins - a handful

Saffron Strands

Jaadikai (Nutmeg) - a little grated

Cardamon - powdered

How to make

Wash the rice & add the milk to the rice & pressure cook it. Once done, Mash it well & keep it aside.

Then in a thick bottomed vessel, add around 1 1/2 cups of water & add the jaggery & allow it to boil. The jaggery will dissove completely & will start to thicken. Take a drop of the boiling jaggery & drop it into a cup of water. The jaggery shouldn't melt & it should go to the bottom of the cup like a ball. When you see so, the pagam is done (the consistency is perfect).

Add the boiled & mashed rice to this & mix it well. Allow it t boil a bit. In a kadai add a little ghee, fry the cashews, raisins, the nutmeg & add it to the dish. Then in a small cup, take 4 or 5 strands of saffron & soak them in milk &then crush them till they dissolve & give out color. Add this & the cardamon powder to the dish & mix them well.

Finally add the remaining ghee & mix well. The ghee is a key thing in this dish so do add enough to render it tastier.

(In the picture it looks a little thick in consistency, as I liked it that way,but, it has to be a a little semi solid in consistency for the real Akkara adisal)

Its done. It is an easy dish. Enjoy the delicious Akkara Adisal.

Daal Makhani - Black Gram Dal

This dish was my favourite at restaurants. I wanted to learn it . Thanks to Sulbha Phanesekar, I could make this dish.

Things we need
Black Urad Dal - 1 cup
Rajma - - little less then 1/4 cup
Onions - finely chopped
Tomatoes - ground well
Ginger Paste (or ginger garlic paste)
Bay Leaf - 1
Cumin Seeds - 1 tbsp
Chilli Powder - 2 tbsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tbsp
Garam Masala - 2 tbsp
Dried Kasturi methi leaves
Milk - 1/2 cup (or cream)
Butter - 3/4 of a stick (7 to 8 spoons )
Oil
Salt
Soak the urad dal & the rajma bean over night. Pressure cook for 3 whisltles . Drain the water from the cooked dal & keep it aside. Mash the dal well.
In a kadai take a little oil, when it is hot, add cumin seeds, bay leaf, then the onions. Fry them well. Add a little butter & ginger paste, tomatoes and fry them well till the raw smell goes away. Then add turmeric, chilli powder , garam masal powder & saute them. To this add the drained water we took from the dal, the remaining butter & allow it to boil. Add the cooked dal & salt to this& stir well. Cook in slow flame for almost 20 mins. If needed add a little water. It should be a semi solid. But don not add too much as we need to add milk.
When done, add the crushed & dried kasturi methi leaves & finally the milk (or even cream).
Its is very yummy with chapatti.

Vatha Kuzambu without tamarind

Things we need

Onions 1 1/2 Sliced well
Tomato 2
Coriander leaves
Sambar powder
Red chilli - 1 or 2
Channa dal 1/2 sppon
Urad dal 1/2 spoon
Peanut 1/2 spoon
Mustard seeds
Fenugreek Seeds
Oil
Asafoetida
Salt
Curry Leaves
How to make it
Grind the tomato & coriander leaves with salt. in a kadai, take some oil. Once it is heated up, add th emustard & allow it to spurt, and then the fenugreek seeds, red chilli, then the lentils (dals) & the peanuts. Fry them till they are brown, then add the curry leaves, onions, & fry them till they are transparent. Then add asafoetida, then some sambar powder. Just sauté it a bit. Then add the tomato coriander ground mix. Allow it to boil well. then turn it off.
Its a very easy dish. It tastes good with rice or pongal.

Ompodi – Chickpea sev

Things we need
Besan (Chickpea flour) 1 ½ cup
Rice flour ½ cup
2 spoond of ghee or butter
Omam (Ajwain) 2 spoons
Chilli powder
Asafoetida Hing
Salt
Curry Leaves
Oil to fry

Method
Soak the Ajwain in water for half an hour. Then grind it well & extract the juice off it.


