Moong dal-jackfruit payasam/Moogadali goshey

Today is "Ashada Ekadashi" the most important ekadashi virtha which falls on 11th day in bright half of Asada Masa.We hindu's observe fasting during this day.Chaturmasa vratha also begins from this day.The real purpose of the fast is to incessantly think and sing the glory of the lord.It does not matter if one takes milk,fruits and some light food like dishes prepared with Sabudana or moong dal.But in Mangalore we konkanis love to feast rather than fast!

 On this day we konkanis prepare some special dishes like khotto/for breakfast and for lunch  gajbaje(mixed vegetables) moogadali godshe( green gram payasam),kolambya  hinga udka gozzu(salted mango chutney) and some podis( veg fritters) for lunch.Today i am here with one type of payasam prepared specially on this day..MOONG DAL PAYASAM with Jackfruit.

Ingredients:

Moong dal(split green gram) -1cup

Jackfruit-1cup

Jaggery-2cups

Coconut milk-2cups

Wheat flour-1tbsp

Cashew nut-2tbsp

Cardamom-3-4

Method:-

• Cut the jack fruit into medium sized pieces and keep aside
• Pressure cook Green gram dal in 4 cups of water for about 15 mins or just take 2 whistle.
• Once the cooker is cooled down,open the lid and transfer the cooked dal into a heavy bottom sauce pan. 
• Add jaggery to the cooked dal  and a cup of water and bring it to a boil.It will take about 5-7 minutes on medium flame.
• Now add jackfruit pieces and cashew nuts, boil again for about 10 mins on low flame.Keep stirring in between ,or it will stick to the botton of the pan.
• Now mix wheat flour with coconut milk and add this to cooked green gram dal and just take one boil and switch off the gas.
• Add cardamom powder and its ready to serve.
• Serve hot or cold

Mango-semolina cake

This mango cake  is very easy to make ,unlike other maida based cakes- you'll love it.just mix some semolina with mango pulp along with sugar and oil and its done.Tip: try to find fresh ripe mangoes  for this recipe.. the taste is well worth the effort.Make this cake for your friends and family-they won't be able to thank you enough! Once i have tried Egyptian dessert called basbousa but in that  dish butter milk is used in place of mango puree and some sugar syrup on top.So i Googled for this cake and i got  this in food sify.com..It was my 1st attempt with mango cake.

Ingredients:-
Semolina-1cup
Mango puree-1cup
Butter-1/4cup
Sugar-1/2cup or less than 1/2cup
Baking powder-1tsp
Tutti fruitti-2tbsp
Cashew nuts-1tbsp(chopped)
Nutmeg powder-1/4tsp
Salt-1/4tsp

Method:-

• Mix all the ingredients well and leave it for 10 mins.
• Now transfer the mixture into a greased baking dish.Garnish with tutti fruitti and chopped cashew nut pieces.
• In the meantime preheat the oven for 175 degree /345 degree F.
• Now place the baking dish into the oven and bake for 30 mins.

Thai Crab Soup

This past weekend i got this lovely huge crabs and thought of trying something which i have never tried before.Then thought of making some thai soup.Hoping the recipe still in my old books.So started digging my 20 yrs old collection of recipes.Luckily i still have it.It was awesome..i really like the taste and the aroma of the lemon grass which really enhances the flavour of the crab meat.

Ingredients:

1. Crab-2( large)
2. Ginger-1" piece
3. Red chilly paste-2ts  or
4. Thai curry paste-1tbsp( here i have used red chilly paste)
5. Garlic-5-6
6. Onion-2 chopped
7. Fish sauce-2tsp
8. Tomato-1chopped
9. Lemon grass-2 stalks,tough outer layered removed,sliced thinly
10. Pepper powder-1/2tsp
11. Coriander leaves/root-3-4 springs
12. Coconut milk-1heaped tbsp
13. Cornflour/starch-1tbsp(mix it with coconut milk)
14. Salt to taste

Method:

• Clean and cut the crab.You can refer my earlier post   Kurla alley piyava Gashi for how to cut and clean the crabs
• Now take a big sauce pan and add about  2 litres of water.In that add add all ingredients except coconut milk.
• Boil over low flame for about 30-40 mins.Let it cool down for 10-15 mins.
• Now take out the crab pieces and blend the sauce in a blender untill smooth.
• Now take out meat from the body of crabs.There is a lot of good meat in the body of most crabs,especially blue and Dungeness crabs.It is located in the cartilage-lined channels in each of the two equal sides of the body.To get at it,grasp each side and break the body in half and fish out all the yummy meat in maze of cartilaginous channels.
• Now add all the meat and the claws into the soup .
•  Heat  the soup again.Just before switching off check for seasoning and finally add coconut milk-cornstarch and mix it well.Now its ready to serve.You can add little lemon juice just before serving to get that nice tangy flavour.

