Oats chutney powder

Yesterday i tried chutney powder using oats for the first time,which was so delicious and yum As.we all know  it is a good source of dietary fibre."soluble fibre from oatmeal is low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease".source: U.S.FDA.So it is a great way to start your day with plenty of Energy.
              My kids do not like oats if i give them like a porridge .So i just add in our own south indian breakfast to make it more interesting like in idlies,dosas,upma, paddu/appo or any other food in different forms.But today for the first time i used oats in my dry chutney powder because kids love chutney powder a lot and that they want almost daily in their breakfast and some times in their lunch also.Yesterday  i actually wanted to prepare oats upma so for  that  i roasted my oats to keep in handy when i needed.But i am not very sure about the kids so prepared some vermicelli upma for them .Then i dropped my plan to prepare oats upma.So tried this chutney .

Ingredients:-

oats

Cumin

Garlic

Ground nuts

Roasted gram

Curry leaves

Kashmiri red chillies

Copra

1. Oats-2cups
2. Roasted gram-1/2cup
3. Roasted ground nuts-1/2cup
4. Copra grated-1tbsp
5. Curry leaves-3strands
6. Kashmiri red chilly-10
7. Cumin -1tsp
8. Garlic-2pods
9. Oil-2tsp
10. Salt to taste

Method:- 

• Dry roast oats over low flame untill it becomes light brown colour.
• Now add all the ingredients and roast further 5 mins on low flame.
• Let it cool for some time then put all the roasted ingredients along with the oil in a  mixer jar to make a fine powder.
• Spread it on a wide plate and once it cools down store it in an air tight container.
• Serve with dosa,idli or with hot rice along with ghee or curd.

Coorgi pandi (pork)curry

pork curry and Kadambuttu ( coorgi style rice dumplings)

This is my second coorgi dish .My first dish was chicken curry and this is with pork.coorgi people love pork they call it pandi. They serve this dish in almost every occations along with akki rotti/otti orKadambuttu ( coorgi style rice dumplings) which is prepared using rice semolina/rava goes well with this pandi curry. I tried this combo for the 1st time and believe me it was simply awesome.
    In this recipe i have used Yorkshire pork which is very tender and just melts in your mouth and with this i prepared Kadambuttu ( coorgi style rice dumplings)(steamed rice dumplings) which is very easy it is like our  rice Oondi.Only thing that i did not use in this is coorgi vinegar(kachampuli).Actually i have no idea where it is available so i replaced it with tamarind pulp and little malt vinegar.The dish was superb and we all loved this dish.

Ingredients:-

1.  Pork-1kg
2. Chilly powder-1tsp
3. Vinegar-2tsp
4. Turmeric powder-1tsp
5. Salt to taste.
6. Pepper corn-1/2tsp
7. Coriander-1tbsp
8. Cumin-11/2tsp
9. Cloves-10
10. Coriander leaves-1cup(chopped)
11. Green chilly-4
12. Ginger-1"piece
13. Garlic-1pod
14. Onion-2(chopped)
15. Tamarind pulp-1tbsp

Pork

• Wash pork couple of times,remove excess water and keep aside

• Now marinate the pork with chilly powder,turmeric powder,vinegar and salt to taste.

• Now  dry roast coriander,cumin,cloves and pepper until dark brown color and make fine powder.

• Prepare wet masala using onion,coriander leaves,garlic,ginger and green chilly.

