Banana choco Sundae

Over the weekend, I got together with some of my neighbours for an Ice Cream Social. We had been talking about doing this for quite some time but had never followed through.We each brought different ice cream toppings, candy and accouterments. We had hot fudge, caramel, butterscotch, whipped cream, sprinkles, Oreos, brownie bites and cookies.We piled our bowls high with a bit of everything and topped off our sundaes with different waffles.These were works of art, unparalleled masterpieces even.Each bite was a unique experience that was never exactly replicated.As an homage to our ice cream social, I'm posting this fun and yummy recipe of  banana chocolate ice cream

Nothing says summer like homemade ice cream.I really enjoy eating ice cream all year round. it is my dessert passion! The hot summer months are just a great excuse for enjoying ice cream more often. It certainly will help to cool off the rising temperatures. that's for sure!Try out this light,easy and delicious recipe and Enjoy!
Ingredients

• 3 Large bananas or 4 medium
• 2 cups Full fat milk
• 1 cup Fresh cream
• 1 Lemon
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Dark chocolate,grated
• 1tbsp Butter salted or unsalted, cut into small pieces
• 1/2tsp Vanilla extract/essence

For serving:

• 3-4 Bananas
• 1-2 tbsp Honey
• Some waffle biscuits

Cooking Directions

1. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with 1/2 cup sugar and butter in a non stick pan and cook on slow flame,stirring during cooking, until the bananas are light browned and cooked through.
2. Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup from the pan into the blender or food processor. Add milk, cream, remaining sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt ,puree until smooth.
3. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator till almost set.It will take about 3-4 hours.
4. After its set, take it out and beat it again to remove crystals from it.
5. Now add Add 1/2 of the chocolate gratings and again blend it well in a blender.After this beating, you will see air bubbles in it which will make ice-cream more softened after solidifying.
6. Now put this ice cream mixture in an air-tight container otherwise it may become harden,sprinkle remaining grated chocolate and Refrigerate for 6-7 hours or overnight.
7. For serving, take 4 wide bowls, add freshly cut banana pieces mixed with honey and Scoop ice cream into four bowls and garnish with banana slices, chocolate sprinkles and waffle biscuit.

Please do leave your wonderful comments and thoughts using the comment box below. Remember that your comments and thoughts are highly welcomed and appreciated.

Tangy "Mango pickle Rasam".. JO's way

Mango madness! Spice up your summer with tangy mango delights...today i am here with one such amazing recipe that will tickle your taste buds..yes its tangy rasam using mango pickle

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Mango pickle
• 2 tbsp Turdal
• 1 Tomato ( chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp Rasam powder
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• 1 green chilly, chopped

For grinding:

• 1/2 cup Coconut,grated
• 3tsp Coriander powder
• 1tsp Jeera/cumin seeds
• 4-5 Kashmiri red chillies

For tempering:

• 1tsp Mustard seeds
• 2 spring Curry leaves
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1tbsp Coriander leaves,chopped for garnishing

Cooking Directions

1. Pressure cook Turdal,1/4 cup mango pickle,green chilly,tomato,rasam powder,few curry leaves and turmeric powder in 1 liter of water,till 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile grind all the masala ingredients to smooth paste and keep aside.
3. Once the cooker is completely cooled down, open and transfer the cooked dal into a deep sauce pan or any vessel,blend it well with a hand blender or a churner .
4. Bring it to boil,while its boiling add ground masala and the remaining 1/4 cup of mango pickle to it.
5. Allow it to cook until the green mangoes are soft but not mushy.
6. Add sugar and salt to taste (check salt as pickle also contains salt),stir well. Once done remove from heat.
7. Now prepare tempering by heating oil in a pan and add mustard and curry leaves,after they splutter pour this tadka over the rasam and stir well.
8. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice.

varutharacha chemmeen curry (Prawn in roasted coconut gravy)...