In a convenient bowl, add ghee/ butter, salt, chilli powder, asafetida & mix them well. Then add both the flours& mix. The butter should be equally distributed on the flour. Then add the ajwain Juice & add water as & when necessary to knead it into dough. The dough's consistency should be very soft. It will be sticky.


Take the murukku maker & fit it with the ompodi plate. It has the smallest holes. Grease it a bit with oil. If the dough is too tight, it won't go through the holes. So make it accordingly. Fill the murukku maker with the dough.


In a kadai, take oil. When the oil is hot enough, press the murukku maker in a circle which will disperse the dough well into the oil.


Once they are done turn over the ompodi. Once they r a little brown, take them out & let the oil drain out on a tissue.


These become crispy & yummy.Once you are done with making all of them, fry some curry leaves & put it in the box where you store it. It adds to the flavour. A nice snack that one can seel with any age group. Its much easier too.

Mulli Paratha/ Mullangi paratha

This is an easy dish. Mulli is fibrous & good for health too.

We need

Mulli - 1 well grated

Green chillies - 4 Finely Chopped

Ginger - finely grated

Chilli Powder

Salt

Wheat flour

Water

Oil/ ghee

Take the grated mulli, add the green chillies, ginger & salt to it. Set it aside in an air tight box for 2 hours. (It doesn;t smell great if we keep it open). Then Squeeze the liquid out of the mulli. Make small balls of the mulli and keep it aside.

The water extracted from the mulli can be used to make the dough with the wheat flour. Or it can be made with normal water. Remember to add a little chilli powder & salt to the dough.

Now make small balls of the dough. Lay it & make a small chapatti. keep a little ball of the mulli in it. Pack it into a small stuffed ball & then roll it again with the rolling pin. Don't be too hard. Make it softly. In a skillet that is heated up a bit & toss the paratha. When done on one side, turn it on the other to get both the sides cooked well. Take it out and then add some ghee/oil on both the sides. It is served with curd (with a pinch of chaat masala, chilli powder & salt) and some pickle.

Puliorai / Pulihora / Puli sadam/ Tamarind rice

My anytime favourite.

Things we need

Tamarind / Tamarind extract - about 10 table spoons

Corriander seeds - 2 spoons

Methi/fenugreek seeds - 1/2 spoon

Red chilli 12

Asafoetida
Salt

Water

Oil

For seasoning

Oil

Mustard Seeds

Red chilli 2/4

Urad Dal

Channa dal

Peanuts

Curry leaves

Turmeric - 1/2 spoon

Cashew nuts

First we have to make the paste (Pulikaichal).

Take the tamarind add 1 1/2 glass of water and the necessary salt to it. Do not add a lot of salt, as the water would evaporate. In a thick bottom vessel or a kadai, take a little oil. When it is hot, add the methi seeds, 12 red chillies & corriander seeds roast them. When done, put it aside & allow it cool. When cool, grind them into a powder.

Then in the kadai, take 2 spoons of oil, when hot add the mustard seeds & let them sputter. Then add 2/3 Urad dal, Channa dal, Peanuts. When they are golden brown, add the tamarind mix. Then allow it to boil till the paste solidifies to half of the quantity.

Tip: When the tamarind boils, it would spill all over the gas. So use a lid to cover it.

Now the paste is ready. Cook 2 cups of rice. Allow it cool. This makes the rice non sticky. Add a little oil. Then in a kadai, add some oil, when hot add a little mustard seeds & allow it to sputter, then some turmeric. Add this on top of the rice. Then some paste. Mix it well with the rice. Then taste if it needs more salt andd add accordingly. Fry the cashews in ghe & add them. Then at last garnish it with curry leaves. The aroma is good when added at alast.

Now some alternatives. Instead of adding the dals & allowing it to boil, we can actually season it along with the turmeric and add it to the rice. This keeps the lentils crisp.