Method:-

• Heat 1tbsp oil in a pressure cooker and add marinated pork and saute on high heat for about 5 mins.
• Now add the wet masala and a cup of water .Cover the lid and cook for 15 mins or take 2 whistle.
• Once the cooker cools down open the lid and add dry masala powder nd continue cooking until the dish is almost dry.
• At this stage add tamarind pulp and boil further 5 mins or till semi dry.If you want to have it as a snack or starter then cook on a high flame until it is  almost dry.
• Serve hot with coorgi rotti or with kadambuttu

Pandi curry

Bangda/Mackerel masala

Manglorean bangude Masala

Every family in the beautiful costal state of Karnataka depend on rice and fish for their staple food. The fish is either cooked as a curry or fried. Mangalore is home to many types of sea food. This particular recipe is a typical traditional style of Mangaloren mackerel Masala Personally i don't like mackerels but yesterday when i saw those fresh huge which we normally don't get here, thought of buying.Usually we prepare fish curry or raja panna upkari but this time i thought of making this shallow fried manglorean dish which is my favourite .this Masala goes well with almost all types of fish like kapi,surma/king fish or any variety of flat fish.

Bangudey masala

                                      

Ingredients;-

Mackerels -4
Kashmiri Red chilly-10
Onion-1(chopped0
Ginger-1"piece
Garlic-1big pod
Tamarind -1 lemon sized ball
Coriander seed-2tsp
Fenugreek seed-1/2tsp
Curry leaves-2 springs
Salt to taste
Coconut or veg oil-2tbsp

Marinated mackerel 

Method:-

• Wash and clean the fish.Make deep cuts on the fish and keep aside.
• Dry roast chillies,coriander,fenugreek separately .
• Now grind the roasted ingredients with ginger,garlic,onion, tamarind  and salt to smooth paste.
• Now marinate the fish with ground masala paste and curry leaves, keep in the refrigerator for at least 1hour.
• Now take a flat frying pan and pour some oil.Let it heat for some time and then add the marinated mackerel along with the paste and cover and cook for about 10 mins each on both the side untill its almost dry.

                                       

Serve hot with lemon wedges and onion rings

Amer dal.. a Bengali cuisine

I  love bengali cuisine.Bengali dishes are vey much similar to our konkani dishes especially vegetarian dishes. and not too spicy.First time i tried this bengali dal and it was very tasty.My son simply love dal so daily i try to make different variety of dal.They prepare variety of dishes with raw mango.My son loved this dal and want me to prepare this again tomorrow. 

Ingredients:-

Tur dal-1/2cup

Moong dal-1/2cup

Turmeric-1/2tsp

Raw mango-1(cut into small pieces)

Mustard-1/2tsp

Cumin-1/2tsp

Red chilly-2
Curry leaves-1spring

Ghee-2tsp

Salt to taste

Method:-

• Cook both the dal together in a pressure cooker adding 4cups of water.
• Now take a sauce pan and heat ghee,in that add mustard seeds,cumin ,curry leaves and red chilly saute for a second..
• Now put turmeric followed by raw mango pieces and salt and saute for 2mins.
• Now add the cooked dal and boil until mango pieces turns to soft .
• Serve hot with plain boiled rice and pour some ghee.

watermelon slush!

watermelon slush

Beat the heat with my special water melon slush.... Its a great cooler for warm afternoons specially when the temperature is above 40C....So check out for the super yummy water melon slush recipe which is very easy and refreshing specially for this summer season.

water melon slush

Ingredients

Water melon pieces(seeded)-4cups

Lemon juice-3tsp

Sugar-2tbsp

Crushed ice-2cups

Lemon/lime soda-1/2ltr

Method:- 

• Blend watermelon,lemon and sugar in a blender till smooth.
• Pour the juice in freezer proof container.
• Freeze for 15-20 mins.
• Take it out from the freezer and serve in a tall glass half filled with crushed ice and then slowly pour the soda and serve.

Raw jackfruit croquettes

Konkani's love jackfruit whether its raw or ripe..we prepare so many dishes from both raw and ripe jackfruits.Today for the first time i tried this croquets from raw jackfruit and it was taste like chicken  and  even my hubby thought the same .So i thought of preparing two dishes one  is croquette and another one is raw jackfruit kofta curry both the dishes  are yummy and  really worth trying them.