This traditional Kerala style Prawn curry my Mamama/grandmother used to make this when I was a child. My amma/mom made a version of it, too. I make a version of it, too, with chopped ginger and some pepper. I also added a bit of garam masala and some lemon juice. I made this last Sunday and it was a hit!!! When my 14 year old daughter saw me clicking , she was like "Oh wow... That looks soooo good!" Love it when she gets excited about dinner like that LOL! She then proceeded to taste couple of prawns, and told me to put it on the menu often!

Ingredients
For marination:

• 1/2 kg Prawns shelled and deveined 
• 1/2tsp Turmeric powder
• 1tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Lemon juice

For Roasting in oil and grinding

• 1/2 grated Coconut
• 1tbsp Coriander seeds
• 10 Whole dried red chilles
• 4-5 Garlic, cloves
• 10 sambar onions/shallots or 1 Onion chopped
• 10 Pepper corns
• 1 Lemon sized ball of tamarind
• 1 tsp Garam masala ( optional)
• 3 tsp coconut oil

For tempering:

• 1 Onion or 7-8 shallots
• 3-4 Green chillies
• 1tsp Mustard
• 2 spring Curry leaves
• 1tbsp Coconut oil
• 1 tsp Chopped ginger

Cooking Directions

1. Combine the marination ingredients well and keep aside for 30 mins.
2. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a pan and fry the grated coconut, coriander seeds, Red chillies, Garlic, turmeric powder and pepper corns stir well. When the mixture becomes brown in colour, grind it into a smooth paste with tamarind and garam masala and keep it aside.
3. Heat oil in an earthen/ clay pot/large pan.Add Mustard,curry leaves and saute for a second.Now add onion and saute till onions becomes dark brown colour.
4. Add slit green chillies and ginger and fry again for couple of minutes.
5. Now add roasted masala paste and saute for a few minutes.
6. Now add marinated prawns and check for salt and add at this stage.
7. Simmer and cook covered till the gravy is semi dry and oil comes on top
8. Now get ready to relish this spicy prawn dish with hot red boiled rice or roti

Baby corn Tamatar ki subzi( baby corn in tomato sauce)

If there is one vegetable that is power house of great nutrition and taste alike,it is babycorn. Rich in carotenoids,vitamin B & C,sodium,and fibre,baby corn is one such vegetable that offers resistance to several health problems like constipation,colon cancer, cataracts, heart diseases  and abnormal blood pressure.
Eat it raw or cooked,grilled or boiled,baby corn is a heaven of taste and health bundled into a crunchy ,chewy,delicious vegetable.

Today i am here with tasty baby corn recipe that's sure to please one and all.

Ingredients :

1. 20 baby corns,cut into 2 inch long pieces
2. 2 big capsicum( red and green)
3. 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
4. 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
5. Salt to taste.
6. Juice of 1 lime.
7. 1 tbsp  oil
8. 1 tbsp butter or margarine 
9. 6 dry red chillies.
10. 1/4 tsp methi /fenugreek seeds.
11. 6 cloves garlic (peeled)
12. 1/4 tsp mustard seeds.
13. 2 onions ( finely sliced )
14. 1/2 tsp cumin powder
15. 1/2 tsp Garam masala
16. 6 green chillies (chopped finely)
17. 5-6 large tomatoes ( skinned & pureed) or
18. 2 cups tomato puree.
19. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds.

Method :-

• Rub turmeric, ginger garlic paste and salt with the juice of 1 lime on babycorn and capsicum. leave for 30 minutes.

 

• Heat oil in a pan ,add red chillies, fenugreek seeds, garlic & mustard seeds till they darken, turning down the heat to prevent their burning. 

• Add onions & fry to a golden brown.

 

• Add cumin powder and garam masala powder stir for 2 minutes.

•  then add marinated babycorn and stir fry. 

• Add green chillies and butter, saute well for 3-4 minutes on medium low flame. 

