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 !

Katrikai Gotsu

Katrikai Gotsu

This can be made in different ways. But this one is my mom's way of doing it. I love the smell & the taste of it & its very simple.
Ingredients
Big Brinjal
Oil

Mustard seeds - 1 spoon

Red Chillies (2)

Asafoetida - a pinch

Tamarind paste - 1 1/2 spoons.

Curry leaves

Sambar powder - 2 spoons

Salt

Preparation
The brinjal has to be roasted. The tradiational way of doing it is to apply oil on the brinjal & directly keep it on the flame & keep turning the brinjal until all the skin is burnt enough. Then peel off the skin.
I tried to use the conventional over to make it. Preheat the oven for 400 for 5 mins, then apply oil and keep it in the oven. Occasionally flip it. It took me half an hour to get it done. This may vary depending on the oven.

Dissolve the tamarind paste in 1 cup of water.
In a kadai take oil. When it is hot, add mustard seeds, red chillies, a pinch of asafetida, curry leaves, half a tea spoon of sambar powder. Roast it a bit until the raw smell is gone. Then add the tamarind extract & salt. Let it boil for some time. Then mash the brinjal and add it to the boiling mixture and bring it to a boil.

Its done. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Lovely to take it with upma kuzukatai & aruci upma.

Human Race.....what to say about it...

Apart from the usual recipes.......

I happened to watch a a movie "The Island" from the director Micheal Bay. The same guy who did Transformers, Armageddon, etc.

LIFE INSURANCE,,...What are we assured about..?

Eternity has always been man's dream. BUt at what cost? Are we ready for this kind of of assurance...May be we'l welcome it...but is this the right way to go?

It was quite an insight. I often used to think anout Us as humans being the dominant race among the other species that lodge the earth. The survival of the fittest is what we define "us" to be. As we royally proclaim to be the rightful owners of Earth. Thus we...the so called most evolved of all species, consider our existence to be of prime priority as opposed to all the others. We destroy a lot of things around us.

Our evolution has evolved so much that we are ready to recreate & destroy so much of ourselves for our own survival.

......I know the above statment doesn't quite make a lot of sense immediately....but sadly enough we are just being like tat.

I 've been quite scrappy about my thoughts......a must watch movie.