Cauliflower Pakoda

Finally monsoon has arrived.....uff......hope to get our daily supply of water by tomorrow......Ok  forget about my  water problem and enjoy hot and spicy pakoda..... if there is something which everyone associated with monsoon in India,its garama garam spicy pokoda...I really enjoy my evening tea with these pakodas without any guilt feeling because i have made up my mind that tomorrow will be the day i get back on track..This is simple and easy to make so you can enjoy it anytime especially in the evening like me.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower florets-3cups
Chickpea flour-1cup
Maida-1/2cup
Jeera/cumin-1tsp
Ajwain-1/4 tsp(optional)
Chilly powder-1tsp
Ginger-garlic paste-2tsp
Baking soda- a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method:-

• Make thick batter by mixing all the ingredients except cauliflower with little water.The batter should be thick like pancake batter.
• Heat oil in a deep frying pan and start frying pakodas by dipping cauliflower florets one by one and then drop this in hot oil.Fry until crisp,golden brown colour. Transfer all the pakodas on to papper napkin to drain that excess oil.
• Serve hot with mint chutney or tomato sauce and enjoy !!

idli ,chutney and sambar

Happy 200th post day!

 I am really grateful to my followers,my facebook page fans and all my friends who keep encouraging me to post such wonderful recipes.

  Today i am here with one of the famous south indian break fast which is my all time favourite Idli sambar .If you are looking for that perfect idlis then here is the secret and a few tips which really helps you to make soft and fluffy idlis in 3 different ways.

Ingredients for the 1st method:
Urad dal- 1cup
Raw rice/dosa rice-21/2cups
Beaten rice/poha/avalakki
    or
Puffed rice/Churmuri/kurmura-1/2cup
Fenugreek-1tsp
Salt to taste

• Wash and Soak rice and Beaten rice or puffed rice in 2 litres of water for about 5 hours.
• In a separate vessel soak washed dal and fenugreek for 5-6 hours.

• First grind urad dal to very soft consistency.The batter has to be fluffy so while grinding keep sprinkling little water.If grinding this in a mixer grinder then grind in two batches adding 1 cup of water each time.Here i have used my tilting grinder in which i have used at least 4cups of water.This process will take at least 20 mins if you are using a tilting grinder but in mixer it will take only 8-10 mins.

• Now take a big vessel and transfer this batter .
• In the same grinder add soaked rice and poha and grind it with very little water.The batter should be thick and the texture should be like semolina or bombay rava.
• Now mix this to urad dal batter and while mixing i prefer using my hand as it helps to ferment the batter faster.This tip was given by mom.so still i follow the her method which really yields good result.
• Now add salt and cover it with a lid.
• If you are staying in a cold region then you have to keep this in a warm place  and the best place to keep this is your oven.Just preheat the oven just to warm it up and switch it off. Now you can place your idli batter into your oven for fermenting.

• Next morning the batter should rise almost 2-3 inches high.Now slowly mix the batter without disturbing the air bubbles.

Ingredients for the 2nd method:

1. Urad dal-1cup
2. Fenugreek-1tsp
3. Par boiled rice/ukda/Kuthallaki-31/2 cups
4. Salt to taste

Follow the same method for soaking and grinding as mentioned in the 1st method*

Ingredients for the 3rd method:
Urad dal-1cup
Idli rava-21/2cups
Fenugreek seeds-1tsp

• Soak dal for 5-6 hours and grind to smooth paste with fenugreek( refer 1st method)
• Soak idli rava for 1hour .Drain it well and add this to dal batter.Mix it well with your hand and add salt to taste and keep overnight .

To make idlis:

Next day morning nicely beat the batter  and now its ready to steam.

 

Boil about 3 cups of water in the idli steamer.In the meanwhile grease the moulds.
Now fill all the moulds with this batter and arrange the moulds into the steamer and steam for 10 mins.

• Now remove the moulds from the steamer and wait for 5 minutes before taking out .
• Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Spicy Pepper chicken

Here is one more easy to prepare chicken dish which is not only tasty and quick as well.This recipe of mine is very indian because of my home made sauce which makes this dish slightly different from that typical Chinese pepper chicken.