Ingredietns:-
Jackfruit pieces-4cups(boiled)
Potato-1 big(bolied)
Ginger-2tsp chopped
Garlic-8-9 cloves(chopped)
Red chilly powder-2tsp
Garam masala powder -2tsp
Gram flour/Besan-1/2cup
Bread slices-2(cut into pieces)
Corn flour-2tbsp for coating
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

  Method:

• Cook the raw jackfruit pieces in a 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker.In the same cooker cook potato but use different container.Cook for 20 mins or take 3 whistle  and switch off the gas.
• Once it is cools down completely strain the water from the jackfruit and blend it in a mixer along with chilly power,Ginger,Garlic,garam masala powder,bread pieces and salt to smooth dough.
• Now mash the potatoes and mix it with the jackfruit jackfruit dough and in that add gram flour.Knead this to soft dough using 2tsp of oil if it sticky .
• Now take a lemon sized ball and roll into desired shape and then roll all croquettes into cornflour and keep it aside
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan and start frying 4-5 at a time till crisp .
• Serve hot with tomato ketchup 

Almond & date shake

Temperature is rising beyond comfortable level and the humidity can be oppressive,making it feel hotter than it actually is.If one does not take proper precautions during these sweltering condition the result could be serious even deadly.So check your water intake and try to cut down oily and spicy food.
    Today i went out to drop kids to their summer camp and on the me and my hubby went to market to do our weekly shopping for vegetable and fruits and by the time we reached home it was almost 12 o'clock and the heat was unbearable.Then i thought of making this almond and date drink which i soaked for my dessert.It was so yum and really very cooling,i never tried this combo before.To make it more interesting i have just added some banana which was lying in fridge...Here is the recipe for that  healthy milk shake to beat the heat.

  Ingredients:-

1. Dates-10
2. Almonds-10
3. Banana-1 big
4. Honey-1tbsp
5. Cardamom powder-1/4tsp
6. Milk (chilled)-3cups
7. Ice cubes-10

Method:-

• Soak almond and dates in warm milk for 30 mins.
• Now blend both together to fine paste then add all the other ingredients and blend nicely to get that foamy shake.
• Garnish with few crushed almonds and dates.

Fluffy Water melon surnali/dosa/pancake....

After so  many mocktails with water melon i thought of trying something else other than juices .Then i remembered this surnali my co-sister always used to tell me about this but  only once i tried this ,her mom used to make it with the white part of the rind ,so thought of making this. I wanted my surnali to get that nice baby pink colour  so i added littel melon pieces  and  it really got that  colour and taste is superb. 

             surnali or fluffy dosa is a indian version of pancake which need to be fermented overnight or at least 8-9 hours.This dosa /Pancake is  little bit sweet compare to  our other Indian pancake/dosa because this surnali are suppose to be sweet in taste so we add jaggery to get that sweet taste.But i wanted pink colour and if i add jaggery the colour will change so i  used sugar in the batter itself while grinding.This goes well with home make unsalted butter.

water melon surnali/Pancake

Ingredients:-

Raw rice-3cups
Beaten rice-1cup
water melon rind grated and water melon pieces-2 cup each
Fenugreek seeds-1/2tsp
Salt-1tsp
Sugar-1/2cup or to taste

Method:-

• Soak rice and fenugreek seeds for 2hours.
• Now grind all the ingredients to smooth batter and keep over night  or at least 8-9 hours for fermenting.
• Next day  the batter should be double in volume, beat the batter and mix it well  and  start making surnali/Pancake.Remember the batter should not be too thick or watery.
• Heat a griddle and apply some ghee,pour ladle full and slightly spread with the help of the ladle/spoon  
• Then cover it with lid and fry only on one side on medium flame.once the upper side is fully cooked and the lower side  is light brown colour then its ready to take out from the pan/griddle.Be careful while taking it out from the pan because sunali is very fluffy and too delicate to handle.
• Serve hot with Unsalted Butter.

  

Kurla alley piyava Gashi/konkani style crab curry

Yesterday was our kids open day and my 2nd daughter passed with highest percentage and my son was not bad got A grade.So thought of celebrating and we went to near by fish market and got these giant crabs after so many days and it was absolute delight..we really enjoyed the day with our kurlo/crab konkani style curry.