• Add pureed tomatoes and cook on slow fire till the tomatoes are cooked and the dish is almost dry.

• Add sugar dissolved in a tbsp of water (optional), salt to taste & saute till it blends well . 

Serve hot with roti or rice

Manglorean style "Marvai pundi" (clams and rice dumplings in coconut curry sauce)

Today for dinner I cooked manglorean style clam and rice dumplings in Coconut curry sauce, Its yummy and taste fantastic with all the herbs combination, totally outrages. HUbby and I have decided to make a conscious effort to eat more seafood. This effort probably won't be cheap. But if we try to spoil ourselves on a seafood dinner at home, we are less likely to splurge on a fancy dinner out were that salmon or king fish fillet is likely to cost 3 to 4 times more. So whatever the occasion we eat at home and ate well. This is amazing curry broth and I suspect mussels would be equally as divine!

Ingredients for Pundi:

1. 2 cups- Parboiled rice/ white ukde thandul
2. salt as per taste

Ingredients for clam curry sauce:

1. 1/2 kg Clams/kubbe/marvai/thisre
2. 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds
3. 1 onion,chopped
4. 1 tbsp coconut oil/any veg oil

Ingredients for the masala/sauce:

1. 3 cups Coconut.grated
2. 10-12 Kashmiri red chillies ( you can use 2-3 guntur or any hot chillies if you like it more spicy)
3. 2tsp Coriander seeds
4. 1/4tsp Cumin/jeera
5. 8-10 Fenugreek/methi seeds
6. 1Onion,sliced
7. 10 Pepper corns
8. 1/2tsp Turmeric /haldi
9. 6-7 Garlic cloves
10. 1/2 inch Ginger,chopped fine
11. 1/2tsp Mustard seeds
12. 1 Marble sized ball of Tamarind
13. 1tsp coconut oil or any veg oil

Cooking Directions:

For Pundi:

1. For rice dumplings,soak rice for about 6-7 hours and grind to coarse paste with 3 cups of and salt to taste.
2. then transfer to a thick bottom pan and cook on medium flame till the moisture evaporates and you are left with a lump(this should not be too dry,you must be able to form balls).
3. Let it cool for sometime,then start making small round,flat shaped dumplings almost as a coin shape.You can make about 25-30 dumpling from this dough.
4. Now boil water in a idli steamer and steam for about 15 minutes or till done.

For clams :

• Place the clams in a large bowl and fill with water until the clams are fully submerged. Allow them to rest for 30 minutes to an hour to encourage them to filter out any sand and grit.
• Gently remove each clam one at a time and scrub away any grit on the outside of the shell.
• Now take one vessel and add 2 cups of water.Add all the clams and simmer the calms for 5-7 minutes or until most of the shells have opened. Discard any unopened clams.When its cool open and discard one shell keeping one with the flesh and save the liquid left over after boiling the cockles for the gravy.

For the masala:

• Dry roast the ,chillies, coriander, cumin, pepper corns, fenugreek seeds,1/2 tsp mustard and lastly add turmeric and switch off the gas.
• Transfer this to a blender and in the same pan add 1 chopped onion and little oil (about 1tsp) and fry on low flame till you get the nice aroma.
• Grind coconut ,roasted masala ingredients ,fried onion,garlic cloves,ginger and tamarind to fine paste.

For the clam curry sauce:

• Heat cooking pot,add coconut oil/any veg oil.Add remaining mustard and onion chopped and saute for a while till onion turns to golden brown.
• Stir in the coconut Paste and clam juice in which clams have boiled, whisking to break up and lumps in the coconut paste. Add salt to taste and some more water if needed to make the gravy little thin. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the clams, cover and reduce heat,cook for 5 minutes.
• Now add steamed rice dumplings/pundi and boil further 10-15 minutes till the gravy is thickens.
• Serve after few hours or keep it overnight to let the rice dumpling soak in the gravy.