Ingredients for the main dish:

Chicken breast or boneless pieces-1/2 kg( cut into small cubes)

Capsicum-3 cut into cubes

Onion-2 cut into cubes

Garlic-8-10 clove(crushed)
Ginger-1tsp (crushed)
Ginger-garlic paste-2tsp
Maida/all purpose flour-2tbsp
Cornflour-1/2 cup + 2tsp
Soya sauce-1/2tsp
Home made tangy sauce -2tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper powder-1/2tsp
Oil for deep frying


Ingredients for the tangy sauce;
Tomato-4
Tamarind-2tbsp
Pudina-1/2cup
Cloves-2
Fennel( saunf)-1tsp
Kashmiri Red chilly-8-9
Rock salt-1tsp or to taste
Sugar-1/2cup
Cornflour
Vinegar-1tsp


Method of making tangy sauce

• Pressure cook all the ingredients with 3cups of water except sugar and vinegar.Take about 2 whistle and let it cool down .
• Now open the lid and grind it to smooth paste without adding any water.
• Now boil the paste .While boiling add a tsp of vinegar along with sugar untill the sauce is thick.
• Now the tangy sauce is ready.
• For this recipe we need only 2tbsp of this sauce .
• You can refrigerate this for a month and can use it like any other sauce

For the main dish.

• Apply ginger-garlic paste,cornflour,maida and salt and mix it well.
• Heat a oil in a deep frying pan and fry all the pieces till crisp and keep aside.
• Now take one wide pan and add 2tsp of oil and add onion and capsicum chopped and saute for about 5 mins on high flame and keep aside.
• Now  in the same pand add  crushed ginger and garlic ,soya sauce and home made tangy sauce and saute for a second.Now add a cup of water and bring to boil.Add 2tsp of cornflour mixed with 1tbsp of water to this sauce.Now check for the seasoning and add salt accordingly as both the sauce contents salt.
• Just before serving toss stir fried capsicum and fried chicken pieces along with this sauce and serve hot.Garnish with spring onions.

variation: replace tangy sauce with a mixture of tamarind pulp,tomato puree, tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce 1:1:1:1 ratio and add little sugar and red chilly powder to taste.

Eggless Beetroot cake/beet cup cake ( microwave)

Couple of days back i prepared this eggless  beet cake for one of my veg-food group in FB.I chose beet because that days theme was beetroot so wanted to post some unique dish out of beetroot and thought of baking some cake and to save my time i baked in the microwave.It was so easy and really very tasty. First i prepared some cup cakes and then one small cake.Both the cakes come out really well.

Ingredients:

Maida/all purpose flour-11/2cups

Sugar-1cup

Baking Powder-11/2 level tsp

Baking soda-1/2 heaped tsp

Salt -1/4tsp

Beetroot grated-1cup

Vegetable oil-1/2cup

Melted butter-1tbsp

Butter milk-1/2 cup

Vinegar-1tbsp

Water-1/4cup

Cashew nut chopped-2tbsp

Tutti fruitti -2tbsp

Beetroot grated-1tsp for garnishing 

Cinnamon powder-1tsp

Nutmeg powder-1/4tsp

Vanilla essence-1tsp

Method:-

• Sieve maida,baking soda,baking powder,salt and cinnamon powder and keep aside.
• Grind beetroot to a  smooth paste  using butter milk and vinegar in a mixer grinder or you can use a hand blender too
• Then in the same jar add sugar and blend it again until sugar dissolves completely.
• Now add oil and melted butter blend it again for few seconds until creamy.
• Now take out this beetroot mixture into a wide bowl and add vanilla essence and  powdered ingredients little at a time in 3 batches and fold it gently into this mixture.Once you are done transfer the content to greased microwave safe bowl( i have used 9"bowl) and garnish it with some grated beetroots and nuts cook in micro on high for about 10 minutes or until done(cakes starts to come away from sides of pan).
• You can make some cup cakes  instead with the same batter.cook on high for about a minute in micro or till done.

Adai( mixed lentil pancake).. Exotic tamilian breakfast

Today i am here with one exotic tasty tamilian breakfast item.It is called Adai which is very healthy , protein rich dosa.This dosa doesn't need fermentation. Adai is coarser you can not spread thin like paper dosa or any other dosa but worth trying.