Pulihorai is done. Awesome with any fried pakoda/ Masala vadai

Upma Kozukatai / Broken Rice Balls

This is one of my favourite tiffens. My mom's special.

Things we need

Rice - 1 1/2 cups
Grated coconut - 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 1/2 spoon
Mustard seeds - 1 spoon
Red chillies - 6/7
Urad dal - 1 spoon
Channa dal- 1 spoon
Asafoetida
Water

Grind the rice coarsly.
In a kadai, take oil. Once it is hot, add the mustard Seeds, red chilli, channa dal, urad dal, asafoetida. When the lentils are golden brown, add 3 1/4 cups of water. then add the coconut. Allow it to boil, then add the rice rava (broken rice) & mix them well. They absorb water & become a little solid. It doesn't need to be cooked. This is how it would look (uncooked).




Then allow it cool & make small balls out of it. Take a pressure cooker and place them inside a vessel. It has to be steam cooked (without the weight) for 12 mins.
IT can be steam cooked using a electric rice cooker too.

Its done. Its very yummy with Katrikai Gotsu or Coconut chutney or idli sambar.

Mixed Paneer Fry/ Indian Cheese Fry

Things we need

Paneer - 1 packet

Tomato - 2

Onions - 2

Green peas - 1 cup

Corriander Leaves

Oil

Green chillies - 3/4
Curry leaves

Cumin seeds

Cumin powder

Corriander powder

Chilli powder

Ginger garlic paste

Turmeric

Garam Masala powder

Salt

Preparation

Cut the paneer into small cubes. Then in a kadai, take a some oil fry the paneer until they are little brown. Then put them on a paper towel to get off the excess oil. After sometime, put the fried paneer in water for 2 mins. Then taken them out & squeeze them gently. We do this to ensure that the paneer is soft.

In a skillet, take 2 spoons of oil. When hot, add cumin seeds, curry leaves, chopped onions.

When they are translucent, add a little salt, turmeric, ginger garlic paste, tomatoes & green peas. Then add the cumin powder, chilli powder, corriander powder. When they are cooked add the paneer and then the garam masala powder.

Mix then well. And finally add the chopped corriander leaves to garnish.

It tastes good with roti.

Mundiri urundai/ Cashew Balls

This is an item I learnt from my Mom in law. We so this for the festival of Karthigai.

Cashew is an all time fovourite for many of us. So lets explore.

Things we need

Cashew 1/4 kg

Jaggery 200 gm

Cardamom powder

Ghee to fry

Water

In a kadai, fry the cashew and keep them aside. Dissolve the jaggery in 1/2 glass of water & aloow it to boil. After 2 mins, when the jaggery is disso;ved, drain it into another vessel till the residue is left in the kadai. Most of the jeggery we buy contains some sediments of mud. Clean that out & put the liquid back in kadai & boil it well. Add the cardamom powder.

Now boil it till we get the right consistency. For that, have a small cup of water beside. Then add the jaggery syrup to the water. The jaggery will sink & not dissolve. And if you are able to make a small ball with it, its done.

Add the syrup to the cashew. Mix well. Have a little water beside. Make small balls with it.

That is all. Cashew Balls are done.

Paruppu Adai/Lentils Dosa

This is pretty similar like Dosa but since its made of dal, I can say its rich in protein.

Things we need

Idli Rice/ Puzungal aruci (in tamil) - 2 cups

Toor dal - 1/2 cup

Urad dal- 1/2 cup

Channa Dal-1/2 cup

Red chillies -5

Asafoetida

Salt

Green Chillies -4

Corriander leaves

Curry leaves

Grated Coconut - 3 spoons

Wash & Soak the rice & the lentils together for 3 hrs. Then grind salt, red chillies, green chilles, asafoetida, the soaked dals & rice, Salt . Grind them coarsly. Then add the coconut, chopped corriander & curry leaves. the batter is ready

Then in a tava/skillet, take 2 ladle full of batter, spread them around like one would do for a dosa. Add a little oil around. When one side of it is done, turn it over to get the other side cooked.
Its done. It is served best with Avial. some like it well with just jaggery. Even Coconut chutney would do good.
Chopped onions can be added to the batter too.