                       

Ingredients:-

Crab-4/1kg

Coconut -1/2(grated)

Red chillies-7-8(dry roasted)

Onion-2(finely chopped)

Ginger-1tsp(finely chopped)

How to clean the crab:-

• Place the crab on the flat surface ,belly side up.
• Now you will see triangular -shaped belly flap,just pull that off  by holding the belly part tightly with your left hand and with your right hand  thumb try to pull off the shell like how you open the tiffin box and shell comes out easily.
• Now with a creaser cut off the ends of the legs and separate the claws from the crab.
• Now pull off the spongy gills and small paddles which is over the belly of crab.
• Now wash it under the water and cut into half from the centre of the belly to two pieces and keep aside.

Method:- 

• Marinate the crabs with ginger,onion and salt and keep aside for 20 mins
• Now grind coconut and red chillies to fine paste.
• Put the ground masala in a sauce pan and add 2 cups of water and adjust the gravy and bring to boil.
• Now add the marinated crabs and boil further 10 mins or until crabs turns  to red color  and switch off the flame.let it cover for 10 mins before serving.

Note:- you can add some tamarind juice and green chillies and little coconut oil  while boiling to get that extra taste.

Scrambled eggs with fenugreek leaves

If you are looking for something healthy  and guilt free recipe then here is  one tasty scrambled egg recipe for you .This goes well with bread or our indian flat bread/roti and a very  healthy way to start your day.

scrambled egg with fenugreek leaves

Ingredients:-

Egg whites-6

Fenugreek leaves-1cup

Onion-3(chopped finely)

Green chilly-2(chopped finely)

Oil-2tsp

Salt to taste

separate egg yolks from egg white

Method:- 

• Chop fenugreek leaves finely and apply salt and keep aside for 10 mins.
• Now heat a pan and heat 2tsp of oil.
• Add chopped onions and fry for few seconds.
• Now add the green chillies and fenugreek ,saute till the mixture  becomes dry or until you get the nice aroma of fried fenugreek leaves.
• Now add the lightly beaten egg whites and mix it well.
• Serve hot with bread or roti/chapati

Four in one laddoo

Today  i prepared tasty mughlai chicken  and some chicken kababs for lunch.After heavy lunch kids wanted to have some dessert and there was nothing in the my fridge.So i asked them to wait for few mins and quickly prepared these laddoos which is super healthy ,tasty  and sugar free.It hardly takes 10-15 mins.

                      If you really looking for something for your kids  then here is  a tasty  instant laddoos which  has dates,walnuts,oats and coconut and i am sure kids will definitely going to love the taste and this is guilt-free recipe for those who looking something which goes well with their diet.

Ingredients:-
Dates-20(seedless)
Dessicated coconut/Dry coconut powder-3tbsp
Oats-2tbsp
Walnut-10
Cardamom-5-6

Method:-

• Dry roast oats on low flame till it changes to light brown
• Now make a coarse powder using roasted oats and cardamom.
• Now in that same mixer grinder add all the ingredients and blend all the ingredients to form a soft dough.Keep 1tbsp of coconut powder separately to roll the laddoos. 
• Now take out the dough from the mixer and prepare 10 -12 laddos and roll all the laddoos in coconut powder.
• Refrigerate before serving.

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Stuffed Capsicum delight!

This is my 2nd post of stuffed capsicum.My 1st post of  Stuffed Capsicumwas prepared in microwave but this was steamed in shallow frying pan and it is very healthy too because i have used only 2 tsp of oil and steamed which is very good for those who are looking for  less oil food.My earlier Stuffed Capsicum( Microwave) was less spicy but this is little spicy and with mixed vegetable and the taste is superb as my kids finished all at one go leaving only Two for us.Anyway next time i will prepare 4-5 extra so that we can have it for dinner as well.