Ingredients:-
Chana dal/Bengal gram dal-1/2cup
Moong dal/Green gram dal-1/2cup
Tur dal/Spilt pigeon peas-1/4 cup
Moong beans/Green gram/moogu-1/4cup
Urad dal/Black gram dal-1/2cup
Raw rice-1/2cup
Red chillies-2
Green chillies-2
Turmeric(optional)-a pinch
Onion-1(chopped)
Asafoetida-1/2tsp
For garnishing -onion chopped and coriander leaves chopped

Method:-

• Soak all dals and rice together for  6-7 hours.
• Grind it along with chillies and 1 chopped onion to Coarse paste(  slightly coarser than semolina ) ,
• Now add salt,asafoetida and a pinch of turmeric(optional)
• Now heat a griddle or dosa tava,pour a ladle full batter in the centre and spread a little it should be like thick pancake.Top the batter with coriander leaves and onion and dizzle some oil around the adai cover it with lid.Cook this over a medium heat on both the sides.

Variation:- You can omit onion and add some green chopped finely like drumstick leaves, methi leaves  (fenugreek) or palak leaves.

Serve hot with onion chutney and dry chutney powder or aslo tastes good with simple plain butter

Khara Pongal( moong dal Khichidi)

Pongal is one of the popular harvest festival of south india,mainly Tamil nadu.Pongal falls in the mid-January every year and marks the suspicious beginning of Uttarayan-Sun's journey northwards.This pongal festival lasts for four days,Bogi festival,surva pongal,mattu pongal and kannum pongal. On this day people prepare various dishes based on rice which is newly harvested on the 1st day of pongal which is known as bogi festival.So next 3 days people prepare various delicacies with this rice like venn pongal,chakkarai pongal( sweet rice),khara pongal and many more. 

                 This pongal is almost like North indian Khichidi.Which is prepared with a combination of rice and dal.

Ingredients:
Basmathi rice or Broken basmathi rice/akki nucchu- 1 cup
Moong dal-1cup
Pepper-1/2 tsp
Pepper  crushed-1/2 tsp
Green chilly-2 slit
Ginger crushed-1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder-1/2 tsp
Ghee/clarified butter/oil-1tbsp
Salt to taste
For seasoning;
Mustard-1/2  tsp
Cumin-1/2 tsp
Cashew nut-10( cut into 2)
Curry leaves-1spring
Ghee-1tbsp

Method:-

• Wash and soak dal and rice together .
• Now add 6 cups of water along with soaked rice and dal,ginger,peppercorns,crushed pepper,green chilles,turmeric powder,Ghee and salt to taste.Cover and cook for about 10 minutes or just take 2 whistle and switch off the gas.
• Allow it to cool for 10-15 minutes.Now open the lid and stir the cooked contents.Add hot water if necessary and adjust salt . The cooked dal and rice should be more on fluid side as it absorbs the water and becomes tough when cool.The spoon should move freely when mixing,its like almost dropping consistency.
• Now take a small pan and add some ghee and put in mustard,jeera, cashew nuts and curry leaves.Put this over the Pongal and serve hot.
• Add some ghee while serving

Parangikai Kootu..An authentic tamil dish(lentil based curry)

Today i am here with an authentic tamil dish called Prangikai kootu.Kootu is lentil based semi solid dish almost like our famous south indian Sambar but sambar is (more liquid) .You can prepare this kootu with different combination of vegetables. Here i have used  Pumpkin along with two types of lentils which is bengal gram dal and green gram dal . Usually people in tamil nadu have it with boiled rice but it even goes well with Chapati or roti

Ingredients:-
Pumpkin-1/4kg
Chanadal-1/2cup
Moong dal-1/4cup
Turmeric-1/2tsp
Cumin-1/2tsp
Coconut grated-1tbsp
Sambar powder-1tsp
Garlic-2-3 cloves( crushed)
Ginger-1"pieces( crushed)
Jaggery-1tsp(optional)
Mustard-1tsp
Curry leaves-1spring
Urad dal-1tsp
Salt to taste
Ghee-2tsp

Method

• Remove the skin and cut pumpkin into small pieces.
• Now wash both the dals and pressure cook along with pumpkin,turmeric,salt,garlic,ginger,Sambar powder and 6 cups of water.
• Take 3 whistle and switch off the gas.
• Once the cooker is completely cooled down,open the lid and transfer the dal into big sauce pan.
• Now add little jaggery and coconut and bring to boil.
• Now for seasoning take a small pan add ghee or oil,put some mustard,jeera and urad dal. when the urad dal turns to light brown color add some curry leaves and switch off the gas and season the cooked dal.Yummy Kootu is ready to serve.
• Serve hot with rice or chapathi

Christmas Fruit cake/Rum cake

If you want to make a homemade rum cake from scratch, this is a simple, yet easy recipe to make. It's one you are certain to enjoy.Today i thought of sharing my Christmas fruit cake which i baked last year .I am damn sure that you can really enjoy this delicious and decadent fruit cake.It featues Raisins,Sultanas,Cashew nut ,Almonds Tutti fruitti,Candied Orange and lemon peel Dates...I am sure your guests will be asking for the recipe afterwards.It is pretty rich, so make sure you leave some room after your chirstmas lunch or dinner for a slice of this. It keep for about 3-5 days so its a great to make the day before you have guests. I know this is not the season but somehow i like it very much and would love to bake this whole year round.The recipe is very simple and believe me you are going to love this.