Mexican Veggie Bowl

This was one dish I had at Chipotle in chicago. It was so yummy I fell in love with. I searched for recipes in vain. So I kind of put things together to make a taste that is little closer to the original that is served there. When I started doing this, I felt like making our Desi Chaat..Lot of items. But it was fun to make & delicious too.

Its pretty easy & very Healthy with a lot Veggies.
Here is what we need:
Brown Rice - 1 cup
Black Bean (raw) - 1 cup
Green chillies - 3
Red chilli Powder 1/2 spoon
Ginger Garlic paste
Onions - 1 chopped well
Tomatos - Pureed (or cut into small pieces)
Cilantro leaves - chopped
Salt
Oil

Avocado - 1 ripe
Guacamole seasoning mix - 1 packet (available at Walmart or any other store)
Sour Cream

Veggies for topping
Lettuce
Onions
Corn
Green Pepper
Little lemon juice

Lets get to preparation.


RICE
Cook the brown rice as per the packet instructions. I felt they came out well when cooked in a electric cooker instead of the pressure cooker.

BEAN
Pressure cook the black beans. Take half of them & mash it . ( I used a food processor for this ) . Then in a skillet, add a little oil. When it si hot enough, add the onions & cook them till they r soft & add the ginger garlic paste, green chillies. Then add the tomatoes & saute well. Add the bean to this & then salt. Add little water & cook them well for 15 mins or so. When done, add the cilantro leaves. The bean is done.

Guacamole Sauce
Take the ripe avocados & miss them with the guacamole Mix. (use a food processor).

Veggies
Chop the lettuce
Cut the onions, green pepper length wise. (nothing to do with the way of cutting them. I felt that they just render a different look to the dish.)

In a skillet, take oil, when its hot, add the onions, green pepper & corn . Add a little salt.. Cook them jus a little & when done add a little lemon juice on top of them.

Now let’s put them all together. In a bowl, add the brown rice, then the bean, chopped lettuce, then the onion, green pepper & corn mix. 1 spoon of Guacamole Sauce, 1 spoon of Sour Cream. Sprinkle little salt & lemon on top.

¡buen provecho (Bon Appetit)

Bendi Microwave Fry

This Recipe was suggested by one of my friends Gowri. This one is pretty easy, really tasty & healthy.

Things you need:

Okra - Fresh ones (not Frozen)
Salt
Chilli Powder
Pam olive Oil Spray / Any oil
Microwaveable plate.

Cut the okra lengthwise as shown in the pic & lay them on a plate. Spray a little oil on them & sprinkle Salt, chilli powder.


Keep it in the microwave for 5 mins, then just mix them up a bit & keep it for 2 more mins. That is all. Crispy Bendi Fry is ready to eat. They r crispy without frying them in Oil, thats the best part.



It is very good with Rasam Rice

Aama Vadai/ Masala Vadai/ Cabbage vadai/ Paruppu Vadai

This Recipe is a mix match from a lot of sources. But the main ratios are from Meenakshi Amma's Samithu Paar, the legendary cook book.

Things Needed:

Toor dal : 1 cup

Channa Dal : 1/2 cup

Urad Dal : 1/2 cup

Green Chillies

Red chillies

Ginger

Mint leaves a small bunch

Corriander leaves

Curry Leaves

Salt to taste

Hing or Asafoetida

Cabbage : Well cut

Onions : Well cut

Saunf/ fennel seeds a little

Oil to fry

Preparation

Soak the Channa Dal Separately. Soak the urad & the Toor Dal together for about 2 hrs. Take the chillies, salt, hing, ginger & grind them 1st. Then add the Toor dal & the Urad dal & grind them very roughly. To this jus add the mint, corriander & the Channa dal & grind them coarsly. Add the saunf. Do not add much water. It shud be thick in consistency

Mix the batter well & add the curry leaves, cabbage & also the onions.