Ingredients:-
Capsicum-10(small size)
Yellow Capsicum-1( chopped finely)
Potato-4( medium sized)
Beans-1/4cup(cut into small pieces)
Carrots-1/4cup(shredded)
Curry powder or Garam masala powder-2tsp
Green chilly-2
Ginger-1tsp
Cumin(jeera)-1/2tsp
Coriander leaves-1/2 cup(finely chopped)

Method:-

• First boil the potatoes till soft .Once it is cool down mash it well and keep aside.
• In a shallow pan heat a tsp of oil ,add Cumin and let it crackle then add finely chopped green chilly and ginger and fry for few seconds.
• Now add beans  and saute for few mins,then add carrot and capsicum ,saute further 2mins or it is almost cooked then add curry powder or garam masala powder and salt and stir it well.
• Now add mashed potato and coriander leaves  mix it well.Once done witch off the gas and let it cool.
• Now wash and cut capsicum from the top,remove all the seeds and preserve the caps.
• Now stuff capsicum with the vegetable stuffing and now its ready to steam.
• Take a deep kadai or frying pan and arrange the all the capsicum in one layer.
• Add a cup of water in the kadai very carefully you can add a tsp of oil in that water also to get nice glaze for your capsicum.
• Now cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and cook over the low flame till water evaporates or till capsicum cooks and becomes soft.It takes about 10 -12 mins to cook.Please check the water in between .You can add little water if necessary .
• Serve hot as a side dish.

Lucknowi Mutton curry

Lucknow city is famous for its monuments and delicious mughlai cuisine.Food is the soul of lucknow.People from all over the world come  here to enjoy the rich culture and historical monument along with delicious mughlai cuisine like kababs,biryani and dumphukth dishes which seal the aroma of the meat and the whole spices in which they are cooked.

                      Today i am here with famous lucknowi mutton curry which is my all time favourite mutton curry.You can add mutton leg/paya pieces also to this curry to get that thick gravy.

Ingredients:- 

Mutton-1kg

Tomatoes-2

Curd-1/2cup

Onions-5

Cashew nut-10

Poppy seeds-1/2tsp

Ginger-2(1"piece)

Cloves-6-7

Pepper corns-5-6

Red chilly-7-8

Garlic-2 pod

Cinnamon -3  pieces

Coriander leaves-1/2cup(chopped)

Oil-2tbsp

Salt to taste.

Method:-

• Marinate the mutton with curd and salt to taste.
• Roast  whole onion over the direct flame and keep aside.
• Dry roast poppy seeds,chillies,cinnamon,cloves and pepper corns.
• Now grind roasted onion,tomatoes , cashew nut and roasted masalas to a fine paste .
• Grind ginger and garlic to smooth paste and keep aside
•  Now heat the pressure cooker pan  and add oil.In that add ginger-garlic paste and fry for few seconds.
• Now add marinated mutton pieces and fry further 5mins.
• Now add the ground masala  and add 2 cups of water and cover the lid and cook for 20 mins or till done.
• Now open the and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with hot pulka or naan.

Sol kadi/kokum kadi

Kokum/birinda/sol is a fruit widley available fruit in konkan region,Goa and some parts of Karnataka. This red coloured fruit is believed to be very useful in summer because of it cooling effect on the body. The drink prepared with this fruit is very refreshing it not only quenches your thirst,but also helps to prevents dehydration and sunstroke due to heat.

                           We konkani's use this for preparing juices,kadis and use it for curries instead of tamarind especially for fish curries.Today i am going to tell about this sol kadi which is one konkani speciality .Our lunch is incomplete without this sol kadi specially in summer.You can buy dried rind or readily available syrup for making this kadi.

Ingredients

Dried kokum rind-10

Coconut grated-2cups

Green chillies-4-5

Fresh coriander leaves-1tbsp

Asafoetida-1/2tsp

Garlic-4-5 pods

Salt to taste.

