Sambar Podi / kozambu Podi/ curry powder

Living In the U.S and running out of stock for homemade Sambar powder is something I always dreaded. I always make the freshly ground masala for sambar. And when I ask for a recipe, I get stone walled telling that I needed a machine (a typical one in India to grind these powders) or I need to have it dried under the hot sun. Both of which is an impossible thing here. My quest ended with my Sister in law, Sumithra Ranganath's easy recipe. It came out really great.

Here are the things we need
Coriander seed - 1 cup
Urad dal           - 1 cup
Channa dal       - 1 cup
Methi seeds     - 1 table spoon
Mustard seeds - 1 table spoon
Red chilli          - 250 gms ( typically this is only a rough measure) 
Asafoetida       -  a little
Turmeric powder - 4 spoons
Cinnamon    - 5 grams.
Maratti Mogghhu (Star Anise) - 5 grams


Dry roast all the above ingredients until golden brown and once you smell the fried chilli Switch off allow it too cool  and grind it to fine powder.


One can skip the last 2 ingredients too.


This powder can be used to make  Sambar, Curries.

A vegetarian Falafel Sandwich

This a dish I tried during my trip to new York. It was very yummy. It is a middle eastern dish.  So I could say its healthy too.

Things we need
For this we need to fry small balls, Some veggies, chutney/ hummus and pita bread. I got the pita bread from the local market.
When I ate this dish it was served with Hummus. I modified it a bit to suit my taste, so I made a chutney with mint and coriander.  You can also buy a hummus at a local store.

For the patty or the falafel balls
Garbanzo beans / Whole channa dal - 1 cup
Green chillies 3
Minced Ginger   1 spoon
Cilantro 1 small cup
Cumin powder - 1 spoon
Coriander powder - 1 spoon
Salt
Crushed Black pepper  - 1/2 spoon
All purpose flour/ maida - 3/4 cups
Baking soda 1/4 spoon
Oil to deep fry

For the Chutney
Mint
Coriander leaves
Green Chillies

The veggies
Chopped Tomatoes
Green pepper
Lettuce
Onions
Cucumber
Boiled corn fennels
Sour cream

How to make

The patty or  falafel balls
Soak the garbanzo beans/ whole channa dal overnight. You can use the canned garbanzo beans if you are okie with it. I prefer it fresh.

In a food processor, add the garbanzo beans, green chillies, minced ginger, cilantro, cumin powder, corriander powder, crushed black pepper, baking soda and salt. Grind these coarsly.  If you are adding garlic, you can add it along with these. just sprinkle water, if needed.
This comes in the consistency of a coarse masala vada batter.  Now take oil in kadai, make small balls of this batter & deep fry them.
Keep them on a tissue for the oil to drain. They will be crisp.

The Chutney
Grind the mint, coriander, green chillies, salt. Grind all these ingredients to a paste.

Now just open the pita bread, throw in a couple of the falafel balls, add all the veggies you want, some chutney & some sour cream. If needed you can jus sqeuuze in some drops of lemon juice too.

Enjoy.

Strawberry Pie

I love sweet stuff. And Strawberries are one my favorites.


Things we need
Fresh Strawberries  1/2 boxes ( or 5 cups)
Sugar  - 1/2 cup
Corn Starch - 2 spoons
Unsalted Butter
Pillsbury Pie Crusts
Whipped cream.

The pie crusts - to thaw them, please fopllow the instruction given on the box.
Preheat the oven to 450
Hull all the strawberries. Take one box of the strawberries, grind them well in a food processor. In a vessel, heat them till they thicken up a bit. Do not add water. Mix the corn starch & sugar in a little amount of water till the lumps dissolve. And add this to the boiling berry sauce.  Stir them well. The liquid will thicken up a bit . Do not add more corn starch, as that will dominate the taste and the sauce will become very thick.

Grease the baking tray with butter and roll out the pastry sheet. With a fork, make small holes. This allows the pie to get cooked evenly.  Fill in sheet with the sauce we made & arrange the 1/2 box of hulled strawberries along the sides of the pie sheet. Close this with the other pie sheet & crimp the edges using your thumb. Brush the top of the pie with butter. With a sharp knife make little slits on top.


Slide it into the oven & reduce the temperature now to 250. Let it stand for 35 mins. The top of the pic turns slight brown when done.

A yummy strawberry pie. It is very yummy when served with whipped cream.

Vegetable Pulav/ Steamed Rice with vegetables

This is neither a pulav nor a biriyani which is loaded with rich ingredients. So this pulav strikes somewhere in between. I got this recipe  from my friend Gana Nithin. Thanks Gana.