In a kadai, take oil, all it get hot. Then make a small inner palm sized flat vadas & fry it in the oil.

Yummy vadais are ready..

Aloo channa Dal Papad Kootu. Urulaikizangu Kadalai Paruppu Appala Kootu

This Particular recipe is one I tried from a Aval Vikatan, a tamil magazine.
It was realy tasty & real handy when we run out of vegetables.

Things we need:

Potato - 2 /3
Onions - 2 chopped
Channa dal - 1/2 a cup
Papad 2 / 3
Cocunut - 2 spoons (grind them well)
Saunf - 1/2 spoon
Green chilles - 3/4 well sliced
Turmeric Powder
Chilli powder
Corriander Leaves
Ginger - 1/2 spoon Grated
Cinnamon - a little
Cloves - 2 nos
Curry Leaves
Oil
salt

If need be One can use Garlic too

Pressure cook the potatoes. In the cooker you can also pressure cook Channa dal with turmeric, chilli powder & salt. Then Mash the potatoes well & add the cooked Channa dal along with it. Fry the papads & keep them aside.
In a Kadai, take a little oil, add cinnamon, cloves,saunf & onions. Then add curry leaves, green chillies, ginger (add the crushed garlic at this time if you are wanting to add). When they are cooked, add the potatoes + Channa dal mix. add a little water and salt. Then add the ground coconut. Mix them well. When done, add the papads and then garnish with Corriander leaves.
The dish is done. It is good with Rice.
(In the pic I did not add Corriander Leaves, as I didn't have any at that time. They were tasty too)

Panagam/ Panakam/ Jaggery Splash

This is a drink mostly given to us during Raama Navami. Along with Kosmari (Salad) and Neer Moor (Butter Milk).
I shall post reipes of all of them. They are very easy to make.
The main ingredient in this is Jaggery. This was used as a subtitute of Sugar. It has magnesium, potassium, iron & also sodium. Jaggery is known to relax our nerves espically to beat the summer.

Items needed
Water - 1 1/2 cup
Jaggery - have it powdered. Or slice it well using a sharp knife - half a cup
Dry ginger/ Sukku powder - 1/ spoon
Cardamom Powdered - a pinch
Lemon 1/2

Mix the jaggery completely in water. Drain it into another vessel to remove the sediments. Then add the dry ginger powder, cardamom, lemon.

This drink is very popluar to heal commoon cols & sore throat due the properties of ginger. One can also add a little bit of crushed pepper to spice it up.

Vegetable Poli, Vegetable Paratha

The dish I am gonna explain below is my mom in law's specialty. This is pretty easy to make.

Vegetable Poli

Ingredients

For the dough

Maida Flour

Salt

Water

A little oil

For the stuffing

Carrots

Potato

Oil

Mustard

Onions finely chopped

Green Chillies

Salt

Preparation

Take ½ tumbler water, add salt and dissolve, add Maida flour and make dough. Add one spoon oil and make the dough little softer than a chappatti dough. Keep it aside for 2 hours. Pressure cook potato & carrot. Peel their skin and mash them very well. Take oil in Kadai, heat, add mustard, after it sputs add cut onions and till they are really soft. Then add the carrot, potato. Take salt, green chilli (3), grind in a mixie and add to the subzi. Add little water and cook till the masala gets solidified.

Take the maida dough, take a small ball, spread the same on a plate. Spread it in such a way that the center part of the dough has more dough than the corners. Put a small lump of masala on it, close the dough and press it out evenly to make it into a small paratha . Some of the masala might come out, Don’t worry, it enhances the taste if its done so.

Put the pressed dough on frying pan (dosa stone add a little oil around and cook the Poli on both sides by reversing. Its done.

Bon appétit !