Method;- 

• Soak kokum in a cup of warm water for 30mins,to soften and to release the juice.After 30 mins when the water turns to dark pink color squeeze the kokum rinds and strain the juice and keep aside.
• Grind coconut along with all the ingredients except kokum to smooth paste adding 2cups of water.
• Now mix the kokum juice to cocunut paste,mix it well and then  strain the juice.
• Now you will get nice thick kadi .Add again 4 cups of water and salt to taste.
• For enhance the taste  of this kadi serve chilled.

Agua de pina

Agua de pina is nothing but simple pineapple water or juice as we call it in india.It is available all over mexican street stands and served in restaurants .Simply to make this juice more interesting for my kids i gave Mexican name to my juice.

Ingredients:-
Pineapple chunks-2cups
Sugar-1/4cup
Crushed ice-2cups full

Method:-

• Blend pineapple and sugar in a blender .
• Fill the glasses with crushed ice and pour the juice and serve with pineapple wedges .

Mixed Fruit Punch!

In most part of india the temperature is above 30 degree  and who does not want to sip some chilled drinks After my mixed fruit chat  and many more  chilled fruit drinks  here is one more drink to beat the heat....Mixed fruit punch..hope you all love this.

Ingredients

1. Pineapple chunks-2cups
2. Green grapes-1cup
3. Orange segments-1/2cup( remove the skin and cut into small pieces)
4. Pomegranate seeds -1/2cup 
5. Sugar-2tbsp
6. Chilled water-1/2cup
7. Crushed ice-4 cups
8. Salt-1/4tsp

Method:

• Put pineapple,grapes ,orange piece, sugar and salt  in a blender and make a nice pulp and strain it or use it like that.
• Now add pomegranate seeds and water and blend it for a second.You will get nice thick pulp.
• Now fill the glasses with crushed ice and pour the juice over the ice and serve.

Poha Kheer/pova kheeri/Beaten rice kheer

HAppy Ram NaVami to all my readers and friends.Ram navami is celebrated to mark the birth of lord Rama.We konkanies celebrate this along with some delicious food.

                                          Today  i have prepared a sweet dish called Pova(beaten rice ) kheer apart from other dishes like cucumber pachadi,Mooga dali usli,chana -potato sukkey,dalitoy,oodi(home made),papad(home made) kokum kadi,stuffed capsicum.

                     My mom used to prepare this dish specially for RAM NAVAMI .She got this recipe from her mom i e my grand mom .So i also prepare this  at least once a year on this day.We konkani's prepare different types of sweet/dessert on different festivals,every time i make it a point to follow my elders tradition by preparing some special dishes which they used  to prepare to save our GSB tradition so that after me my kids too follow the same.Because i have seen many people just do not celebrate festivals or prepare the dishes which they used to enjoy in thier childhood.Thanks to many blogs  who help people to know the tradition and culture by posting some amazing information and traditional dishes .This is my small contribution  towards our Konkani tradition and culture.

     

Ingredients:-

Poha/Beaten rice(thick)-1cup

Jaggery-2cups

Coconut-1(grated)

Cardamom powder-1/2tsp

Cashew nut,Raisin and almond for garnishing

Ghee 1tbsp for frying Poha

Method:- 

• Grind coconut to smooth paste by adding 2 cups of water.Then extract the milk from the paste. Now you will get thick coconut milk.Again grind the coconut residue adding 2 cups of water and extract thin coconut milk.Once it is done mix both the milk and keep aside.
• Now fry the beaten rice over the low flame along with some cashew nut in thick bottom pan adding a tbsp of ghee.Fry till it changes to light brown color.
• In a heavy bottom sauce pan add 4 cups of water and put the jaggery  and boil until it dissolves completely.Then add the fried poha and let it cook on slow flame.
• When the poha is almost cooked add coconut milk and bring to boil.
• The consistency should be little flowing  because the beaten rice will absorb all the milk and will become thick if you have keep this for an hour or so.You aslo can add little warm milk to adjust the consistency later.
• Garnish with dry fruits and serve hot or chilled.