Things We need

Basmati Rice - 2 1/2 cups
Vegetables   - Potato, green beans, carrots, bell peppers (capsicum), green peas, Corns funnels, Cauliflower florets.
Ginger          - minced well 3 spoons
Onions (small) - 2 chopped well
Coriander leaves - 1 1/2 cup
Mint leaves   - 1 cup

Cinnamon     - 2  pinches ( I use cinnamon powder)
Cardamon    - little
Pepper corns- 5 or 6
Bay Leaf       - 1
Cloves          - 4 or 5 corns
Green Chillies- 10 -12
Coriander powder - 1 1/2 spoon
Coconut        - 2 spoons
Poppy Seeds - 1 spoon
Fennel Seeds - 1 spoon

Butter            - 1 spoon
Curd             - 2 spoons

Salt
A little oil



Okie now lets make it.

Wash the rice & keep it aside. Soak the poppy seeds in water. Take 1/4 of the chopped onions. Fry the cloves (2), cinnamon (a pinch), onions (1/4 ), ginger, green chillies,1 cup of coriander leaves, little mint leaves,  and add coriander powder, coconut . Grind them into a paste along with the poppy seeds.

You can make this in a pressure cooker or even in an electric rice cooker.

In the pressure cooker, add butter, when its hot, add the fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, peppercorns, chopped onions. Fry them well then add chopped mint & coriander leaves & the masala we had ground earlier. Fry till the oil oozes out. Then add 2 spoons of curd and all the veggies. Mix them well and add the rice and salt & water (1 : 11/2 cup). Close it with the lid without the weight. Stand it for 14 mins & then switch it off & place the weight on it. Let it stand for 10 mins. The Veg Pulav is done.

If you are planning on using a electric rice cooker, fry all these in a skillet & then add them to the electric rice cooker.

I actually garnished it with some fried paneer cubes and some cashews.
The mint twist is an amazing flavour. Voilà its Done. It goes well with Raitha. Enjoy!

Rasam vadai, Bonda Soup

This is one of my granny's recipes...A very traditional one.

Things we need

For Vada
Urad dal  - 1 1/2
Pepper
Oil to fry
Salt


For Rasam
Moong dal 1/2 cup
Urad Dal - 1 Spoon
Pepper - 10/15 corns
Asafoetida - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1 spoon
Red chillies - 3
Salt
Tamarind paste - 3 1/2 spoons
Mustard seeds
Curry Leaves.

Vada
This recipe is meant for 4 people. You can alter according to your needs.
Soak 1 1/2 cups of urad dal  for 2 hrs. Then grind it with pepper & salt. I use an Indian mixer. So I just sprinkle water on & off while grinding in order to get a thick batter. I keep the batter in the fridge for an hour so that the batter thickens up a bit more.


Make it into flat vadas & Fry them. If this doesn't work, just make tiny balls & fry them.  (I was unable to make them into flat vada shaped ones, so i made small balls & they taste great too) . Keep them on a tissue paper to have the oil absorbed.

 Rasam
 Pressure cook the moong dal with water for 4 whistles. once done, mash the dal well & make it a little watery & set it aside.

With a little oil, roast the pepper corns, urad dal, cumin seeds, asafoetida, red chillies. Then grind them to a paste.
In a vessel take the tamarind paste add water & salt to it & allow it to boil. Then add the above masala to it & bring it to a boil till it froths. then add the dal water & allow it to boil. For the seasoning, in a kadai, take a little oil, add mustard seeds, little cumin seeds & curry leaves & add it to the rasam.

Rasam is done. Add the vadas to the rasam & allow it to soak for an hour. Well rasam vada is done.
The flavor of pepper should be on the higher side, as it gives taste to the rasam & the vada.
Pepper is very good for health & if you have noticed, for this rasam  we haven;t used toor dal. So its totally a different taste to experiment on.

Bon apétit!

Carrot Halwa/ Gajar Halwa/ Sweet Carrot pudding

Things we need

Carrot   2 lbs

Sweetened Condensed Milk  14oz

Unsalted Butter 6oz

Cashew & Almonds shriveled

Cardamon 

Peel & Grate the carrots in a food processor.In a big thick bottomed skillet, melt the butter, fry the nuts & Keep them aside.
Add the shredded carrots & saute them until they are soft (2 to 3 mins). Add the nuts to the mixture, then the  sweetened condensed milk. Mix them well and close it with a lid & allow it to cook on low flame for around 30 mins. stirring it occasionally . By then, everything is absorbed well & the butter starts oozing out. Ts done.

Serving tips

Heat the halwa a bit & serve it with ice cream. Its very yummy that way.

Its not a healthy dish for sure. But a bit of indulgence is no harm.

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.