Ingredients

• 11/2cups Maida/all purpose flour
• 11/2tsp Baking powder
• 1cup Butter
• 11/2cup Sugar
• 1/2tsp Baking soda
• 3 Eggs
• 1tbsp Sultanas
• 10 Cashew nut
• 1/4cup Sugar for caramel
• 1cup Dark rum
• 1/4 cup Raisin
• 2 tbsp Candied Orange and lemon peel
• 1tsp Vanilla essence
• 10 Blanched Almonds
• 1 tbsp Tutti fruitti
• 5-6 Dates
• 1tsp Salt
• 1tsp Cinnamon Powder
• 1/2tsp Clove powder
• 1/4tsp Nutmeg Powder

Cooking Directions

1. Method of preparing dry fruits:
2. Finely chop all the the dry fruits and nuts and soak in enough dark rum in a large jar. There should be enough room in the jar once the fruits and rum are added.Secure cap tight and keep away at least a minimum of 24 hrs. You can make this a year ahead.I prepared this just a week ahead before baking.Do not forget to shake the jar one in a while.
3. Method of preparing caramel:
4. Heat a heavy bottom pan or nonstick pan.Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 2 tsp of water on medium heat,once the sugar turns to dark brown switch off the gas.Let it cool for sometime then slowly add 3 tbsp of water and boil until you get that nice thick dark brown syrup.cool it completely before using.
5. Method of making the cake:
6. Heat the oven to 165 c.Grease a 8" round cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking Parchment Paper.
7. Sift flour,salt,mixed spice powder,baking powder and baking soda into a bowl.
8. Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl and then mix in the vanilla essence until light and fluffy.
9. Now slowly add only the yolks and mix it well.
10. Then add the caramel and mix it thoroughly.
11. Now slowly add the beaten eggs and fold it slowly.
12. Add the sieve flour little in batches and combine till well blended.
13. Now mix in the dried fruits and nuts ( take out the nuts and peels add little flour to avoid sinking) Now using a spatula fold it gently into the batter.
14. Now pour the batter into the greased tin and bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour.
15. After 50 mins just insert a sharp knife just to check whether it is cooked or not.When you insert a knife it should come out clean.
16. Once done,Cool on a wire rack for 15 mins before removing the cake from the tin and carefully peel the paper.Use it after at least 7-8 hours.

Kulitha upkari (with a twist) and saru/Horse gram dry dish

  I love horse gram in any form whether its   Horsegram Idli(kulita idli,  horse gram) dosa .. or any types of curries We GSB's prepare lot of dishes with this gram especially on Saturdays.I don't know the real reason behind this but its a good  to have it on daily basis or at least once a week.Today i am here with two simple Konkani dishes from horse gram.In this recipe i have added little sambar powder and tomato to make this dish.I just love the flavour of this saru.Sometimes i have it like a soup.


Ingredients for horsegram upkari:


Horsegram-1/2cup
Coconut grating-1tbsp
sambar powder-1tsp
Onion-1 sliced
Tomato-1
Red chilly-2
Mustard-1/2tsp
Curry leaves-2springs
Salt to taste


Ingredients for saru:


Horsegram stock-2cups
Garlic-7-8 cloves
Red chilly-2
Salt to taste

Horsegram upkari

Method of Making Horsegram upkari:

• soak Horsegram overnight.
• Next day pressure cook for 30 mins or until 3 whistle by adding 5 cups of water.
• Once it is cooked strain the stock and keep this for making saru
• Now take a thick sauce pan and add 3tsp of coconut oil or any vegetable oil.Let it heat,then drop some mustard followed by red chillies,curry leaves,sliced onion,tomato and sambar powder and stir it well.
• Lastly add cooked horsegram and salt to taste.
• Cover for 5 mins on low flame.
• Sprinkle grated coconut and switch off the gas.
• Horsegram upkari is ready to serve.

Method of making saru:

• Take a vessel and put in strained stock of horsegram and salt to taste and bring to boil.
• Now for tempering take a small pan add some coconut or vegetable oil and heat.add crushed garlic and saute till it turns to light brown color.Now immediately add green chilly pieces and toss it for a second and add this to boiled hourse gram stock.
• Saru is ready to serve.